Full HTML for

Basic foilset Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training

Given by Geoffrey C. Fox at SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama on September 8 1999. Foils prepared September 13 1999
Outside Index Summary of Material

We describe the technology components that are needed to support distance education and training
  • We describe integration of asynchronous and synchronous/interactive learning
  • We describe role of databases, Java Applets and different authoring packages
  • We describe Role of Tango as delivery vehicle of a model of Web-based Education and Training
This model will succeed because it will provide more cost effective and higher quality learning environments
Greater use of emerging standards such as XML will improve situation

Table of Contents for full HTML of Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training

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1 Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and Training
2 Abstract of Tango and Training Technology
3 Challenge and Opportunity in Education and Training
4 Why use Distance Education and Training?
5 Traditional Model of Instruction
6 Better Model of Instruction
7 Courses at Jackson State
8 Architecture of Tango Distance Education
9 Sample 1999 Java Academy Certificate
10 NPAC is Popular with AltaVista .....
11 The Ingredients of Web Based Education
12 Role of Collaborative Objects in Education
13 Shared Form Illustrated by Shared Access to NCSA Biology Workbench showing how general server objects can be shared from web interface
14 Universal Shared Object Strategy
15 Applications of Web-based Collaboration
16 Learning and Teaching the Curricula I
17 Learning and Teaching the Curricula II
18 What does Tango Interactive Provide?
19 So what do you do I?
20 So what do you do II?
21 Design and Architecture of Curricula Material
22 4 Approaches to Authoring of Back End Resource I
23 4 Approaches to Authoring of Back End Resource II
24 What's wrong with Java Clients?
25 Shared Simulations -- Fluid Flow and Planetary Motion
26 JavaScript Shared Browser with Dynamic HTML I -- "Pure" Client Event
27 Managing the Curricula I
28 Managing the Curricula II
29 LecCorder Lecture Recorder
30 WebWisdomDB Web linked Database
31 Current NPAC Grading Database used to register Syracuse and Online Courses
32 Tango Status / Futures ?
33 New Enterprise Models for Universities?
34 Where are we in Distance Education?

Outside Index Summary of Material

HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 1 Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and Training

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
SURANET Meeting
Birmingham Alabama Sep 8 1999
Geoffrey Fox
Syracuse University
NPAC
111 College Place Syracuse NY 13244 4100
3154432163
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 2 Abstract of Tango and Training Technology

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
We describe the technology components that are needed to support distance education and training
  • We describe integration of asynchronous and synchronous/interactive learning
  • We describe role of databases, Java Applets and different authoring packages
  • We describe Role of Tango as delivery vehicle of a model of Web-based Education and Training
This model will succeed because it will provide more cost effective and higher quality learning environments
Greater use of emerging standards such as XML will improve situation
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 3 Challenge and Opportunity in Education and Training

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
Pervasive Communication Infrastructure (The Internet) and powerful new software technologies and concepts
  • Distributed Multimedia information on the Web
  • Web-linked Databases, Distributed Objects
  • Collaborative Systems
Can enable education and training with
  • Better curricula
  • New collaborative learning models
  • Different "business models" for universities and schools
Can also change/enable businesses, research, electronic societies
Need to implement so that
  • Can take advantage of the evolving web
  • Can be used by all independent of capabilities
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 4 Why use Distance Education and Training?

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
New and rapidly changing Academic Curriculum suggest the use of distance education as it will allow a few experts to deliver instruction to more students and this addresses both
  • The shortage of trained faculty
  • cost of developing new curriculum QUICKLY requires many students (say around 5-10 times traditional class) to amortize cost
Distance Education is technically sound based on web curricula-- both synchronously and asynchronously -- today with very robust clear implementations available over next 2 years
Both delivery mechanism and identification of knowledge nuggets (such as Internetics or computational science) that are smaller than a traditional degree suggests different approaches to certification
  • Courses are given, graded etc. by multiple organizations -- University integrate degrees?
Similar arguments for distance training with relative importance of synchronous and asynchronous learning differing by customer group
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 5 Traditional Model of Instruction

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
Professors
Students
Common Shared Books and Such Resources
Done separately for each class at each university
Often
Low
Quality
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 6 Better Model of Instruction

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
Professor at AVU
(AnyTown Virtual University)
with team of authoring specialists
Outside
Students
(dominant clientele)
Common Shared Books Web based Lecture Material
and Similar Resources
Institutions focussing on particular disciplines, teach a given class
to Students from Universities which provide beds and mentors
Possible local Students
INTERNET
Classes are
given by
AVU
to students
around
the state
(world)
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 7 Courses at Jackson State

