by Takashi Dasai[1], Hisao Koizumi[2], Kiyoshi Yokochi[3], Seiji Moriya[4]
The authors are conducting studies on an educational system which supports enhancement of pupil's creative thought by combining an environment for interactive distance learning with educationa content and materials suited to it. We have designated such systems CCV (Computer ,Communication and Visual) educational systems.
The aim of CCV educational systems is to simulate pupil's desire to learn and induce creative thought interactions between geographically remote classrooms with different customs and cultures, including reports by pupils on their approaches to problems and results of creations.
In this paper , we propose a model of interactive distance learning and a method for computer support of such learning . This model and computer support method are used to prepare lesson contents , which were used in verification experiments involving elementary-school arithmetic lessons in actual classrooms.
The experiments confirmed that the method that the method was effective in stimulating the pupil's desire to learn and their imaginative powers .
In recent years there have been numerous reports of studies and practical use of educational systems which utilize networks[1],[2],[3]. The use of the Internet in classrooms has also been growing, and many case studies have appeared in the literature[4],[5].However, as yet there have not been many detailed reports of actualdistance learning in which a feeling of unity with the remote site is achieved through the sharing between the two classrooms of images and voice signals, which generatea sense of presence.We have been conducting research on distance learning wherein the educational environment is based on a system combining video and other equipment, and which draws on multimedia communication and computer support. We use the term "CCV (emphasizing the computer,communication and visual aspects) educational system" to refer to such a system which combines such a learning environment with educational content. The CCV educational system targets interactive distance learning at the elementary school level, with up to 40 pupils in one classroom. Under this situation, we regard the following three elements as fundamental.
First is a distance learning environment consisting of computers and imaging equipment combined with multimedia communications. Here it is important that vivid images and audio be transmitted between the two remote classrooms so as to induce a sense of presence, thereby generating a feeling of unity with the other class.
Second is the development of teaching materials suited to this environment. Images,animation, and Internet search screens which make use of the multimedia environment should be incorporated into the teaching materials when developing the lesson contents.
Finally, there is evaluation of the lesson results. This includes evaluation of the results vis-a-vis the lesson goals, as well as evaluation of the effect of computer support of the lessons. Through an educational system based on these three elements, we believe it is possible to stimulate a child's desire to learn and invigorate his or her creativity. In this respect, CCV educational system is made different from ordinary education-oriented systems adopted forgrownup students.Experiments with CCV educational systems began with elementary school arithmetic education. This subject was chosen because arithmetic is a suitable subject for fostering logical thinking, and because by starting with arithmetic, which is regarded as the subject most difficult to treat through distance learning, it would be demonstrated that the method could be applied to other subjects as well.
In order to verify the usefulness of the proposed system, initial distance learning experiments were conduced between elementary school third-grade classes,Followed by experiments between elementary school fourth-grade classes . As a result, an enhanced desire to learn was observed among the children, and the usefulness of the proposed approach was confirmed.
On the other hand, such problems as improvement of system operability and of the means of image and audio transmission, development of the results of distance learning lessons, and discovery of a method for confirming creative thought are left as themes for future work. In section 2 of this paper, we propose a model of distance leaning, and in section 3 a method of computer support for such lessons,
In section 4 we describe the experimental verification system as well as the results of experiments using the system, and in section 5 we evaluate and analyze the results. @
Figure 1 illustrates a model of distance learning using a CCV educational system. CCV equipment meant is installed in one classroom at each site, and there are one teacher and from 20 to 40 children present. The CCV equipment include AV(audio and visual)equipment, computers, and a large-size screen; the CCVequipment in the two classroom is connected via a network. Apart of the AV equipment,A camera captures images and audio of the classroom and sends them to the classroom at the remote site. The computers are used to manage computer-based teaching materials, search for and display information, and provide other support. The camera images and personal computer screens are projected by projectors installed at each site onto the large-size screen. Hence the large-size screens serve to share image information and computer screens between the two sites, thereby inducing a sense of presence of and unity with the other class.
