Real-time streaming in the cloud can increase the provider's profit and the P2P users' benefit

This paper proposes a methodology to establish a billing model in a streaming service that can achieve high provider's profit and increased users' welfare. We relate three types of the service's topology: P2P (multicast), P2P-Cloud (hybrid) and Cloud (unicast) to different user profiles and analyze their effect on the provider's cost and profit. The evaluation shows that increased user cooperation, significantly decreases the provider's cloud infrastructure cost and make his profit highest when 50%-100% of the users cooperate. More cooperation increases the overall users' welfare in terms of monetary remuneration

P2P incentive model for QoS based streaming systems

P2P streaming today is one of the most challenging techniques to deliver real-time streaming on the Internet. Incentive mechanisms make a crucial part of the P2P algorithms in order to avoid uncooperative and eliminate malicious behavior. In this paper we present a monetary incentive mechanism based on the taxation incentive schemes. We use a model of a P2P streaming service to apply the idea and validate the quantitative effect on both the users' and the provider's welfare in the system. A billing model based on QoS levels for the perceived video that offers a remuneration inventive for the cooperative users, contributes to the P2P streaming because of the two main reasons: increases provider's welfare in terms of monetary benefit and saves infrastructure cost; increases users' welfare in terms of increased cooperation and motivation to participate in the streaming

SDN enabled QoS provision for online streaming services in residential ISP networks

In this paper we present an idea of a propriety Software Defined residential Network (SDrN) and we show as a use case, a multicast streaming service that can be hosted on such networks. To verify the feasibility of the service in the context of quality of service, we offer to the providers of online streaming services (in some cases the ISPs themselves), APIs to control and validate the QoS of the users in the service. The QoS control APIs were tested on SDN based simulation environment

AMMIL: A Methodology for Developing Video-based Learning Courses

Videos are extensively used nowadays to support learners in a variety of educational settings such as traditional online courses, MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), flipped classrooms, and blended courses. Therefore, it is of prime importance to develop methodologies capable of producing effective video-based learning courses which can lead to the highest success and learner satisfaction. AMMIL (Active Meaningful Micro-Inductive Learning) is a methodology for creating video-based learning courses, which aims to maximise the instructional effectiveness in terms of motivation and academic performance in self-learning environments. This methodology has been successfully used to create several MOOCs, as well as to support a blended programming course at a higher education institution. This paper presents the AMMIL methodology and an evaluation of two different MOOCs and a higher education programming course in which this methodology was applied. This evaluation was conducted by using student surveys as data collection instruments. The results are very promising since they show that students were very satisfied with the courses created applying the AMMIL methodology

Building blocks for the educational web: Elena's smart space for learning

Bernd Simon, Stefan Sobernig, Fridolin Wild, Sandra Aguirre, Stefan Brantner, Peter Dolog, Gustaf Neumann, Gernot Huber, Tomaz Klobucar, Sascha Markus, Zoltán Miklós, Wolfgang Nejdl, Daniel Olmedilla, Joaquin Salvachua, Michael Sintek, and Thomas Zillinger. Building blocks for the educational web: Elena's smart space for learning. In IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT 2006), Kerkrade, The Netherlands, 2006. IEEE Computer Society.This case study summarizes the demonstration of a semantic network of interoperable educational systems referred to as Smart Space for Learning. We started connecting several educational nodes in projects such as Elena, Prolearn, and Icamp. Integration was achieved by using the interaction standard SQI, common schemas for querying and results presentation, and query exchange language, e.g. QEL. The paper particularly focuses on how heterogeneous nodes can be made interoperable by reusing generalizations of mediating components –building blocks for a Smart Space for LearningThis work has been sponsored by the EU project ELENA & TENCompetenc

ISABEL Experimental Distributed Multimedia Application Experiments over Broadband Networks

This paper aims to show the benefits and the experiences of ISABEL application ??. The aim of ISABEL is to assess the benefits of New Distributed Multimedia Applications using Integrated Broadband Communications (IBC) to support modern cooperative services. In contrast to single user computer applications, distributed collaborative systems consists of both the interconnection technology and the people who are interconnected. ISABEL application has been developed inside ISABEL (I2001) and IBER (RACE 93117) projects, to demonstrate the real usage of ATM technology in two different fields: 1. The first one is a particular configuration of the ISABEL application specially devoted to offer computer support distance learning facilities. This Tele Education Application is developed in order to allow two types of tele-teaching. One oriented to individual training and the second oriented to support the real time remote distribution of a conference between big auditoriums. 2. The second is devoted to provide an advanced distributed multimedia application in the field of Computer Support Cooperative Work (CSCW). This application allows users to maintain computer support conference in order to exchange information, edit documents or distribute special presentations. This paper is devoted to summarize the application functionality and the main usage experiences in the filed of tele-education.