WebELS: Realizing e-learning for Higher Education in Low-Speed Internet Environment

WebELS: Realizing e-Learning for Higher Education in Low-Speed Internet

Environment

Arjulie John BERENA Sila CHUNWIJITRA Mohamed OSAMNIA Hitoshi OKADA Haruki UENO

23-27 October 2013, Osaka, Japan

A Project of National Institute of Informatics 2-1-2 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 101-8430, Japan http://webels.ex.nii.ac.jp

WebELS ®

Web-based E-Learning System

1. Background of the Project 2. Related Studies and Technologies 3. WebELS Learning as Asynchronous Approach 4. WebELS Meeting as Synchronous Approach 5. System Evaluation 6. Practical Usage 7. Conclusion

Contents


Contents

1. Background of the Project

WebELS is an e-Learning/e-Meeting platform to support

flexibility and globalization of higher education as well as flexible business communication. WebELS has two subsystems – Learning and Meeting Systems. It is distributed as an Open-source Software (OSS).

WebELS Learning supports

asynchronous e-learning approach by means of an on-demand voice-based and video-based content with powerful authoring features.

WebELS Meeting supports synchronous

e-learning approach by means an online multimedia presentation, video conferencing and chat messaging.

WebELS (Web-based E-Learning System) is a project of the National Institute of Informatics in Tokyo, Japan.

Download


WebELS Main Server http://webels.ex.nii.ac.jp

WebELS Service Site http://webels.ex.nii.ac.jp/service

Service Forum News

Motivation of the Project Lifelong education* is definitely required for sustainable technological growth and

development in the points of view of individual and the nation. Knowledge learned at universities become out-of-date in shorter years, and researchers, engineers and technologists are required to obtain new knowledge continuously after graduation.

The social demand for graduate students and company employees to pursue higher education is not meet in the traditional classroom-based education due to cost, time and location limitations.

The recent growth of Internet technologies has paved the way for restructuring the educational system from the traditional classroom-based method to the use of information and communications technology (ICT) as a support system.

There is an increasing number higher educational institutions (HEI) adopting ICT in education for delivering various educational programs, such as continuous education, online academic lecture, online meeting and similar activities.

*H. Ueno, “Internet-Based Distance Learning for Lifelong Engineering Education - A Personal View and Issues”, Journal of Information and Systems in Education, Vol.1, No.1, 2002, pp. 45-52.


Motivation of the Project However, there are challenges in the successful implementation of an e-Learning

system.

Some instructors are conservative on introducing e-Learning as some of them do not have the necessary IT skills.

Some systems have complex method of creating and updating an e-Learning course demanding time and effort, and usually requires an instructional designer with an IT skills.

Scarcity of educational content in higher education in science and technology, coupled with issues on security and exclusivity of educational resources.

In the case of an online lecture or meeting, video streaming requires high-bandwidth network for providing better quality. Thus, the usability of an e-Learning system in low bandwidth environment is limited in this situation.


Motivation of the Project A new system must support:

A variety of asynchronous and synchronous e-Learning activities such as on-demand learning for self-learning, online meeting for multi-location group discussion and online lecture for real-time remote lecture distribution.

Easy-to-use course authoring tool that can integrate various media such as slide presentation, image, audio, and video data.

Course management for allowing instructors to assign permission to courses visible only to specific viewer group.

Contents management for archiving and dissemination of multimedia contents on the Internet.

Usage in low bandwidth environment such as a dial-up line to reach a wider range of users especially in developing countries such as in Asia and Africa.


Graduate students are research partners whose activities involved research meetings, presentation in conferences, online collaboration through discussions with professors and other researchers in academe and industries.

Requires powerful authoring tool so that professors and students alike can create and edit their own presentation materials on their personal computers.

Utilization of various contents in the form of PDF, PPT and other office documents for personal and shared use on various operating systems, such as Windows, Mac OS and Linux.

Slide-based presentation materials and multimedia support such as audio and video.

Online annotation to a previously done presentation material by professors and colleagues during meeting and discussions.


Characteristics of Higher Education


Contents

ICT in Education

For Basic/Undergraduate Education

• Learning Management System (LMS) - Ex. Moodle, Blackboard, etc.

For Higher Education

• Content Management System (CMS)

• Webminar (Ex. WebEx, Polycom, Adobe Connect, etc.)

Online Presentations Tools

Screen-sharing (Ex. GoToMeeting, WebEx, Skype, etc.)

Document-sharing (Ex. Google Docs, SlideRocket, AuthorStream, etc.)

Video conferencing Systems

Tele-conferencing system (Ex. Polycom, AT&T Connect, etc.)

• Requires specific hardware device

Web-conferencing (Ex. Skype, Adobe Connect, etc.)

• Peer-to-peer, high cost

2. Related Studies and Technologies

Features of WebELS Learning

Audio-based and video-based content authoring

On-demand self-learning

User and content management

Support on low-bandwidth environment

Features of WebELS Meeting

Multipoint video conferencing

Online multimedia slide presentation

Chat messaging

User privileges such as admin, chairman, presenter and default listener

Group-based user management

Support on low-bandwidth environment

2. Related Studies and Technologies

WebELS is an all-in-one system that supports a hybrid e-Learning system where the activities of both asynchronous and synchronous are combined

to improve the quality of online education.