In this environment, a teacher conducts the lessons while interacting with the children at the remote site as well as the children in his or her own classroom. The forms of interaction in distance learning can be classified according to the relations between the teachers in classrooms.
(1)interaction of a teacher with his or her own vpupils(teachers A with pupils A, teacher B with pupils B);
(2) interaction of a teacher with the pupils of the other class (teacher A with pupils B, teacher B with pupils A);
(3) interaction between the teachers in different classrooms (teacher A with teachers B); and
(4) interaction between pupils in different classrooms(pupils A with pupils B)
In the course of a single lesson,these four types of interaction may take place singly or in various combinations according to the lesson content, and there may be changes from one form of interaction to another.
Of these, types (2),(3) and (4) are forms of interaction between remote sites. In other that the lesson may have substantive content, the role of (2), interactions of a teacher with the pupils at the remote site, is regarded as especially important. In a CCV educational system , computer support is necessary for image manipulations so as to ensure that interactions of the form (2) go smoothly.
In a CCV educational system, three elements-the distance learning environment, development of teaching materials suited to this environment, and evaluations of the lesson results--must function in a coordinated can be regarded as having a three-level structure such as shown in Figure 2.
(1) CCV equipment This is positioned as the foundation of the CCV educational system; it makes possible distance learning between remote sites, and provides functions necessary for the smooth conduct of lessons. Image information transmitted over the network is received and displayed on the large-size screen; appropriate camera option to capture images of pupils making statements, and computer-based animation and other types of effective functions for presenting information,are provided
(2) Distance learning lessons Distance learning lessons are effected though support provided by the system in(1)above. Exchanges between schools with different regional cultures and customs are mutually stimulating and make for more lively lessons. The lessoncontent is designed minutely, incorporating animations, video clips and other elements effectively.
(3) Evaluation of lesson results The results of the distance learning lesson itself, as well as the effectiveness of support by the lesson environment are evaluated. In the former case, the resultsof the distance learning lesson are studied to evaluate whether the children's desire to learn was stimulated, and whether the lesson engendered higher-level thinking and creativity. In the latter case, extent to which the CCV equipment effectively supported the exchange of information between classrooms during the progress of the distance learning lesson is evaluated.
As explained in 2.2 above, in order to effectively support distance learning lessons,the CCV equipment provides the following functions. Functions for manipulating video images include pointing a camera at a child about to make a presentation or otherwise contribute to the lesson, and if necessary zoom and focus the camera. In order to realize a learning environment with a sense of presence of and unity with the remote site, appropriate video images must be provided in a timely manner. Thus strict demands on video manipulation are made.
Computers (personal computers) provide functions for searching and displaying teaching materials. Computer-based teaching materials must be considered with a view to motivating understanding. The computer display can be switched to the large-size screen also. In order to realize a good-quality study environment, it is also important that clear And important that clear and natural-sounding voice signals, which can be listened to for extensive periods without fatigue, are provided. In order that children may speak up freely, a method was adopted in which several microphones were embedded in the ceiling.
In distance learning, images must be manipulated extremely frequently of camera operation poses a problem. One conceivable solution to this problem is a voice-tracking system. Here multiple microphones are distributed in the ceiling of the room, and differences in the detected intensity of the voice of a child when speaking would be used to determine the direction from which the sound came and point the camera toward its source. Moreover, time is required to detect the sound source and point the camera toward the child, so that camera operation lags behind the timing of the utterances of pupils. Because of these and other problems, such a system is not readily implemented. Another conceivable option is to memorize the seat locations of each pupil in advance, and display the names of a child who is to speak, the camera is automatically pointed toward the child. This method is not require time for detection : the camera can be pointed quickly at the child who is about to speak. We propose the use of a " pupil identification panel" incorporating this functionality as one component of a CCV educational system. A schematic diagram of its incorporation in a CCV system appears in Figure 3[12].
