AVD Merge System Design

In 1841 the innovation of cutting large slates transformed educational practices from indi-vidual to group experiences through the introduction of the chalkboard. Today the situation is quite similar: engineering students are relying on PC-based individual work. Techno-logically and pedagogically state of the art distance teaching programs aim, however, at collaborative work through asynchronous teaching, periodic meetings for maintaining a social dimension, and often Audio-Video and Data (AVD) communications. Current AV-systems force teachers to focus on complex equipment while teaching and mostly ex-change freeze-frames, as opposed to dynamic data, due to bandwidth and image quality limitations. To deploy AVD communications in technical education at a large scale, new didactical approaches are required. AVD-Merge proposes the development of new peda-gogical frameworks, a knowledge base of organized expert and collective end user knowl-edge on best practices, technical advises, and didactical methodologies, and eLearning programs targeting teaching staff on the effective integration of AVD communication in the teaching process. The project results will benefit both teachers and students, who are the ultimate recipients of effective teaching. After project completion, the knowledge base will be partly sustained by a network of experts, teachers, and end users who will provide value-adding content through the provided services. This document starts by identifying the targeted user groups for the proposed knowledge management and eLearning services in order to ensure that the final result meets end-user needs. It analyses the User Requirements for each group in terms of services to be offered and interface design. Based on the User Requirements, it presents the System Design of the AvdMerge infrastructure and services, on which the implementation phase of the project will be based. The consortium is already disseminating information on the infrastructure and services through a number of publications, a list of which can be found at the end of this report. Additional publications are planned for the future.