WO2000041088A1 - System and method for interactive distance learning through real time videoconferencing - Google Patents

Abstract

A system for enabling the distribution of interactive distance learning services on an interactive, real-time videoconferencing platform is disclosed. Modern, low-cost telecommunications hardware is utilized in a point-to-multipoint context for providing interactive multimedia transport for distance learning. A number of subscribers, comprised of course offering providers (50), and receiving participants (52), are enlisted. An interactive graphical user interface (GUI) permits subscribers (52) to list or browse existing course offerings, or register participating sites with new course offerings by providing access to a linking clearinghouse, eliminating the need for individual institutions to arrange separate proprietary agreements for a single point-to-point course offering. Institutions can therefore reach more students, increasing tuition revenues. Course instructors receive some of the additional revenue providing incentives to have courses taught by superior faculty.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

System and Method for Interactive Distance Learning

Through Real Time Videoconferencing

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application no. 60/114,998, entitled System and Method for Interactive Distance Learning Through Real Time Videoconferencing, filed January 6, 1999.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

N/A

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Modern educational resources are becoming overburdened by the demand for additional curriculum. As more working adults pursue advanced degrees, and as an undergraduate degree becomes a de facto necessity, rather than a preferable credential, towards attaining entry level positions into the professional workforce, a corresponding demand for high-quality education has resulted.

Further, as such educational programs become more streamlined and focused towards specialized areas, a single institution may not be able to provide all the required curriculum to suit the educational goal of each student. Students are forced to cross register at affiliated institutions, to wait until a semester in which the course fits their schedule, to settle for a less desirable course, or altogether transfer to an alternate educational institution in order to accumulate an adequate array of courses to suit their educational endeavor. Such logistic and geographic complications do not lend themselves well to a challenged time management situation when burdens such as commuting and travel, two earner households, and child/elder care are commonplace.

At a time when demand for education is increasing, however, there is a reluctance on the part of some policy makers and taxpayers to invest heavily in new construction. Some have taken a position curtailing additional investment in building new higher education institutions, despite the fact that demographic trends suggest the need for new universities. It is imperative that these competing trends be addressed.

This demand for extension of the classroom through various technical means has resulted in a new, rapidly growing industry called "distance learning." Distance learning includes the use of modern teleconferencing equipment to enable a remote classroom facility. The rapid growth of distance learning is being driven by three distinct trends: (i) an older generation of students is showing a high degree of interest in improving their existing education; (ii) younger generations are eager to attain additional skills necessary to obtain better positions of employment; and (iϋ) community colleges and smaller universities that are financially unable to offer quality courses in the breadth and depth desired, now realize that such courses can be economically accessed from institutions around the world offering more specialized programs. One alternative is to increase the productivity of the existing infrastructure by delivering the education product to underutilized sites. Attempts to utilize technology to link students with classroom curriculum in a manner that is both geographically and time flexible include videotaping and cataloguing of courses, and televised lectures to remote satellite locations. A videotaped format, however, can be difficult for some students to focus on, due to the lack of interactivity, and is prone to distractions from the immediate surroundings. A unidirectional remote transmission lacks the charisma of an interactive discussion, and is not well received by some students.

While modern teleconferencing equipment can help alleviate the presentation and interactivity issues of videotape and transmitted mediums, the logistical complications associated with the use of such systems has typically been prohibitive for an educational context, especially for smaller colleges and community universities. The cost of assembling such a presentation has not been feasible for a small number of students.