(1) The locations of pupil seats are stored in a "seating tables" in a computer. The position information for one seat consists of the angle from the coordinate system center, the zoom, and focus information. In order to enable specification of any desired point in a class of up to 40 pupils plus several objects, it is possible to set locations for up to 48 points on a single seating table. In addition, seating tables for other classes are also stored so that the system can be used with other classes.
(2) The pupil identification panel is set prior to its use in lessons. Figure 4 shows pupil identification panel during a lesson. The preset information is follows.
(a) The seating table for the class about to begin an interactive lesson is called up onto the pupil identification panel, and a list of the pupil's names is displayed.
(b) The camera is rotated manually in the directions of the pupil's seats to adjust the positions. The zoom and focus functions are also used for each pupil to adjust the image size and distance, and the position information is then stored as the pupil's position in the seating table.
(c) Similar operations are repeated for all the pupil's in the class, to complete preset operations. Hereafter, a single preset operations. Hereafter, a single press of the seat position of a pupil will cause the camera to be operated accordingly.
(3) During lessons, the seating table for the class is displayed on the pupil identification panel. When the teacher touches the name of one of the pupils, the camera turns to the direction of that pupil. The image from the camera is sent to the image display equipment, and the pupil appears onscreen.
In a CCV educational system, lesson content is designed to conform to the following distance learning processes.
3.3.1 Distance learning processes
The relation between the various processes used in distance learning appear in Figure 5.
In the figure,
(1) represents a series of collaborative studies on a single theme,
while (2) represents the CCV equipment supporting the various processes, and the support provided. The basic design of the lesson process is to have the two groups of children. Engage in different studies independently, and then in an interactive lesson between them to have them exchange the contents of what them exchange the contents of what They have learned, and in the process discover new patterns or models, in the process encouraging more advanced and creative thought. This kind of collaborative lesson is not possible in a single classroom. The distance learning processes combine an interactive mode, in which study is conducted with interaction between the two classrooms A and B, and an isolated mode, in which studies are conducted independently with no interaction between the two classrooms . The interactive and isolated modes are repeated a specific number of times planned in advance to complete the number of times planned in advance to complete the collaborative lesson. The series of processes involved in the collaborative lesson are as follows. (1) Preliminary survey involves studies and surveys of materials to be treated in the lesson, the method of lesson execution and similar matters. Here the theme of the lesson is decided, and the lesson content is designed accordingly.
(2) The teachers of the classes A and B give their respective pupils the problems to be addressed in the lesson and related methods.
(3) Preliminary lessons are conducted in the isolated mode, with no interaction between the classes. The children obtain an understanding of the problems to be solved and think about methods for solving them.
(4) The interactive mode lesson is begun. An interactive lesson of from 45 to 90 Minutes in length is assumed. At the start, the children sing their school songs and introduce themselves as a means of building a sense of unity. Then the children report the results of their attempts to solve the problems given them in the preliminary studies, and discuss these results. Through such exchanges with the children at the remote site, pupils become aware of differences and new points of view that would not have occurred to them by themselves. During this period, the CCV equipment provides audio as well as images shared between the classrooms on the large-size screens, to create a learning environment with a sense of presence.
(5) In subsequent follow-up lessons, the results of the interactive lesson are Summarized, and the children think about ways to further improve their own answers and works.
(6) The teachers evaluate the results, which are considered when planning the next interactive lesson. The series of studies is completed when the previously decided number of interactive lessons have been conducted.
(7) After completion of the series of collaborative studies, the teachers conduct post-lesson surveys.
