A CATV and internet combined framework for distance learning

Abstract

Web based learning enables more students to have a chance to access the distance learning resources. However, the early experience of using this new learning method in China exposes a few problems, among which the low quality video service is a serious one. This is caused by the difficulty to transfer high quality real-time video on the Internet because of the basic design of the Internet. In this paper, we present a CATV and Internet combined framework to tackle such problems. The framework allows students not only to have a high quality real-time video service, but also to interact with teachers via an interactive question-and-answer system. The main virtue of the framework is that it enables students to access distance learning anytime anywhere with both QoS guarantee and interactive capability. A prototype system based on this framework has already implemented and deployed for more than a year, and a full scale system will be put into running in the near future. © Springer-Verlag 2004.