eTeachingHave eClassrooms come of age?

Project Leader Alan Wimberley

Team Marg Knight

Mark Tasman

Introduction

Have online classrooms come of age? How far can we push them given current network infrastructures?

We compare some eClassroom products, share the experience of working with two of them, and look at high-end technologies that will become generally available in the near future.

Project Summary

Investigate and evaluate emerging IP collaborative technologies with particular reference to IP Video Conferencing.

Use the blended distance learning option of the Cisco Networking Academy Program as a vehicle for the investigation

Technologies

On-line classroomWikisBlogs

The Cisco Networking Academy Management System (CNAMS)Packet Tracer 5 (Cisco product)Netlab

Online classroomElluminate DimDim Webex Connect Pro

VoIP

Dial-in Opt x X

Video Conf x x

Recording x**

Presentation x x x

Application Sharing

x

Smartboard x x x

User symb x x x

Own server x x

* - there is an option ** - available soon

All have a whiteboard.

Choice of eClassroom service

We used Connect Pro and Webex

A Webex account was provided to us by the Cisco Learning Institute

We purchased a year's licence for the US hosted Connect Pro

(Later trialled locally hosted version)

ConnectPro Screenshot

Webex Screenshot

How did they perform?

Voice, video, whiteboard, presentations, application sharing,

polling, chat, file sharing, interactivity

Voice

Participants found voice quality to be generally acceptable, even though there were dropouts, and some voice distortion.

Webex was the best for voice, closely followed by the locally hosted Connect Pro.

Voice

If all participants microphones are on, this is likely to cause a lot of noise. If the participant is not using a headset, then their speaker can feedback unpleasantly.

Turn off all microphones, and give the microphone to participants as required.

Video

As can be seen, video does work.

However, it is very small, has a low frame rate, and does not synch with voice.

Freezing the video gave some impression of attendance.

Video

Video was generally unsatisfactory.

With Connect Pro, the more video participants, the smaller the images, until the images were off-screen.

With Webex it was difficult to display video and chat/participants screens

Best use was to start the video in Connect Pro, and freeze the image.

Whiteboard

Whiteboards are disappointing, and do not provide ease of use.

In Connect Pro, students could wipe the whiteboard if given minimum permission to draw on it.

Webex allowed students to erase their own drawings only

Presentations

Presentations

Both Connect Pro and Webex change powerpoint presentations to their own format.

Both perform well for slide shows.

Application Sharing

Application sharing

Some applications, when shared, chew through bandwidth

e.g. Word, Exel

This causes glitches in voice

Do not talk while manipulating shared applications

Application Sharing

Connect Pro provides a preview screen of what participants are seeing - second screen is ideal for this.

Polling

Connect Pro will do only one poll question at a time when using the "poll pod" on the fly.

Webex allows more than one question at a time on the fly

CHAT

Chat was used from the start of a session to the end.

At the beginning and end of a session, attendees chatted to each other and the presenters.

During a session, chat was used by presenters to ask questions.

Chat

Chat works well.

Participants can chat to each other, with presenters or hosts, and can do so privately or publicly

File Sharing

Large files downloaded by multiple users simultaneously will result in deterioration of voice.

File sharing is best done before or after presentations, not during

Icons (Emoticons)

"Participant status"

All participants can bring up their choice of available icons beside their name in the participant's list.

Icons includehand up

smiley

go faster

Connection Monitor

Connect Pro provides some connection information as shown on the left.

These data were captured with the classroom open, but no participants

What worked

Powerpoint presentations

Voice

Netlab with voice

Polls

Chat

Using icons

What didn't work

Showing videos

Netlab running at the same time as a slideshow caused problems.

Videoconferencing

Whiteboard for much more than text

Recommendations

Run trial sessions until confident.

You will need to considerUploading powerpoint files before sessions - large files can take several minutes

Have poll questions ready beforehand - you will be busy enough running the session without creating them on the fly

Have applications running on your workstation ready to share

Sort participant issues with pre-sessions.