(1) Support for use of animations In CCV educational systems we have placed emphasis on arithmetic, as one step toward heightening creative powers based on mathematical reasoning as the children are made to grasp the logic behind things. Computer animations with multimedia functions have been adopted for use in lessons as one means of enhancing mathematical reasoning. Animations intended to have the following effects have been incorporated into teaching materials:
(2) Synchronized display of animations Animations may be used in collaborative studies either simultaneously in the two classrooms during an interactive lesson (interactive mode), or separately in preliminary or subsequent follow-up studies (isolated mode). When used in interactive mode, it is required that the animation images can be shared over the CCV educational system connecting the two remote sites. However, if the images of an animation executed at a computer on one site are transmitted to the remote site, some time is required at communication bandwidths of several hundred kbps or less, and so synchronization between the two classrooms is not possible. We therefore adopt a command-triggered synchronization method in which only a command to begin the animation is transmitted to the remote site [6].
Figure 6 is a schematic illustration indicating how commands controlling an animation executed on computer-1 are also transmitted over the communication network to control the animation on computer-2. As a result, the animations are in effect shared between the two remote classrooms through the transmission of only the small amount of data represented by the commands.
(3) Digital camera support When children present works they have created, it is generally difficult to display all the works created by all the children during the interactive lesson owing to strict time constraints. In such cases, a digital camera may be used to capture the children's works; the images are stored on a computer and the images for several pupils' works are displayed at once. By this means the time required for display is reduced, and the lesson can be conducted more effectively and efficiently.
Experiments to verify the CCV educational system concepts were conducted though actual, lessons between an elementary school in Yamanashi prefecture(hereafter school N) and both an elementary school in Yamagata prefecture(school G) and an elementary school in Hyogo prefecture (school K). Lessons in arithmetic were held for third-grade classes of these schools in four sessions during February and March 1996. There were 37 pupils in the class at school N, eight in the class at school G and 32 in the class at school K. Another lessons were held for fourth-graders(former third-graders) of schools N and G in three sessions during June and October 1996. There were 37 pupils in the class at school N, and eight in the class at school G.
The experimental system configuration appears in Figure7[7].
Images used in collaborative lessons are of two types: the images from the teleconferencing system, and computer screens. Images from the teleconferencing system come from four sources-a motorized camera which captures pupils as they are speaking; a fixed camera which captures the classroom as a whole; a stand camera for expanded images of pictures and written materials; and a video tape recorder. The input to the projector for display on the large-size 80''screen is switched between the teleconferencing system and the computer using a video switch. Screens from the computer and the teleconferencing system can be shared with the remote site classroom via the communication network; the children can interact while viewing the same images on the large-size screens in the two classrooms. In order to facilitate camera operation in keeping with the course of the lesson and enable prompt and accurate switching between screens, the pupil identification panel described in 3.2 above is introduced.
The communication network is based on ISDN 384 kbps communication lines. Image transmission within the teleconferencing system adopts the H.261 specification. During interactive lessons, images are projected onto the 80''screen by a liquid crystal projector with a 700-lumen brightness, sufficient to enable viewing in ordinary classroom conditions without turning off the lights.
Here (1) shows
the arrangement of pupils and equipment in the classroom; a large-size screen
is positioned directly in front of the children, and a liquid crystal projector
embedded in the ceiling projects images onto the screen. Six microphones are
embedded in the ceiling to capture the voices of the children, so that a pupil
may speak without the need to hold a microphone. The CCV equipment and personal
computer are placed in the front-left corner of the classroom. On the right
side, close to the teacher, is the pupil identification panel, used when the
teacher calls on a particular child. (2) in Figure 8 is an actual classroom
scene.
Below we describe the results of three lessons conducted as the verification experiments, mainly focusing on the interactive sessions.
This collaborative lesson was held between school N and school G. Our preliminary study for collaborative lesson attempted to engage the pupils' interest by having one class make treasure boxes and the other make cars. Then, by taking up the challenge of constructing the other class's solid object, they learned that there are various ways of drawing an expanded diagram of a solid object.