Large scale commitment to a course required to justify such an endeavor, such as by enrollment of a number of students required to fill a large lecture hall, may be attainable only for a few basic prerequisite courses. In instances where telecommunications logistics can be justified, it is typically in a point-to-point context, such as through a proprietary relationship between two universities, or in an intramural context between two commonly owned subsidiary companies. These types of arrangements generally occur between two arms- length entities for specific high-demand course offerings, such as between a liberal arts and an engineering school which cooperatively share calculus and english courses. Further, such relationships typically arise merely by informal contacts between those charged with the administrative responsibilities at the respective institutions. There is no third party to facilitate a larger scale integration of course providers and participating sites. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A system for enabling the distribution of interactive distance learning services on an interactive, real time videoconferencing platform is disclosed. Modern high speed telecommunications equipment allows low cost teleconferencing hardware to be utilized in a point- to-multipoint context providing high-quality interactive multimedia transport for distance learning. A number of subscribers, comprised of both course offering institutions, or providers, and receiving sites, or participants, are enlisted. An interactive graphical user interface (GUI) permits subscribers to list or browse new course offerings and to register participating sites for offered courses. This user interface provides access to a clearinghouse linking course offerings and participating sites, eliminating the need for individual institutions to arrange separate proprietary agreements for a single point-to-point course offering. Through an established listing of course offerings, subscribing institutions can quickly peruse options to fill gaps in their own course offerings. Course offering institutions can therefore reach more students, increasing tuition revenues. Instructors of such courses also receive a percentage of the additional tuition, thereby providing an incentive to have such courses taught by superior faculty. Finally, administrative and logistic complications such as credit worthiness, scheduling, attendance, and equipment are mitigated by having such a prearranged organization of subscribers and course offerings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING The invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following detailed description and drawing, of which: Fig. 1 is a context diagram of the interactive distance learning clearinghouse system and method as described herein;

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the system delivering a course to three participating sites;

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of offering sites and participating sites showing the duality of a single institution being both an offering site and a participating site for different courses; Fig. 4 shows a flowchart depicting selection of a course by a participant through the distance learning clearinghouse;

Fig. 5 shows establishment of a communication link via the clearinghouse for delivering a course to a participant;

Fig. 6 shows a subscriber profile entry screen used to populate the provider and participant databases; and

Fig. 7 shows a course profile entry screen used to populate the course database.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The distance learning system as described herein provides a facility which acts as a clearinghouse for universities, schools, and businesses to offer and receive courses through a telecommunications multipoint bridge. Detailed course offerings are accessible through an interactive interface such as a point-and-click application.

The system is based on the premise that the most effective form of distance learning is through the instructor having the ability to easily exchange the educational product encompassed in the traditional lecture form with remote site students as easily as with co-located students. Spoken words, hand gestures, pre- printed transparent slides, and printed notes can be effectively transmitted by this system. Videoconferencing equipment, which can automatically track the instructor in front of the class, and which can include other inputs such as a high quality document camera, PC video display, or other audio/visual signals, provides real time audio, video, and media control information to multiple sites through a telecommunications multipoint bridge, such as the Video Context Orchestrator by Compunetix, Inc. of Monroeville, Pennsylvania. Such a telecommunications multipoint bridge allows high speed multimedia throughput sufficient for interactive real time presentation over a low cost telecommunications transport medium such as ISDN. Such telecommunications lines are available in many locations and are continually being expanded at installation and access costs comparable to a standard business telephone line. The wider bandwidth provided by modern telecommunication lines such as ISDN supports a significant improvement in frames per second as compared to standard telephone lines. A low-cost telecommunications medium such as an ISDN bridge therefore provides point-to-multipoint interactive teleconferencing ability which promotes sufficient participation across multiple sites to assure financial feasibility of the distance learning system. Alternative communications media include optical transmission pathways and wireless communication lines, including satellite links.

The use of such telecommunications lines for distance learning is complemented by portable, lightweight videoconferencing equipment such as the PictureCom system Vega 1000. Such equipment works in conjunction with a standard television or monitor, and provides ample audio and video quality even when using standard televisions. Subscriber institutions need not make additional investments in expensive high-resolution monitors in order to participate in the distance learning offerings .

