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we focus on flexibly changing screen layouts for each
participant in a class according to the current learn-
ing situation. We propose a new distance learning
system that provides: (1) a mechanism that adapts
the screen layout for each user according to the situa-
tion of learning and teaching, and the role of the user,
such as a lecturer, listener or group member; and (2)
a mechanism that helps teachers and sometimes stu-
dents to monitor other students.
This paper is organized as follows. In Section 2
we present related works in the area of distance learn-
ing. In Section 3 we present a brief overview of our
proposed system, and in Section 4 show the imple-
mentation of the system. In Section 5 we discuss the
results of an evaluation of the proposed system in ex-
perimental classes. Finally, in Section 6 we conclude
this paper.
2 RELATED WORK
Distance learning can be roughly grouped into two
styles: the asynchronous style and the synchronous
style. In asynchronous distance learning, students can
study anytime and anywhere, using archived videos.
They can communicate with teachers and classmates
via e-mails and internet forums. In synchronous dis-
tance learning, participants in different places attend
a class at the same time and communicate with each
other in real time via video conferencing. In this study
we focus on synchronous distance learning.
As we noted in Section 1, the latest distance learn-
ing systems are based on video conferencing sys-
tems (Polycom, inc., 2010; Microsoft Corp., 2010),
with some additional functions for learning activities,
such as text chat, screen sharing and response analysis
(Adobe, inc., 2010). These systems often assume that
teaching is in the traditional lecture style, in which
mainly a teacher speaks and students only passively
listen. Much research for distance learning systems
assumes lectures in this traditional style. In (Roesler
et al., 2009), the authors focus on a mechanism for ef-
ficient delivery of video and audio from the lecturer to
the students. In (Shi et al., 2002), the authors propose
a Smart Classroom that offers several user interfaces
to facilitate lecturing activity of a teacher in distance
learning, delivering proper lecturing information to
remote students. But these systems are not designed
for various learning situations but only for the tradi-
tional lecture style.
On the other hand, a 3D virtual environmentis one
of the recent approaches for distance learning (Mon-
ahan et al., 2008; Gupta and Kaiser, 2004). Some re-
search has also used the 3D virtual environment Sec-
ond Life for distance learning (Ritzema and Harris,
2008; Pham et al., 2008). In a class with a 3D virtual
environment, representations of all participants and
the classrooms are constructed with computer graph-
ics. The participants can communicate with each
other and perform many kinds of learning activities in
the virtual world. It is easy for participants to recog-
nize the current learning situation. Visualization with
3D computer graphics enables participants to perform
learning activities in ways that are similar to activities
in real classes (Bouras et al., 2004a; Bouras et al.,
2004b). For example, some of the participants can
perform group work by making their avatars gather at
a particular room in the virtual world, so that they can
work independently of other participants, hiding the
activities of other groups. However, some systems
of this kind require a lot of operations of users, and
some people may have difficulties in performing the
required operations. Moreover, it is difficult to convey
awareness information through 3D graphics.
The two kinds of learning methods described
above, video conferencing systems and 3D virtual en-
vironments, are suitable for different situations. The
differences come from differences in the information
displayed on the computer screen. This implies that
if the users can change the information displayed ac-
cording to the learning situation, the learning system
would be suitable for various learning situations. In
this paper, we mainly focus on this viewpoint, and we
develop a distance learning system that allows users
to easily change the information displayed according
to the learning situation and the roles of the users in
the class.
3 THE PROPOSED SYSTEM
In this section, we describe the environment, an
overview, and example use of the proposed distance
learning system.
3.1 Assumed Environment
In this subsection, we explain the operating environ-
ment, the assumed learning situations, and the usage
of the proposed system.
Operating Environment
We assume that one or more teachers use the proposed
system at a time, and in a lecture they teach in front
of a white-board or a screen while using a computer
connected to the network to see a computer display
on which student information is displayed. Teachers
use cameras, keyboards, mice and/or microphones as
input devices.
A DISTANCE LEARNING SYSTEM WITH CUSTOMIZABLE SCREEN LAYOUTS FOR MULTIPLE LEARNING
SITUATIONS
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