The process and effects of this collaborative lesson experience are shown in Figure 9. In the preliminary lessons, the pupils of school N had discussions for drawing expanded diagrams of regular hexagon on Kent paper and constructed a treasure box with it. They also drew a planar model for the lid of the box and a model of the straps on the sides of the box. After studying patterns with the help of an animation, the pupils created their own patterns.
The pupils of school G, for their part, had drawn expanded diagrams of a on Kent paper and constructed cars with them. The shape of the side surface of the cars had been left to the free imagination of the individual child and the children had also been free to draw the appearance of the driver and the passengers themselves.
The first interactive lesson followed. The pupils of both schools presented their treasure boxes and cars to each other. The children talked about the points in which they had to use their imagination and the points that caused them particular difficulty in developing their work. They used a stand camera to explain the finer points such as the detailed patterns of the treasure boxes.
After the first interactive lesson, the follow-up lessons followed. They were for the pupils to make the things their counterparts had constructed. The pupils of school N attempted to make cars and the pupils of school G attempted to make treasure boxes. The pupils of school N thought hard about the expanded diagram of a car but made no progress. Then, they began to show interest in the method the pupils of school G had used, so that they could discover a means of creating their own cars. To support this imagination thinking process, they studied the positional relations between the expanded diagrams and the solid body by the use of animation. In the second interactive lesson, first, the way in which the children of school G had constructed their treasure boxes was presented. Not only did the children show and explain their own personal works to each other, but they also used animation to make clear to their friends how they had created the strap models. The pupils of school N then presented the ingenious cars they had constructed in the individual studies. It was an impressive display of cars with an originality of shapes and designs-trucks, sports, cars, and car in the shape of animals-that outstripped the works of the school G pupils. As the results of the second follow-up lesson, pupils of the both schools learned that there are more than one ways to draw expanded diagrams to create solid objects.
Following the lesson, the 37 pupils of school N were told to draw expanded diagrams other than those studied in the collaborative lesson, given the shared area shown in Figure 10. Three pupils were charged with drawing the type-1 which was the same as the original one, 15 with type-2, four with type-3, 14 with type 4, and one pupil with yet a different diagram. Fifteen pupils drew correct expanded diagrams distinct from the type-1, and eight other pupils had essentially the correct answers ,so that out of 34 students drawing new diagrams, correct diagrams were drawn by 23 pupils, or 68%. In this way the pupils learned that there may be more than one correct diagram, and they learned how to draw other correct diagrams. A similar survey study was also conducted for the case of treasure-box. But due to its explicit symmetricity, the pupils found it difficult to create expanded diagrams other than the original one. As a consequence, no interesting vriations have not obtained.
This collaborative lesson was conducted between school N and school K. Based on the preliminary survey, a theme of measuring velocity was selected. On the preliminary lessons, school K was given the task of measuring the motion of a turtle and school N the North wind. The pupils of school K split into six groups and in order to compare the velocities of the six turtles they deigned and constructed six courses. The methods of measurement adopted by the six groups are shown in Table 1 (1). Measurements proved more difficult than expected, and there was series of failures. However, this experience taught them a lesson they could not have learned at their desks.
For the first interactive lesson, the pupils of school N and not been given any preliminary lessons on velocity, and the lesson began with requests from the pupils of school K for measurements of wind velocity. The school K pupils explained to the children of school N details of how they had measured the motion of the turtles. School N pupils showed interest and made several suggestions for improving school K's methods, which are shown in Table 1 (1) In the next follow-up lessons, based on the result of the interactive lessons, the pupils of schools N and K made further studies on different lines. School K pupils adopted the suggestions of school N pupils and improved the measuring devices as shown in Table(1) and performed the measurements again. The pupils of school N obtained hints for devising various methods for measuring the wind speed by the presentations from the school K pupils and by viewing the animation showing the wind speed. The pupils of school N could complete the work satisfactorily including video recordings. In the second interactive lesson, the measurements of wind velocity were presented by school N, by showing a video taken where the measurement were made with additional explanations. Then followed a presentation of the measurements of the velocity of turtles by school K. as the methods of measurement included improvements suggested by the pupils of school N, they listened with concentration to this presentation.
