Enhancing synchronous distance education with pervasive devices

Abstract. In this paper we present a system that enhances typical synchronous teleteaching environments. The key idea is to compensate the lack of social awareness and interactivity of a telelecture by allowing students to use hand-held devices and wireless communication to interact with the lecturer and with other students. One example of the interactions enabled by the system is a feedback mechanism that allows the students to provide the lecturer with information about how the speed and difficulty of a lecture is perceived by the students. Another example is the ability of the lecturer to hold quizzes with the distributed audience. The system has been implemented as a prototype and it is currently being evaluated in regular lectures at the University of Mannheim. 1