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
Taught using Tango since fall 97 over Internet and defense high performance network DREN twice a week from Syracuse
  • Course material based on Syracuse Senior Undergraduate class CPS406(Web Technologies) and graduate classes CPS615/616/640 (Base Computational science/Internetics)
  • Curricula, Homework, Grading, Facilities done by Syracuse
  • Students get JSU NOT Syracuse Credit
Jackson State major HBC University with many computer science graduates
Do not compete with base courses but offer addon courses with "leading edge" material (Web Technology, modern scientific computing) which give JSU (under)graduates skills that are important in their career
  • Job fair employers liked Java Programming!
Needs guaranteed 30 (audio) to 100 (video) kilobits per second bandwidth
  • Use a proxy server or mirror site
  • Actually get around one megabit/sec Syracuse to Jackson State
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 8 Architecture of Tango Distance Education

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
NPAC Web Server
JSU Web Server
Java Tango Server
.......
Share URL's
Audio Video
Conferencing Chat Rooms
White Boards etc.
Address at JSU of Curriculum Page
Teacher's View of Curriculum Page
Student's View of Curriculum Page
Participants at JSU
Teacher/Lecturer at NPAC
.......
Java Sockets
HTTP
Java Control Clients
All Curricula placed on the Web
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 9 Sample 1999 Java Academy Certificate

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 10 NPAC is Popular with AltaVista .....

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 11 The Ingredients of Web Based Education

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
Assess and install the rapidly changing hardware and software technology infrastructure
Design of (possibly new as exploiting new possibilities) curricula
Authoring of material in curricula
Managing the material and students response to it including quizzes, grades and administration
Delivery of the material in a mix of self-paced (asynchronous), traditional (synchronous) or collaborative (interactive)
Good answers to all these components are pretty clear and these answers will match the evolution of web over next few years
  • The answers are not perfect but they will improve and they are already good enough and can be delivered at a distance
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 12 Role of Collaborative Objects in Education

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
Learning is an example of an activity which can be thought of in terms of objects (digital audio streams when you talk, books, homework, science fair exhibits) worked on alone or together -- either between students or students and teacher
  • digital "togetherness" is supported by collaboration technology
Collaboration can be synchronous as when individuals talk to each other
  • Objects or object properties are shared at same time
Or asynchronous when sharing is done at different times
I post a web page and you look at it later is a basic asynchronous sharing model while writing on a blackboard is hallowed synchronous model in teaching
All objects can be thought of as web pages as these are rendering of a server side object
  • e.g. web page form elements specify data base access or CGI Script
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 13 Shared Form Illustrated by Shared Access to NCSA Biology Workbench showing how general server objects can be shared from web interface

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
Shared Multiple List
Shared Buttons
Shared Text field
Shared Checkbox
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 14 Universal Shared Object Strategy

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
Assume teachers, students, engineers, shoppers, salespersons, families teach, learn, collaborate, buy, sell, socialize via electronic versions of traditional human interactions combined with shared objects expressed in XML and rendered as web pages
  • Most sharing is asynchronous and one usually wishes to share synchronously same material that one accesses asynchronously
  • objects can be (electronic) text books, aircraft designs and simulations, expensive jewelry or photos of grandchildren
Only shared event model (used in Tango) of sharing (collaboration) is capable of necessary efficiency and customization to each user
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 15 Applications of Web-based Collaboration

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
Multi Player Games: Use Chat Rooms and digital VTC to establish context
  • Share Java, JavaScript, VRML etc. games
  • Tango has Card Games, Othello, Chess, Snakes and Ladders
Crisis Management: Again use general tools (including whiteboard) and add shared maps and multimedia situation reports
Command and Control: Military, Test and Evaluation -- any real time control of complex system
  • support distributed experts who can be on call remotely and shared object is visualization of test results
Collaborative Computing and Engineering: Here specialized shared objects are CAD, simulation and planning tools
Socializing .....
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 16 Learning and Teaching the Curricula I

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
So the students need to learn the material and they may need some sort of help from a teacher or mentor
In self paced or asynchronous learning, student studies material in his or her own time and essence of this is a web site which may of course be generated from a back-end web-linked database
  • optimal for highly motivated mature students such as those in continuing education
  • electronic version of using a library
In synchronous learning, teacher selects material from website and delivers it in electronic virtual class rooms
  • Homework is set from same website which remains a base asynchronous resource
  • Natural when teachers insight delivers motivation and clarification of key material to student
  • electronic version of traditional classes
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 17 Learning and Teaching the Curricula II

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
In collaborative learning, teachers, assistants, students and the web resource interact in an electronic collaboration system
  • Seems particularly valuable in K-12 arena
  • Also natural model for collaborative research
Note systems like Lotus Notes are "just web-linked object brokers" from this point of view (and again should be avoided as not built around modern object models)
All approaches use basic asynchronous tools such as electronic mail, bulletin boards and searchable repositories
Can record synchronous sessions for later asynchronous replay
One need not chose any one approach as can support all of them with a (preferably database back ended) web site linked to a suite of collaboration tools
Note just as we can link asynchronous--synchronous--collaborative, we can also link education and training
  • Note modular educational objects naturally support smaller units of achievement certificates
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 18 What does Tango Interactive Provide?

