Satellite-based delivery of educational content to geographically isolated communities: A service based approach

Enabling learning for members of geographically isolated communities presents benefits in terms of promoting regional development and cost savings for governments and companies. However, notwithstanding recent advances in e-Learning, from both technological and pedagogical perspectives, there are very few, if any, recognised methodologies for user-led design of satellite-based e-learning infrastructures. In this paper, we present a methodology for designing a satellite and wireless based network infrastructure and learning services to support distance learning for such isolated communities. This methodology entails (a) the involvement of community members in the development of targeted learning services from an early stage, and (b) a service-oriented approach to learning solution deployment. Results show, that, while the technological premises of distance learning can be accommodated by hybrid satellite/wireless infrastructures,this has to be complemented with (a) high-quality audio–visual educational material, and (b) the opportunity for community members to interact with other community members either as groups (common-room oriented scenarios) or individuals (home-based scenarios), thus providing an impetus for learner engagement in both formal and informal activities

A Cloud-Based Architecture for Multimedia Conferencing Service Provisioning

Multimedia conferencing is the real-time exchange of multimedia content between multiple parties. It is the basis of several interactive multiuser applications, such as distance learning and multimedia multiplayer online games. The cloud-based provisioning of the conferencing services on which these applications rely on can have several benefits, including the easy provisioning of new applications, efficient use of resources, and elastic scalability. This paper proposes a holistic cloud-based architecture for conferencing service provisioning, which covers both the infrastructure and platform layers of the cloud. The proposed infrastructure layer offers conferencing substrates-as-a-service (e.g., dial-in signaling, video mixing, and audio mixing), instead of virtual machines or containers. The platform layer abstracts the details of the conferencing concepts and offers a high-level interface to simplify conference service provisioning for a wide range of service and application providers (experts versus non-experts). It also enables the on-the-fly scaling of the running conferences while guaranteeing the required quality of service, enables substrates composition to create new conferencing services, and eases the reuse of conferencing services in building new applications. The presented architecture is supported by a proof-of-concept prototype and performance measurements. The latter provides the analysis of resource allocation efficiency and response time, as well as the scalability of the system under suboptimal and over-provisioned conditions. It also provides recommendations for service providers regarding the best alternatives for provisioning their service

Floor control arbitration for a hybrid voice/text web-board

We have built a hybrid voice/text web–board that utilizes floor control for handling resources such as microphone and interface events. The aim of this research is to determine the most appropriate floor control mechanism for a hybrid communication tool that allows conventional text and audio users to communicate with one another using a common interface. Research on floor control mechanisms provides many implementations for arbitration that are application-specific. Myers proposes a categorical explanation of the most widely used mechanisms for providing floor control and discusses these different dimensions with respect to a project called Pebbles. We have chosen to model our arbitration policies along these categories. The application will be implemented as a Java applet and gives users a view of both the text and audio aspects of the exchange. To facilitate the multi-modality of the system we will provide media conversion, using the Nuance system’s Java API. Our hypothesis is that well–known multi-tasking arbitration protocols such as FCFS, Round Robin, Token – based, and many more can be adapted to create a conferencing floor control policy for the interface of a hybrid communication environment so as to facilitate free–flowing multi-modal conversation. Measurements to determine which floor control implementation provides the best arbitration in terms of user interaction with the system will be calculated using RPT, ORT and usage tests based on the Kirkpatrick Model. We hope to show that users benefit more from an implicit arbitration mechanism than they do from an explicit one.Telkom, Cisco, THRI

Reviews

Teaching and Learning Materials and the Internet by Ian Forsyth, London: Kogan Page, 1996. ISBN: 0–7494‐ 20596. 181 pages, paperback. £18.99

Computer-mediated knowledge communication

New communication technologies enable an array of new working and learning scenarios in which knowledge is being communicated. This article deals with the question to what extent these technologies can impede or facilitate knowledge communication. First, the various computer-based communication technologies will be classified. Second, effects of the medium on knowledge communication will be discussed based on results of studies of the current special priority program "Net-based Knowledge Communication in Groups". Third and last, computer-based possibilities to facilitate computer-mediated knowledge communication will be reviewNeue Kommunikationstechnologien ermöglichen eine Reihe neuer Arbeits- und Lernszenarien in denen Wissen kommuniziert wird. Dieser Beitrag beschäftigt sich damit, inwiefern diese Technologien Wissenskommunikation einschränken oder fördern können. Dazu werden in einem ersten Schritt die verschiedenen computerbasierten Kommunikationstechnologien untergliedert. In einem zweiten Schritt werden Wirkungen des Mediums auf die Wissenskommunikation diskutiert. Dazu werden u. a. die Ergebnisse von Studien des aktuellen Forschungsschwerpunkts "Netzbasierte Wissenskommunikation in Gruppen" berichtet. In einem dritten und letzten Schritt werden computerbasierte Möglichkeiten zusammengefasst, computervermittelte Wissenskommunikation zu förd