Contents

3. WebELS Learning as Asynchronous Approach (1/9)

What is an asynchronous e-learning approach? Learners and teachers don’t have to be online at the same time.

Often facilitated by electronic media such as e-mail, discussion board, on-demand content, and downloadable documents.

Learners log on to an e-learning environment at any time which make it possible for them to combine education with work, family and other commitments.

Email Exchange

Message Boards

Discussion Groups

Self-paced Courses

Learners common activities:


WebELS Learning System Approach

Content Authoring – for creating and editing audio-based and video-based content to be distributed online using an easy-to-use authoring tool

Course management – for assigning permission to courses visible only to specific viewer group.

Contents management - for archiving and publishing of multimedia contents on the Internet.

User Management – for user registration according to user class, assigning viewers group, etc.

Lecturers Role

Learners Role

On-demand Self-Learning – browsing the content list and start to learn using the content created by the lecturers.


WebELS Learning System and the Audio-based Content Authoring


WebELS Learning System and the Video-based Content Authoring


Lecturer Learner

*Chunwijitra, S., Berena, A.J., Okada, H., & Ueno, H. (2013). “Advanced Content Authoring and Viewing Tools Using Aggregated Video and Slide Synchronization by Key Marking for Web-Based e-Learning System in Higher Education.” IEICE Transaction on Information and Systems, April 2013.

Video-based Authoring Tool Work Flow*


User Interface Design for the Authoring Tool*

1 – Slide navigator 2 – Raw video panel 3 – Slide preview panel 4 – Aggregated video preview panel 5 – Content information panel 6 – Editing control panel

*Ibid.


User Interface Design for the Viewing Tool*

1 – Aggregated video panel 2 – Slide panel 3 – Content information panel 4 – Control panel

Features: 1. Video streaming with adaptive buffering technique 2. Video setting available in low, medium and high quality 3. Cursor-video synchronization 4. Toggle slide and video display control 5. Zoom function for slide and video

*Ibid.


Concept of Video Stream and Slide Synchronization*

*Ibid.


User Class and Privileges

User Class Privileges

Admin 1. User Management (Add, Edit, Delete, Change Password)

2. Course Management (Create, Edit, Delete, View, Export, Import

Course and Assign Course View Permission to Students)

3. Group & Permission Management (Add and Delete Viewer Group,

Assign View Permission by User, Category and Course)

4. Category and Sub-Category Management (Add, Delete)

5. User Statistics (User access, etc.)

Faculty &

Staff

Course Management (Create, Edit, Delete, View, Export, Import

Course and Assign Course View Permission to Students)

Student View Online Course and Download Offline Viewer Course

Student View Online Course and Download Offline Viewer Course


Contents

4. WebELS Meeting as Synchronous Approach (1/8)

What is a synchronous e-learning approach? Learners and teachers have to be online at the same time.

Often facilitated by electronic media such as videoconferencing and chat messaging.

Learners log on to the system at a scheduled time. Since participants are online at the same time, it is more like of a social activity. Synchronous activity help learners feel like being involved rather than isolates.

Shared Presentation Board

Video Conferencing

Chat Messaging

Learners common activities:


WebELS Meeting System Approach

User Group Management – for user registration according to user class, assigning viewers group, etc.

Online Lecture – Real-time distance lecture with video streaming and multimedia presentation.

Online Meeting - Multipoint voice and video conferencing system with online multimedia presentation optimized for users in low-bandwidth environment.

Online Conference - Online distribution of academic conference with user privileges for presenter, chairman and admin.


Required Server Components

Linux OS (CentOS)

Java JDK

MySQL

Apache Tomcat

Red5

OpenOffice

Required Client Components

Software:

Multi-OS (Windows, Mac OS, Linux)

Multi-Browser (IE, Chrome, Firefox)

Adobe Flash Player Plugin

Hardware:

Web Camera

Microphone

WebELS Meeting System



Video Conferencing - Multipoint voice and video conferencing system

with small, wide and full-screen display layouts and automatic quality control optimized for users in low-speed network.

Small Video Layout Wide Video Layout



Online Multimedia Presentation - synchronized slide presentation that

supports image, scalable vector graphics (SVG), and video format.

Features: 1. Online annotation 2. Online Cursor 3. Offline Mode 4. Whiteboard 5. Zooming function



Online Conference User Roles – supports user roles for the online

conference such as admin to ensure the quality performance of the system, chairman to ensure the flow of the conference, and presenter to take control of the slide presentation.

Admin - can MUTE/UNMUTE the microphone and BLOCK/UNBLOCK the camera of selected user or all users except the presenter. Admin can also control the video display layout during the meeting/conference.

Chairman - can change the content for presentation distribution among the users during the meeting/conference.

Presenter - has the full control of the slide presentation such as slide changing, annotation, zooming, adding new files and other functions during the meeting/conference.


Other Features of WebELS Meeting

Chat Messaging - Text messaging between meeting participants.