In this manner, the distance learning system brings together two groups by creating a readily accessible supplier and consumer environment. The first group includes all the institutions wishing to market their faculty and course material; the second group comprises institutions having a need and desire for such courses in order to better serve their student population. It is further expected that a subscriber institution would often function as both a course offeror, or provider, and as a participant, or consumer, for available course offerings .

The system as described herein provides both the telecommunications linkage and the incentives to establish distance learning in a financially feasible and understandable methodology. This linkage is provided using readily available, low cost, videoconferencing equipment, and high speed multimedia transport such as that provided by ISDN, CATV and/or satellite communications pathways to connect multiple locations through a bridge which provides transparent point-to- multipoint communication between the offering site and multiple participating sites. This system is platform- independent in the expectation that the hardware and software technology will become transparent in the distance learning process, and that manufacturers of applicable videoconferencing equipment will recognize a need to remain compliant with such a system, and therefore maintain costs while avoiding technological obsolescence.

This linkage therefore provides an environment in which the parties can interactively relate to one another in various contexts such as: (i) instructor/student, as in an interactive classroom setting; (ii) instructor/student or project team such as in an interactive task oriented situation, e.g. training on the assembly, maintenance and/or operation of a device or series of devices; or (iii) a multipoint team with a specific assignment to accomplish some plan, objective or other project in a cooperative manner.

Built on top of this telecommunications linkage is the distance learning system providing a clearinghouse to facilitate the exchange of videoconferencing courses between educational center providers and participating sites worldwide. The telecommunications support which links course providers and participating sites ensures that both entities achieve the maximum benefit of the exchange in a cost-feasible manner. GUI access through a publicly accessible network such as the Internet assures efficient user access to available course data, and expedient course supplier access to promote new offerings. The existence of an in-place network of proprietary subscribers assures a ready volume of course material and an adequate number of participating sites to justify transmission medium costs. This system therefore provides a necessary service to educational institutions, students, businesses and other organizations wishing to provide or receive educational programs.

Referring to Fig. 1, the distance learning system 10 as described herein therefore functions as a clearinghouse 16 which attracts a number of subscribers comprised of course providers 12 and participating sites 14. As the telecommunications linkage is of nominal expense, financial feasibility is achieved by per-course charges to the participating site, which can then charge normal tuition rates to participating students. It is expected that only a relatively small number of students need enroll at each remote site in order to cover the per-course charge. The offering institution would likely receive a flat fee, with a percentage going to the instructor as an incentive. A further percentage is retained as profit by the operator of the distance learning clearinghouse system. Fee structures would be both lucrative to the offering institutions to induce participation, and comparable to the cost of providing a live instructor at a participating site. However, fee structures could be altered to induce participation by offering sites, particularly as an initial incentive to accumulate a strong base of subscribers.

Such a pre-arranged fee structure helps to provide subscriber institutions with assurances of financial feasibility. As the initial subscriber investment is expected to be viewed as minimal, and also since only a small amount of activity, either as a course offeror or as a participating site, is required to recoup initial costs, budgetary plans will not be upset by such participation. Further, student participation is assured by having access to a greater array of course offerings, and also by the interactive nature of the distance learning system. Since student tuition will not increase by electing a distance learning course, and since the interactive nature will serve to distinguish this system over unidirectional closed-circuit transmissions, or broadcasts of previously recorded offerings, distance learning courses will appeal as much as live lectures. Referring to Fig. 2, the interconnection of the telecommunications bridge is shown. This bridge 20 functions to link the offering institution 22 with one or more remote sites 24, and to arbitrate the media device control and informational data sent between the offering institution and the remote sites. Fig. 3 shows the multidirectional implementation of educational course offerings, illustrating how the same institution can function as both a course offeror and a participant site for different courses. University A 26 is a provider of course material to corporation Z 28, University A satellite location 30, and University D 32. University B 34 is both a course provider for University D 32 and University E 36, and a course participant for courses from University E 36. University C 38 is a participant for courses provided by University E 36. A flowchart of the course selection process as provided by the clearinghouse is shown in Fig. 4. A database of course providers is established, as shown at step 100. For each provider, a list of courses offered may be established in a course database, as depicted in step 102. Course data may include date and time information concerning the offered course. A new participant is entered in a participant database, as shown at step 104. At step 106, the participant browses through the available courses. Browsing is typically expected to be performed via the clearinghouse website via a publicly accessible network, such as the Internet.