There were many results of this collaborative learning, in the which classes from two schools discussed and shared their insights into methods of measuring the velocities of two very different things--the turtles and the North wind-and overcame by trial and error. The results at school N include the obtaining of an average value of a number of measurements and enabling the results of different groups to be compared by keeping the measurement distance constant. Among the results for school K are a method of measuring speed along a curved path, and the realization that there will slow velocities and that zero velocities are possible.
Immediately after conclusion of the above two lessons, a survey study on collaborative learning was conducted, and the pupils of school N were made to write compositions. Its result is shown in Table 2.
There were 18 male and 18 female respondents. In this case, multiple responses were allowed. For question(1), nearly responses all the students looked forward to the day's lesson, and in particular to their chance to interact with the Yamagata pupils. We see that there is interest extending beyond mere curiosity in computers or the Internet. We note that the school N pupils were under the impressiont that the CCV educational system was itself the Internet. For the next question, nearly all the pupils expressed satisfaction. They were especially pleased with the knowledge they gained of expanded diagrams of automobiles through their exchanges with the school G pupils. Furthermore for the question(3), many responses referred to interaction with the other students or to the Internet rather than to the lesson content.
Preliminary survey concluded to conduct the lesson of embroidered pictures in which pupils create various types of embroidered pictures while learning about straight lines, polygons, circles, arcs and curves. Here "embroidered pictures" are pictures created by measuring the lengths of the outer circumferences of a pattern on drawing paper, and then affixing yarn cut to those lengths along the outer edges of the pattern. In measuring the length of a pattern circumference, various properties of curves were studied, including the method of breaking up a curve into arcs to measuring the length.
In preliminary lessons, the school N pupils used smooth curves, and the school G pupils used curves with points in creating their works. The pictures were depictions of regional folk tales, so as to include the local cultures the two schools.
A total of three interactive lessons were held. In the first, the children showed each other the embroidered pictures they had created, and expressed their impressions of the pictures. The stand cameras were used in order to clearly convey to the other class the details of the pictures.
Figure 11
shows a pupil of school N expressing his impressions of a picture displayed
at school G. The picture shown in the small inset is the picture captured by
a stand camera at school G.
Next, pupils at schools N and G each presented one picture depicting a folk tale. Both the motorized cameras and the stand cameras were able to capture the outlines and the colors of the works clearly. An animation was then used to study the properties (curvature) of curves.
In the second interactive lesson, presentations of works began with school N. Following this, an animation was used to study arc approximations to curves, the symmetry of circles, and other material. Following this it was agreed that by the next lesson the children would create new pictures. In doing so, it was decided, they would incorporate certain curve features as well as features of their local cultures.
In the final interactive lesson, three groups of pupils at school N presented works based on folk tales, and the children school G presented pictures in which the children of both schools rode on a could to the region of school G. The children shared their impressions of the pictures. In both classes a desire to skillfully create embroidered pictures was evident; partly due to the experience they had gained, they were able to create pictures with bold and beautiful curves. In reading out loud descriptions of the works as well, the children, wanting to convey their meaning accurately to the children of the other school, spoke at a more appropriate loudness and speed.
In the fourth-grade interactive lessons, there were interactions between the teacher of one classroom and pupils of the other. It was found that the pupil identification panel facilitated such interactions. During the interactive lessons, interaction of type (2) (in all cases teacher-pupil interaction ) as described in 2.1 above took place. When the teacher of school N called out the name of a pupil at school G and urged him or her to give a presentation, the teacher of school G would press the name of the pupil on the pupil identification panel, The motorized camera would then rotate in the direction of the named pupil, and images of the pupil giving his or her report would be transmitted over the network to appear on the screen at school N. Procedures during this operation went smoothly; pupils at the remote site could be called on as if they were present in the same classroom, thus verifying the usefulness of the pupil identification panel.