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
Overall Management of a lecture viewed as part of a learning environment built around a Web Resource
Audio/Video Conferencing
Chat Rooms and electronic mail for synchronous and asynchronous messages
Shared Web Pages which can come from a database
Whiteboard for communicating visual material
Shared Java applets which can be embedded in web pages to allow interactive lesson components
API to interface specialized resources -- Planning Tools, GIS Systems, CAD, Visualization .. -- not necessary for training?
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 19 So what do you do I?

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
Author Curriculum using NO specialized systems or systems like WebCT that produce HTML or preferably XML
  • Use pure (D)HTML, PowerPoint with Java applets for necessary interactive components
  • Or put in database, (XML) file and map into above
  • For Java, interface to Tango API for sharing or automate with TangoBean
  • A Single Scrolled HTML Page is all you need
  • Internet Export of PowerPoint is all you need .....
Add pointers and other such "WebWisdom" helpful DHTML capabilities (we can provide a filter)
HTML Pages can be screenfuls (best?) or scrolled
Put material on Web Server or CDROM; intersperse with other asynchronous resources
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 20 So what do you do II?

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
Give your students URL of system
If desired use registration database
Set up necessary infrastructure with collection of individual machines and/or class rooms (PC's are best)
  • teacher should/could have multiple machines to provide less cluttered display
In a class room, establish proxy server and central machine for audio/video conferencing
  • Note Tango is useful just in a classroom as each student gets a better quality display than many central displays
Test system for
  • Correct installation of multimedia
  • Quality of Service
Decide on applications e.g. multiple chat rooms (teacher--students, "chitchat", "support") and their control
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 21 Design and Architecture of Curricula Material

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
So the architecture is that of a set of web accessible distributed objects which are designed to be as modular as possible
  • Natural size of basic "educational object" is about a screenfull
Initial design will be traditional -- include
  • Bunch of "foils" (electronic presentation)
  • Bunch of HTML pages (electronic book)
  • Bunch of multimedia dazzle (today's educational CDROM's)
  • The merger of above -- dynamic HTML and Java
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 22 4 Approaches to Authoring of Back End Resource I

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
In order of increasing sophistication; cost; preparation time and presumably also in increasing learning value
Note "Low-end" can be best solution in a case where curricula material is changing rapidly
  • Note Open University in England (best known distance education organization uses high-end asynchronous material and for this reason cannot quickly switch to Java for introductory CS course)
"Low-end" typified by simple HTML and PowerPoint. Of course hand written notes and postscript are even less sophisticated but these are getting less important.
"Enhanced Low-end" typified by audio or video over web pages. Not clear how editing is possible/desirable
  • This can be viewed as a pragmatic way of capturing details from the busy lecturer who does not have the time to carefully prepare a more sophisticated resource.
  • NPAC LecCorder technology institutionalizes this
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 23 4 Approaches to Authoring of Back End Resource II

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
"Medium End" such as WebCT, Campus product from Blackboard LLC, or Cornell Virtual Workshop where one provides knowledge at different levels of detail, glossaries, quizzes and dynamic instructional nuggets.
"Traditional High End" such as the classic Multimedia CDROM ( or its web equivalent) prepared by sophisticated authoring tools such as Macromedia Director and with possibly professionally produced videos.
These will move towards Web Standards using Web Video, Java plus Dynamic HTML and W3C based XML and DOM specification
Note clear to me if authoring of educational material will differ from that of "ordinary documents"
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 24 What's wrong with Java Clients?