A course is selected, as disclosed at step 108. The selected course is scheduled for a particular date and time for the participant location, as depicted at step 110. Alternatively, the course schedule may be established in the subscription database by negotiation between the offeror and the participant. Other participants may elect to receive the same course, as repeated at steps 108 and 110. A telecommunications link is established between the provider and all participants, as shown at step 112. The scheduled course is later transmitted to the participant site(s), as disclosed in step 114. The latter step includes the ability to transmit a multimedia presentation from the offeror to the participant, as well as multimedia response and participation from the participant to the offeror.

Fig. 5 shows the establishment of a distance learning communications link as defined herein. A plurality of providers 50 are identified which are adapted to provide course offerings. A plurality of participants 52 are adapted to receive course offerings. A provider database 54 contains pertinent information about each provider, such as name of school, point of contact, and enrollment data. Each provider may be associated with one or more courses stored in a course database 56. The course database 56 stores data concerned with each course, such as time, place, cost, credits, and limitations on participants capable of interacting with the instructor. A participant database stores information concerned with each participant entity entitled to receive courses through the clearinghouse.

As indicated above, a particular entity may be both a participant and a provider.

As a participant elects to enroll to receive a course, a scheduler 60 stores an entry in a subscription database 62. The scheduler entry identifies the provider from the provider database 54, the course time and place from the course database 56, and the participant that is to receive the course from the participant database 58. Since the received course is specific to the site, individual student attendees need not be specified. The participant receiving the course determines the course attendees. Other data may also be stored, such as the transport mechanism which is to be used for transmission of the course material. Additional participant sites may also be scheduled in the subscription database 62, up to the maximum number of remote sites designated to receive a particular course.

At the time designated by the scheduler entry in the subscription database, the scheduler establishes a link between the provider 50 and the participant sites 52. As mentioned above, a point-to-multipoint link 64 is established to provide audio and visual communication between the provider 50 and one or more participants 52.

The link should support audio and video transmission at a rate which appears substantially real time, and may be via the ISDN point-to-multipoint bridge, Internet, direct line, or other suitable means. The initial scheduling, however need not be real time and may be done via Internet, voice, phone, fax, or other real time or non- real time means. Figs. 6 and 7 show further GUI screens which serve to introduce prospective subscriber institutions to the distance learning system through an interactive point- and-click medium such as an Internet browser. These screens can be used to populate the provider database 54, the participant database 58, and the course database 56.

Fig. 6 is a subscriber entry form for new subscribers to enter pertinent required information to the distance learning system. Fig. 7 is a course profile entry form for offering institutions to list information about course offerings. The illustrated data may also be entered into the appropriate databases manually.

Membership in the clearinghouse allows colleges to cost effectively extend their course offerings through interactive, high-quality real time videoconferencing bridged to other businesses, high schools, and branches while compensating their staff for submitting their courses to the clearinghouse. In order to offer a course to other colleges or businesses, subscribing colleges or businesses must meet the following requirements: 1. membership in the clearinghouse; and 2. a classroom containing the standardized delivery system to support interactive videoconferencing at the minimum quality of 15 frames/second (128KB) with a high- quality document camera. Suitable transport means include the Internet, dedicated line, or wireless transport mediums. Subscribing college course providers may send unlimited courses to the clearinghouse website.

