Distance Education Applications
Extended Classrooms
Universities and colleges are searching for affordable and efficient solutions to collaborate with other schools. Specific Sonata IPTV™ technology expands the technical infrastructure of large universities to connect a large state university with its other satellite campuses. This allows the main campus to broadcast specialized classes previously unavailable at the smaller satellite campuses. Additional pan/tilt/zoom features allow the professor to monitor extended classrooms via a video conferencing application to provide a truly interactive lecture experience between the professor and students in all locations. For example, the professor can verbally lecture, and view his monitor to see if students at any of the other schools have questions on the point he’s discussing. He can allow the students to ask their question and be viewed on all other monitors, after which the camera feed switches back to the professor for clarification of the material. The technology can also be used similarly to schools broadcasting classes to corporate locations or to rural communities where students come together in one location to attend the interactive class.
Individual Distance Learning Classes
Sonata technology provides media-rich interactive classroom experience to individual students enrolled in distance education classes. Traditionally these classes have been taught by professors uploading class notes, quizzes, tests, and other course materials to an interactive website where students can interact. They are left to read all book and lecture material on their own, upload homework assignments, and take timed quizzes and exams at preset times. Another option being used for some classes is to provide lecture notes and video taped lectures of the class as it was taught in past semesters. Sonata IPTV™ technology allows the course to be taught in a much more dynamic and time-sensitive way. Rather than recording last semester’s class, dubbing tapes or disks, and sending them to students a semester or so after it was originally taught, in much the same way as with the religious application, current classes can be broadcast to the Sonata boxes as they are being taught. The distance students can watch the lecture at the same time, or at their convenience. This saves editing, duplication, packaging and shipping costs to get material to distance education students.
These technological capabilities leverage the teaching ability of professors, expand the student audience that they can reach, and reduce overall educational costs.