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
There is no argument about Java the programming language -- there are some issues about Java the user interface builder
First there are the battles between Sun Netscape and Microsoft which makes Java on the client less robust than Java on the server
However Java allows to build totally general users interfaces and there appear to be no rules and nothing equivalent to style sheets in HTML/XML.
Thus it does not seem practical to build cross disability and cross rendering device interfaces for arbitrary Java applet interfaces
On the other JavaScript and dynamic HTML can do many things that you might have thought one needed Java for
General Java visual interfaces need languages such as UML to describe interface object model?
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 25 Shared Simulations -- Fluid Flow and Planetary Motion

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 26 JavaScript Shared Browser with Dynamic HTML I -- "Pure" Client Event

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
Shared Pointer added to Internet Assistant PowerPoint on the Web
Illustrates sharing of W3C Object Model internal to documents
DHTML "Heartbeat" recording shared events in last 60 seconds on application specific "bar" which is locked above all windows -- addresses window clutter
More Powerful than Java Shared Browser but currently less reliable
Partly as software newer and
Partly as DHTML Browser support fragile
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 27 Managing the Curricula I

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
So as we have stored all our material in a database, managing it is equivalent to building an administrative support system for the database
  • Administrative system is built in usual way as "business logic Javabean middleware" running on a server and accessed from some web client
Web export from database should support Educom's IMS standard for metadata to allow convenient webwide searches of repositories
One needs special modules that accommodate
  • PAPI or Personal and Performance Information
  • Submission of homework of diverse nature
  • Laboratories including both programming and science labs
  • Producing composite lectures from collections of base educational objects (re-use)
  • More research needed on assessment tools
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 28 Managing the Curricula II

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
One needs database technology for
  • Storing raw curricula material with facilities to re-use, edit, produce summaries, re-order etc. WebWisdomDB
  • Archiving multimedia learning sessions LecCorder
  • Managing the students PAPI: grades, homework and personal data NPAC Grading Database and Tango Personal Identity Module
One needs web-linked seamless computing to support programming assignments Using older NPAC VPL written in JavaScript to allow web access to computer cluster for HPF and MPI (DoD Gateway activity should produce better technology)
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 29 LecCorder Lecture Recorder

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
Database must archive lessons with LINKED curricula material and multimedia delivery
LecCorder is integrated hardware & software system and will record live trainings or digitize taped events & publish on web quickly and easily as "foils over audio/video"
Minimal human intervention
Java viewer
In progress...
  • video server back-end for random access & search capabilities
  • Converter for Real Audio/Video format
  • Integration with WebWisdomDB courseware database system
  • Support for Pointer events
Note MPEG, H263, Real Video versions.....
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 30 WebWisdomDB Web linked Database

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
Over the last 2.5 years I have put 715 foilsets and over 28000 foils on the web supported by Perl Scripts and JavaScript Display (including 2000 family photos)
  • Included "play lists","multiple views","integration with Tango"
  • Hard to manage and deploy elsewhere
  • 10,000 pages hit per day
WebWisdomDB abstracts lessons to a Oracle database backend and a dynamic HTML front-end (see later)
Database stores Microsoft (COM) or W3C "Document Object Model Components" including HTML PowerPoint with each slide/page separately stored and editable from database
Reconstructs dynamic pages using XML templates to view or print or write to CDROM .....
Has Java Manager to support play list and arrangement in hierarchical "FoilWorlds"
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 31 Current NPAC Grading Database used to register Syracuse and Online Courses

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 32 Tango Status / Futures ?

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
Tango 2 is about as good as you can do with current browsers
When W3C DOM fully supported and XML is well established, we can evolve Tango and Shared Browser to provide richer interactive shared Web Pages
Universal Access for different devices (Fully capable and impaired users) from PalmTops to PC's
Greater use of XML Web components to customize sharing of Web Page components and specify dynamically and flexibly sharing policy
Integration of asynchronous and Synchronous messaging Services (Tango drivers Pager)
Integration of Tango and Database backends to provide "Portals to Education"
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 33 New Enterprise Models for Universities?

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
Distance Education is technically sound -- both synchronously and asynchronously -- today with very robust clear implementations available over next 2 years
Separate teaching mentoring and dormitory role of University
Teaching and grading naturally performed by centers of excellence which need at least an order of magnitude more customers than a single faculty in order to be able to justify investment in course preparation and maintenance
Continuing Education of growing importance and natural area to attack first -- corporate training is serious competition here and commercial deliverers have advantage?
Not obvious that will save large amounts of money as students will need more not less mentoring in today's information-overrich world -- quality of educational experience will become more uniform and better
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared September 13 1999

Foil 34 Where are we in Distance Education?

From Tango Interactive as Technology for Education and training SURA Networking Meeting Birmingham Alabama -- September 8 1999. *
Full HTML Index
We are meant to be short of employees trained in many important areas -- in particular computer science
Syracuse has a few good course but Courses are incomplete and hard to keep up to date.....
Nationally there is a complete set of excellent courses but most universities cannot offer quality complete program
Technology for distance education is proven in concept and improving in robustness and functionality
Networks are increasing in bandwidth ...
This will lead to much better learning environments and total happiness for students ........
There is one minor problem! Most Existing Universities and K-12 Establishments (Unions ..)will oppose this
They will accept my courses if given as Syracuse University but not if done through www.webwisdom.org
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