For each course, the provider supplies detailed information of each course being offered, a syllabus, credit information, and logistical details. The foregoing information is made available on the clearinghouse website. In one embodiment, provider colleges earn a per-credit fee for each college that accepts the course being offered. Provider colleges also earn a per-semester hour non-credit fee for each business that accepts the course being offered up to 48 non-interactive locations. In this embodiment, colleges are encouraged to share 30% of the fees received with instructors as an incentive. Other fee arrangements may exist in other embodiments. A participant site, either a college or a business, requires a facility containing a standardized delivery system of a minimum of 15 frame/second (128K) interactive videoconferencing unit with or without a quality document camera. For college credit courses, a per-credit fee must be submitted with a completed registration to the clearinghouse two weeks prior to the course for up to 12 locations, in one embodiment. For business courses, a per-semester hour fee must be submitted for up to 48 locations for this embodiment. There is no limit to the number of students which may attend the class at each location. Participant sites may charge any fee at their discretion for attending students, and the issuance of credit is at the discretion of the receiving college. Again, other fee arrangements may exist in other embodiments.

A college or business membership requires a flat fee per year, which includes posting of a predetermined number of course offerings on the clearinghouse website.

Additional locations or departments may participate for a reduced yearly fee. There is no additional charge for a member, or subscribing, institution to send a course. In an exemplary embodiment, to receive a videoconferencing course from other providers, a per- credit hour fee for 15 hourly meetings is required, or a flat hourly rate for business subscribers. As mentioned above, the provider institution may elect to charge fees at their discretion to students. A percentage of the fee charged to students will be retained by the clearinghouse .

As various extensions, modifications, and business incentive offerings may be apparent to those skilled in the art, the distance learning system as defined herein is not intended to be limited except as by the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A method of providing distance learning between a plurality of course offering sites and a plurality of remote participating sites comprising the steps of: establishing a clearinghouse of course offerings, the clearinghouse having limited access; enrolling subscriber institutions; identifying subscriber institutions that want to offer courses and which courses those are; providing financial incentives to said subscriber institutions to offer said courses; making the offered courses available, through the clearinghouse, to other subscribers; identifying subscriber institutions that want to participate in at least one of said offered courses; linking said offering subscriber institutions to said participating subscriber institutions.

2. A method of distance learning comprising the steps of: receiving a list of subscribers including at least one course provider and at least one participating site; receiving, for each of said at least one course provider, at least one course offering; storing, at a clearinghouse server, said list of subscribers and said at least one course offering; presenting, to at least one of said participating site, a list of courses from said at least one course offering from said clearinghouse server; receiving, from said at least one participating site, an election of at least one of said courses; providing a high speed multimedia telecommunications bridge for enabling communication between said course provider and each of said at least one participating site; transmitting simultaneously, over said telecommunications bridge, between said course provider and each of said at least one participating site, interactive instructional data comprising educational material and media control signals, wherein said media control signals are adapted to manipulate multimedia input and output devices; and arbitrating, through said telecommunications bridge, said instructional data between said at least one participating site and said course provider.

3. A system for implementing a distance learning marketplace, comprising: a provider database for identifying at least one provider of distance learning courses; a course database for identifying at least one course offered by said at least one provider; a participant database for identifying at least one participant to whom said offered courses may be provided.

4. The distance learning marketplace of claim 3 further comprising a communication interface to said provider database, said course database, and said participant database, said interface adapted to transmit over a public access network.

5. The distance learning marketplace of claim 3 further comprising a scheduler operable to communicate with said provider database, said course database, and said participant database to enable selective transfer of course content to a participant.

6. The distance learning marketplace of claim 5 further comprising a teleconferencing input/output device associated with said provider and each of said participants and operable to transmit said course content.

7. The distance learning marketplace of claim 5 further comprising a teleconferencing bridge for selectively linking said provider with said participants based on output from said scheduler.

8. The distance learning marketplace system of claim 3 further comprising: a transmitting station adapted to transmit instructional data over a telecommunications link; at least one receiving station adapted to receive said instructional data; a media bridge adapted to receive said instructional data from said communications link and adapted to selectively transmit said instructional data simultaneously to each of said at least one receiving stations .