Three lessons on "making embroidered pictures" were conducted. Figure13 shows the results of recordings of the interactions between the classrooms during these lessons. There were a total of 209, 175 and 190 interactions during the three lessons. From the diagrams we see that overall an extremely large number of statements were made by teachers. This is because the interactive lessons were in essence being guided by the two teachers. However, in later interactive lessons the number of statements by teachers decreased from the initial 50% or so to about 45% in the second and third lessons . On the other hand, there was an increase in the number of statements made between the teacher of school N and the pupils of school G, from 9%in the first lesson to 23% in the second and 18% in the third. This was due largely to the aggressive use by the school N teacher of the pupil identification panel seek remarks from the pupils of school G. In addition, as the interactive lessons proceeded, a few remarks made between pupils were also observed. In the second lesson there was one such instance, and in the third lesson there were three remarks exchanged by pupils. This is thought to result from the sense of familiarity that gradually formed between the children as they grew used to the new lesson format.
From the standpoint of the CCV educational system hardware functions, the following may be concluded.
In viewing images of their own classroom and the classroom of the remote site projected on the large-size screen, the children quickly developed a feeling of unity with other lass. They were excited by the large images of themselves appearing on the screen, and on viewing similar large images of children at the other school explaining a problem or being questioned, they were observed to quickly develop both a feeling of familiarity with the pupils, and a desire to speak.
As the children gained experience with the interactive lesson format, they were seen to speak more slowly than usual when giving explanations or asking questions, and seemed more conscious of the need to speak so as to be understood.
Introduction of the pupil identification panel made it possible to rapidly point the camera to a pupil giving a presentation, without lagging behind. By this means, the burden on the equipment operator was lightened, and further progress was made toward format in which a single teacher could conduct interactive lessons. Particularly in the case of lower-graders, the children can concentrate on one thing for only a short length of time, and so the usefulness of a function for quickly pointing the camera at a target was evident. In the case of fourth-grade interactive lessons, an indirect method was used in which one teacher would indicate name of a pupil to the other teacher and the latter would press the pupil's name on the pupil identification panel. In future, however , this function should be improved such that the panel may be used to specify pupils in either classroom.
The Communication network speed was the 384kpbs of the ISDN lines, and images were transmitted in H.261 format. Even when using liquid crystal projector to display images on an 80" screen under normal classroom lighting conditions, there were almost no problems with either image brightness or image quality. However, the movements of the mouth of a person speaking were not in sync with the second of his or her voice. Some such occurrences were annoying while others were not, but in any event, correction of this problem remains a theme for further development. The microphones embedded in the ceiling clearly captured voices, and there was no sense of unnaturalness. There was almost no howling, and stable transmission was possible. Where communication speeds are concerned, it will be necessary to study the economy of the 128 kbps bandwidth lines that are expected to become widely availabel, as well as 6Mbps lines.
In these interactive lessons, numerous animations were used, and their playback was synchronized on the computers of the two classrooms. Simply by transmitting START,PAUSE ,STOP and other commands to the computers in one's own classroom as well as to the remote site computer, the animations were displayed in sync as intended. This technique was quite effective for animation playback within the constraints of a 128 kbps communication bandwidth. However, the animations themselves must be installed in advance on both computers; the positions of the animation on the two computers must be coordinated to ensure reliable playback; and other inconvenient operations are also necessary. Hence in future, it may be advantageous to use online transmission of animation images employing efficient video compression technology. @
In the course of the series of distance learning lessons, the following conclusions were reached regarding stimulation of the children's desire to learn and exchanges of regional cultures and customs.
