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Collaborative Technologies in International Distance Education. UW Center for Collaborative Technologies. Richard Anderson, Ruth Anderson, Natalie Linnell, Fred Videon Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
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Collaborative Technologies in International Distance Education UW Center for Collaborative Technologies Richard Anderson, Ruth Anderson, Natalie Linnell, Fred Videon Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, USA {anderson, rea, linnell, fred}@cs.washington.edu Mansoor Pervaiz, Umar Saif Department of Computer Science, Lahore University of Management Science, Lahore, Pakistan {umar, mpervaiz}@lums.edu.pk
Outline • Project Overview: Goals & Challenges • Technology Employed • ConferenceXP • Classroom Presenter • Findings and Lessons Learned
Seattle – Pakistan, Spring 2008 • Masters Level Computer Science Class • University of Washington • Lahore University of Management Science • Microsoft • Class Topic: “Computing for the Developing world”
The Goal Achieve an interactive class across distance and culture
Challenges/Benefits • Challenges • Network bandwidth and latency to LUMS • Important not to degrade experience for UW & Microsoft students • Time zone • Benefits • Engaged faculty member present at LUMS • International perspective of high value
ConferenceXP • Platform for real-time collaboration • High quality, low latency multipoint conferencing • Targeted for standard PC and high quality network • Works with commodity cameras and audio equipment • Built-in collaboration tools including presentation, whiteboard , screen sharing, video playback, chat
Overview of ConferenceXP • Began at Microsoft Research in 2001 • Numerous successful deployments for distance learning, 2003-present • UW Center for Collaborative Technology established July 2007 to continue project • Shared Source License: Free download for Research & Educational use
Classroom Presenter • TabletPC-Based Distributed Presentation System • Instructor navigation and annotation on local and remote displays • Open Source License • Students contributed to class using digital ink • Students installed software on their laptops/tablets • Instructor reviewed/displayed/annotated/discussed student work • Promotes active learning
Student Submissions Workflow 1 Students Instructor Public Display
Student Submissions Workflow 2 Students Instructor Public Display
Student Submissions Workflow 3 Students Instructor Public Display
Student Submissions Workflow 4 Students Instructor Public Display
Distributed Classroom: 2 Sites ConferenceXP Video cameras Video cameras PMP VENUE Audio Audio Video Displays Video Displays Speakers Speakers UW Microsoft Archiver Student Tablets Student Tablets CP Display CP Instructor CP Display Classroom Presenter
3-Way Architecture Microsoft LUMS CP CP High BW Venue Low BW Venue Archiver UW CP CP Server
Project Results • High connectivity 9 out of 10 classes • One lecture originated from Pakistan • Only failure was on the UW-Microsoft Link (which also brought down UW-Pakistan) • Some early audio issues • Participation of students from Pakistan • Student activities were a positive factor • Audio latency a negative factor • Multiple rounds of audio communication
Key Lessons for Deployment • Participants at all sites must have incentive • Instructor must make an effort to create multisite interaction • Active participants at remote site help • Audio is very important, and hardest to get right • Time zones and scheduling are major issues
Acknowledgements • Major support provided by Microsoft Research External Research and Programs • Jay Beavers, Jane Prey, Randy Hinrichs, Chris Moffatt, Jaime Puente, Lolan Song, Sailesh Chutanai, Tom Healy Jason Van Eaton, Tony Hey, Harry Shum, Paul Oka, Steve Wolfman, Ken Yasuhara, Ruth Anderson, Craig Prince, Valentin Razmov, Natalie Linnell, Krista Davis, Jonathon Su, Sara Su, Peter Davis, Tammy VanDeGrift, Joe Tront, Alon Halevy, Gaetano Borriello, Ed Lazowska, Hal Perkins, Susan Eggers, David Notkin, Andrew Whitaker, Richard Anderson, Rod Prieto, Oliver Chung, Crystal Hoyer, Beth Simon, Joe Tront, Eitan Feinberg, Julia Schwarz, Jim Fridley, Tom Hinkley, Ning Li, Jing Li, Luo Jie, Jiangfeng Chen, Melody Kadenko, Julie Svendsen, Shannon Gilmore, Umar Saif, Mansoor Pervaiz, Jim Vanides
Resources & Contacts Richard Anderson, Ruth Anderson, Natalie Linnell, Fred Videon Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, USA {anderson, rea, linnell, fred}@cs.washington.edu Mansoor Pervaiz, Umar Saif Department of Computer Science, Lahore University of Management Science, Lahore, Pakistan {umar, mpervaiz}@lums.edu.pk UW Center for Collaborative Technologies: cct@cs.washington.edu, http://cct.cs.washington.edu