Group-based user management system - Members belonging to the same group have common user ID and password

Content-centered platform - Content creation is pre-requisite for starting a meeting/conference

Support on Low-speed Internet - The minimum bandwidth requirement for a user to connect to the system is 100Kbps.


WebELS Meeting Server

Browser Meeting Server

• Apache Tomcat

• Red5

• MySQL

WebELS Client (Presenter)

1 REQUEST: Meeting Panel

2 DOWNLOAD

3

Meeting

Panel

Initialize

77

SHARED OBJECT: Slide

1

8

N

Browser

WebELS Client (Listener)

2 DOWNLOAD

Meeting

Panel

LOAD Content

4

5

N

Receive Shared Object

from the server. Send SHARED OBJECT

Data for every slide event.

Event

Event

Event

Broadcast S.O.

REQUEST: Meeting Panel

4 LOGIN

Authenticate 5

RESPONSE

6 BROADCAST VIDEO STREAM

SHARED OBJECT: Annotation

RecvS.O.

SHARED OBJECT: Slide

LOGIN

RESPONSE Authenticate

3

Initialize

6 RECEIVE STREAM

7 RECEIVE SHARED OBJECT

RECEIVE SHARED OBJECT Execute

Execute

Display Video Red5 Input

Stream

Red5 Output

Stream

RecvS.O.

RecvS.O. Broadcast S.O.

WebELS Meeting System Work Flow


Contents

5. System Evaluation

N1 N2 N3

WebELS Video Streaming Server

Receive Data

(N1, N2, N3)

Sent Data

N1 N2 N3

1 Upstream

2 Downstreams

2 Upstreams

6 Downstreams

1 Upstream

2 Downstreams

1 Upstream

2 Downstreams

N1 N2 N3

WebELS Video Streaming Server

Receive Data

(N1, N2, N3)

Sent Data

N1 N2 N3

1 Upstream

2 Downstreams

2 Upstreams

6 Downstreams

1 Upstream

2 Downstreams

1 Upstream

2 Downstreams

Low-Quality Bitrate = 50kbps

Medium-Quality Bitrate = 80 kbps

High-Quality Bitrate = 100 kbps

Video Stream for Various Quality

We implemented automatic Video Quality control based on the detected bandwidth.


Server Uplink/Downlink Bandwidth for Face-to-Face Meeting and Broadcast Mode


User Acceptance Evaluation

Questionnaire: 18 questions (8 – authoring function, 6 - viewing function, 4 - overall system) Survey Respondents: 73 (9 –instructors, 64 – students) from Japan, Thailand, Algeria, Indonesia, China, Philippines) Measurement Tool: Likert Scale (Strongly Disagree – 1, Disagree – 2, Neither – 3, Agree – 4, Strongly Agree – 5) Factors of Interest: Usefulness, Ease-of-Use, User Satisfaction


Summary of Survey Result

Rating Scale Functions User Acceptance Factors

User

satisfation

(%)

Usefulness

(%)

Ease-of-use

(%)

Strongly disagree Authoring 0 0 0 Viewing 0 0 0 Overall System 0 0 0

Disagree Authoring 2.74 1.83 1.71 Viewing 1.37 1.37 1.37 Overall System 2.74 2.05 1.37

Neither agree nor

disagree

Authoring 26.03 22.83 27.4 Viewing 26.94 21.92 27.4 Overall System 27.4 28.05 30.14

Agree Authoring 39.73 42.92 41.1 Viewing 41.55 38.36 39.73 Overall System 41.1 39.73 39.73

Strongly agree Authoring 31.51 32.44 29.79 Viewing 30.14 38.36 31.51 Overall System 28.77 30.14 28.77


Contents

6. Practical Usage

Remote Viewers

Server Conference Presentation

Client (Chairman)

Client (Individual Listener)

Client (Group Listener)

Client (Admin)

Client (Presenter)

Conference Session

Online Distribution of an Academic Conference

6. Practical Usage

NII, Japan and NECTEC, Thailand

1s AASEF Conference,Nagoya,JP e-CC Symposium, Japan NII, JP

Distance Lecture between NII, JP and Tsinghua, China


Contents

7. Conclusion

This paper has presented a Web-based e-Learning System (WebELS) for higher education in low bandwidth Internet environment. Specifically, it has introduces the following:

WebELS Learning System that supports asynchronous e-Learning activities such as on-demand self-learning using audio-based and video-based content. It has an easy-to-use authoring tool that can help lecturers create and edit their content out of recorded video and slide presentation using video synchronization methodology by key-marking.

WebELS Meeting System that supports synchronous e-Learning activities such as online meeting for group discussion, online lecture for distance lecture, and online distribution of an academic conference. The system has a video conferencing system, online synchronized multimedia presentation, chat messaging, and other functions. Online synchronization in our context refers to real-time mirroring of slide presentation between the presenter and listeners. Video conferencing system provides face-to-face environment between the presenter and listeners.

System evaluation proves that the system can work well in low bandwidth Internet environment. Survey results also shows that the system have higher user acceptance rate among the 73 respondents.

Thank you for your attention !!!