Participants may :require to download software to access the eclassroom for the first timehave issues with voicehave issues with videonot understand how to use icons or chat

Try to sort these issues with "orientation" sessions

Have two presenters

The main presenter will run the class - showing powerpoint or sharing application.The second presenter is free to respond to chat questions, deal with participant issues.On more than one occasion, the second presenter took over when the main presenter's voice was not working.

Have a second screen

A second screen provides more screen "real estate."

Use for preview

Have a script on the first screen

Use icons, polls and chat to maintain participant involvement.

Voice, chat, icons and polls are the mainstay of an eClassroom.

Other technologies

Wikis

Blogs

Wiki

Choice of Wiki is pbWiki.com

No adverts !! Free !!!

There is a private Wiki for all students and staff in the project. All are invited to contribute to it.

Students also have to complete a case study for Cisco, and will create their own private team Wikis

Blog

Choice of Blog site is www.wordpress.com

No adverts !! Free !!!

Academy students are required to keep a journal. For this project, they will write their journals as a blog

Cisco Specific

CNAMS

Packet Tracer 5

Packet Tracer is software for Academy students which emulates networks and network devices.

PT5 will allow connectivity of student created networks over an intranet (local,) or the Internet (global.)

Screen Shot of Packet Tracer 5.0

Two instancesof PacketTracercommunicatinglocally viamultiusercapability

Netlab

Wiki

Blog

What's coming

Everywhere ..

2005

Bandwidth

2010 2015 2020 20252005

Storage

2010 2015 2020 2025

2005

Information

2010 2015 2020 20252005

Computing

2010 2015 2020 2025

1010101001101010101010101010

1010101001101010101010101010

Cap

abili

ty

Time

Only 20% of people in the world are now connected to the Internet …Is this how the rest will get online?

New Devices:Your Phone Will Become Your Computer

New Ways to Interact with Technology:Any Surface Becomes a Display

Researching: Comparing & Evaluating

Researching: Comparing & Evaluating

Connecting: Adopting more tools & using more channels

Connecting: Adopting more tools & using more channels

Contributing & Creating: Sharing Content & Opinions,

Inventing

Contributing & Creating: Sharing Content & Opinions,

Inventing

Influencing: Communication & Social

Interactions

Influencing: Communication & Social

Interactions

Connected to global communities: Social networks, Blogs, Wikis, virtual reality, Facebook

Sharing with others – Wikipedia, photo sharing, video

Any way, anytime, anywhere, Connectivity (broadband, mobility, home networks

Customizing & Self-Serving: Embracing richer, more

relevant experiences

Customizing & Self-Serving: Embracing richer, more

relevant experiences

ConsumersTaking control

Supporting Data : Evolution of the webIn

div

idu

al a

nd

Gro

up

Pro

du

ctiv

ity

Size of Data, Size of Groups

Sources: Radar Networks and Nova Spivack, 2007

1980–1990PC Era

Web 1.01990–2000

Web 2.02000–2010

Web 3.02010–2020

Web 4.02020–2030

Desktop

World WideWeb

SemanticWeb

TheWeb OS

Folders,databases, lists

Web sites,e-mail, directories

Keywordsearch

Tagging andfolksonomies

Natural-language

search

Semanticsearch

Agents and reasoning

The Future of Productivity

2012Smart appliances

connected to the Web

201280% of Web sites

using intelligent search (Semantic Web)

2017Intelligent and outcome-oriented search fully embedded in the Web

Always on, high speed connectivity, integral to peoples daily lives

Source: IDC, 2006

Today By 2017

• 100,000 WiMax subscribers in Western Europe today—By 2012, 5 million subscribers

• Mobile WiMAX will connect 8% of the world’s 1.1 billion mobile broadband subscribers by 2012 or 88 million users worldwide

• NTT DoCoMo is testing 100 Mbps for mobile users and 1 Gbps for stationary users— 2010 Launch

• Blanketed by connectivity 125 times faster than today

• Always-on, highly-custom multimedia information available to any device, anywhere

• Billions of devices connected to the Internet will allow things to get done in the background

Telepresence

Telepresence

Requires around 15mbps bandwidth (approx 5mb per screen)

Could start appearing in TAFEs in 2 - 3 years

"Green" technology

Final thought ..

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you

can use to change the world”

Nelson Mandela

Questions?