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This article describes a system that produces web based learning modules as a by‐product of regular classroom teaching. The lecturer uses a pen sensitive display in place of the traditional chalkboard. In addition to drawings, the electronic chalkboard handles a range of multimedia elements from the Internet. The system records all actions and provides both a live transmission and a replay of the lecture from the web. Remote students follow the lecture looking at the dynamic board content and listening to the recorded voice of the instructor. Several use cases of the system as well as a systematic evaluation in two universities are presented.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the usability (effectiveness, efficiency and user satisfaction) of e‐feedback interfaces. The experiment compares a traditional visual approach with a multimodal approach in order to determine the impact of multimodal metaphors upon the user's understanding, reasoning and engagement with the e‐feedback.

The empirical investigation involved visual (text with graphical illustrations) and multimodal (audio‐visual with expressive avatars and recorded speech) experimental e‐feedback platforms. Both experimental platforms provided the same e‐feedback but used different interaction metaphors to convey the information. The evaluation approach measured effectiveness, efficiency and user satisfaction.

The results showed that the multimodal approach increased usability in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and engagement of users with the e‐feedback. There is a very clear prima facie case that combining different communication metaphors to convey information involved in the e‐feedback simultaneously does not increase the information overload on users. This however was observed to be the case when the visual channel was used.

This paper introduces a unique approach that uses specific combinations of multimodal metaphors to communicate information about e‐feedback simultaneously. This approach increased the usability of e‐feedback and user's engagement in interfaces for e‐learning applications.

The content, provided in learning management systems (LMS), is often text oriented as in a usual textbook, extended by some animations and links. Hands on activities and experiments are not possible. The paper aims to give an overview about the concept to couple smart simulation and assessment tools with an LMS to provide a more explorative approach to the learning content.

Interactive components, such as smart design tools and online laboratories are added to an LMS that allow exploring the learned content additionally to text parts interactively. The objective of this teaching concept is to empower the students to solve complex design tasks for digital systems and to validate the results. This requires on the one hand site knowledge about the mathematical background of the algorithms used by design tools, and on the other hand, experience from as much as possible examples. Commercial tools are too complex for teaching purposes and hide mostly the algorithms they use for the several design steps. That is why we have developed smart special tailored tools for each single design step that should be learned during a lesson.

These smart tools are very useful to support the process of understanding and learning by doing. Learners can explore the several design steps with own examples and get immediately feedback about the correct solutions.

The connection to an LMS allows us to record all students' relevant actions in the design process and to evaluate the student or to give individual tailored hints.

The paper introduces a new teaching concept that allows exploring the learned content interactively additionally to text parts.

At many universities, web lectures have become an integral part of the e‐learning portfolio over the last few years. While many aspects of the technology involved, like automatic recording techniques or innovative interfaces for replay, have evolved at a rapid pace, web lecturing has remained independent of other important developments such as Web 2.0. The aim of this paper is to exemplify and discuss the benefits web lecturing can gain from a Web 2.0 perspective.

The paper describes an implementation of three Web 2.0 features for the virtPresenter web lecture interface. These are time‐based social footprints, a mechanism for linking to user created bookmarks in a web lecture from external Web 2.0 applications and a special web lecture player that enables users to embed their own web lecture bookmarks in wikis or blogs.

The paper shows how conceptual and technical obstacles in bringing Web 2.0 features like social footprints to web lectures can be overcome. It also makes evident that linking web lectures in Web 2.0 systems require special adaptations due to the time‐based nature of web lectures. The technical discussion shows that many Web 2.0 features require feedback channels in order to communicate information back to servers (e.g. to understand how the content is used) and that most contemporary media players have to be modified in order to support feedback channels.

The paper shows that web lectures can benefit from Web 2.0 ideas and presents examples how Web 2.0 and web lectures can be brought together.

Web 2.0 is a popular trend that transforms the way in which the internet is used. This paper shows how web lectures can be enriched with Web 2.0 features and how they can be integrated with Web 2.0 systems by discussing three implementation examples.

The purpose of this paper is to present a user interface for web lectures for engaging with other users while working with video based learning content. The application allows its users to ask questions about the content and to get answers from those users that currently online are more familiar with it. The filtering is based on the evaluation of past user interaction data in time‐based media.

The work is implemented as a prototype application in the context of the Opencast Matterhorn project – an open source based project for producing, managing and distributing academic video content. The application compares users viewing behavior and allows communication with others that are good candidates to answer questions.

Different filtering approaches for identifying suitable candidates are being discussed that foster past interactions in time‐based media.

The paper shows that web lectures can benefit from user awareness ideas and presents examples of how learners can benefit from the knowledge of other users who are working with the same video based content.

User awareness has become an important feature in today's Web 2.0 experience. The paper discusses different user awareness models and explains how they can be adapted to time‐based video content. The presented work is available as a plug‐in for the Opencast Matterhorn project.

The purpose of this paper is describing the seamless integration of the question‐answer interaction into automatic lecture recordings (ALRs). This includes the design and implementation of the question management (QM) software for a virtual camera team.

Coming from the human role model the interaction and its management to the virtual world is transferred and integrated it into a virtual camera team. All events are translated into sensor inputs which get processed by the virtual director and are used for the collaboration of the team in order to implement more complex cinematographic rules.

It is found that it is possible to record the whole interaction, to record the original voice of the questioner out of an audience without handing out a microphone or forcing him/her to walk to one, and to record a video of the questioner while asking. So, it is easier to follow a lecture recording as more details are recorded automatically.

First experiences on using this software clearly show the small weaknesses of the first version. As mentioned in the outlook, these are currently being addressed, e.g. by looking for a more natural interface.

The paper demonstrates how to use the question‐answer interaction as sensor input for an automatic lecture recording (ALR) system based on the roles of the according human originals. It ensures that many details of a lecture can be recorded seamlessly to keep the lecture context continuous and therefore to make the lecture recording more vivid and interesting.

Speech disorder is one of the most common problems found with autistic children. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the introduction of computer‐based interactive games along with the traditional therapies in order to help improve the speech of autistic children.

From analysis of the works of Ivar Lovaas, it is already known that there are several disadvantages to the “applied behavior analysis” approach to solve the problems of autistic children; so the authors' methodologies were to encourage children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to “play,” where playing is mediated through technology. By creating technological methods of interaction (visual displays and physical robots), play and comfortable interactions can be garnered from children with autism. There is a feeling of “safety” in having the main form of interaction occur with non‐humans. Further, these devices allow the child, rather than a third party, to be in control of the interactions.

From the observations, it could found that the problems of autistic children have a wide range and it is almost impossible to design a single game for a group of children. Instead, each child needs to be treated individually. Hence, the authors are suggesting different types of games for different problems.

The authors have proposed some computer game‐based therapies for two types of autism that are discussed in the paper. Interactive games can be built for other types too. After having a group of these games it can be an experimental topic to determine the order of execution of these therapies. However, the proposed games heavily depend on the instructors. Research should be conducted to minimize the duties of instructor.

The autism spectral disorders are defined by the qualitative impairments in social communication. Although the actual reason for autism is still unknown to the medical sciences, it has been proved to be the result of abnormal and irregular growth of cerebral neurons of human brains. People suffering from autism very often demonstrate a poor performance in social interactions and hence find it difficult to communicate with other people. So if vocalization can be encouraged at the age of 3, a pivotal age for children with ASD, this could lead to an increased communicative ability, which makes not only the child's life easier, but also increases their chances of functioning in the world around them.

This paper offers a hierarchy of speaking skills and suggests corresponding games for each stage to achieve a necessary level of efficiency.