The fourth-grader's "creating embroidered pictures" focused on creative activities, and the pupils exhibited ample talent for creative expression. For instance, all of the fourth-grade children made two embroidered pictures, but the second of these features bold and beautiful lines. The improvement in the second pictures was due in some part to experience gained, but was also due to create pictures more skillfully than the other children. Here a heightened desire to learn was evident. During the third interactive lesson in particular, the children's creativity was manifest in the works of school G. And by adopting local folk tales as the themes of the pictures, aspects of the regional cultures were exchanged.
During interactive lessons, if much time was spent listening to the report of another child , boredom often became apparent. In the format adopted here, the entire lesson time must not be devoted to interactions; rather, interaction should be interrupted to devote time to activities as a means of preventing boredom.
Animations were incorporated into the materials in all of these collaborative lessons. Many of these animations incorporated video clips which changed into three-dimensional images. Some time was set aside for viewing these animations during the interactive lessons, but they were also highly effective in maintaining the children's attention. The usefulness of animations as an audio-visual teaching material can be said to be enhanced when used in such a system.
There is a tendency for considerable time to be required in preparing lesson materials, creation of works by pupils, and other activities. For instance, the records for the "making embroidered pictures" lessons indicate that in contrast the planned time of 14 hours, a total of 33 hours were actually required, including interactive lessons. In order that this approach become more widely adopted, it will be necessary to simplify preparations of materials, reduce the number of times that works are created by pupils, and otherwise lighten the burden of the lessons.
Evaluations of collaborative lessons were conducted relying on various sources, including questionnaires filled out by the children, written tests following the lessons, essay on the pupil's impressions of the lessons, teacher evaluations during lessons using checklists, and reflections on the lessons in a teleconferencing system held by the staff immediately afterward. However, what must ultimately be evaluated is within the minds of the children(humans) participating in the lessons, and cannot be directly accessed. Consequently, at present an indirect means of evaluations is employed which relies on collection of external data. And even where external data is concerned, differences in collaborative lesson themes may make collection difficult in practice, data may not be present, there may be missing data due to time constraints during interactive experiments, and other difficulties may arise. In order to obtain reliable evaluation results, it will hereafter be necessary to develop means of acquiring objective quantitative data.
In these proving experiments, an intensified desire to learn and more energetic thinking were observed at various junctures. For instance, there was considerable progress in the works created by the fourth-graders in the "making embroidered pictures" lessons. These may be further extended to ultimately lead, it is hoped, to the budding of creative thought. However, creative thinking is a fairly high-level cognitive process, requiring passage through several intervening stages. We believe we have facilitated the initial stages of this process by enhancing the desire to learn and by heightening thought processes and creativity. The concept of creative thought itself requires a more rigorous definitions and verification. Hence in these experiments we have, as an initial undertaking, proposed a model of collaborative learning and confirmed through proving experiments that the desire to learn of the children is heightened and that thinking is activated, verifying the usefulness of the proposal model. A definition of creative thought and corresponding verification remain themes for future work.
The ultimate goal of a CCV educational system is the support of children's creative thought. As an initial step in this direction, in the present paper we have proposed a model of collaborative lessons to stimulate the urge to learn and heighten creativity. Proving experiments were conducted for elementary-school arithmetic to verify the validity of the model. It is anticipated that motivation of the desire to learn, enhancement of thought processes and other pedagogical benefits may ultimately lead to enhanced conceptualization, and thence to creativity. Confirmation of such a process, along with establishment of a method for proof of creativity, remain themes for further research. The following research themes were extracted from the results of these proving experiments.
More efficient operation of CCV equipment, particularity image manipulation, and simplification and streamlining of interaction between a teacher at one site and pupils at the other site
Pursuit of a transmission method at a communication rate suited to distance learning
Establishment of a method for evaluating distance learning lesson results vis-a-vis the lesson goals
Definition of creative thought, and establishment of a means for verifying it. We are currently engaged in plans for distance learning with an overseas school using a CCV educational system, and intend to continue research on the above themes in relation to the effect on creative thought of exchanges between different cultures.
