Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

E-pSyLon: a synchronous e-learning platform for staff training in large corporations

  • Published:
Multimedia Tools and Applications Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Synchronous e-learning is becoming increasingly popular as a tool for developing human resource training plans in large corporations. A synchronous e-training platform has been designed and implemented to explore the possibilities of synchronous e-training in a large corporation. The client tool is used by learners and instructors to collaborate in real-time during e-training activities. It is based on standard protocols also used in voice over IP, which makes it inter-operable with other software and hardware devices. The functionalities offered by the client tool have been chosen based on those provided by commercial tools, but focusing on the specific characteristics of users and network conditions of corporate environments. This facilitates highly interactive synchronous e-training activities. Multimedia configuration of activities is flexible, so participants with different network link capabilities can join activities. The e-training platform has been tested in real e-training activities in ArcelorMittal Spain. The opinions of the users reflect an enhanced learning experience when using the client tool.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. http://www.atc.uniovi.es/etipo/manual/.

References

  1. Alavi M (1994) Computer-mediated collaborative learning: an empirical evaluation. Manag Inf Syst Q 18(2):159–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Almeroth KC (2000) Evolution of multicast: from the MBone to interdomain multicast to internet2 deployment. IEEE Netw 14(1):10–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Barnes M, Boulton C, Levin O (2008) A framework for centralized conferencing. RFC 5239, Internet Engineering Task Force

  4. Bijlani K, Rangan P, Subramanian S, Vijayan V, Jayahari K (2010) A-view: adaptive bandwidth for telepresence and large user sets in live distance education. In: Proceedings of the 2nd international conference on education technology and computer (ICETC 2010). Shanghai, China, pp V2219–V2222

  5. Blake S, Black D, Carlson M, Davies E, Wang Z, Weiss W (1998) An architecture for differentiated services. RFC 2475, Internet Engineering Task Force

  6. Bolot JC, Vega-Garcia A (1996) Control mechanisms for packet audio in the internet. In: Proceedings of the 15th annual joint conference of the IEEE computer societies (INFOCOM 1996), vol 1. San Francisco, CA, USA, pp 232–239

  7. Boulos MNK, Taylor AD, Breton A (2005) A synchronous communication experiment within an online distance learning program: a case study. Telemed J e-Health 11(5):583–593

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Bouras C, Gkamas A, Kapoulas V, Stamos K (2002) Desktop synchronous distance learning application enhanced with efficient chair control capabilities. In: Proceedings of the international conference on parallel and distributed processing techniques and applications (PDPTA 2002). Las Vegas, NV, USA, pp 1158–1164

  9. Camarillo G, Ott J, Drage K (2006) The binary floor control protocol (BFCP). RFC 4582, Internet Engineering Task Force

  10. Casner S, Deering S (1992) First IETF internet audiocast. ConneXions 6(6):10–17

    Google Scholar 

  11. Chassie K (2002) The allure of e-learning. IEEE Potentials 21(3):33–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Civanlar M (2000) RTP payload format for real-time pointers. RFC 2862, Internet Engineering Task Force

  13. Deshpande S, Hwang JN (2001) A real-time interactive virtual classroom multimedia distance learning system. IEEE Trans Multimedia 3(4):432–444

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. El Saddik A, Yang D, Georganas N (2007) Tools for transparent synchronous collaborative environments. Multimed Tools Appl 33(2):217–240

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. El Saddik A, Rahman A, Abdala S, Solomon B (2008) PECOLE: P2P multimedia collaborative environment. Multimed Tools Appl 39(3):353–377

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Emswiler T (1995) Using the multicast backbone (MBone) for distance learning: a case study. Master’s thesis, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California

  17. Floyd S, Jacobson V, Liu CG, McCanne S, Zhang L (1997) A reliable multicast framework for light-weight sessions and application level framing. IEEE/ACM Trans Netw 5(6):784–803

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Fortino G, Nigro L, Pupo F (2001) An mbone-based on-demand system for cooperative off-line learning. In: Proceedings of the 27th euromicro conference. Warsaw, Poland, pp 336–344

  19. Fung A, Ledesma J (2005) Extending the classroom. In: Proceedings of the 6th international working conference on information technology in educational management (ITEM 2004). Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, pp 47–56

  20. García DF, Uría C, Granda JC, Suárez FJ, González F (2007) A functional evaluation of the commercial platforms and tools for synchronous distance e-learning. Int J Educ Inf Technol 1(2):95–104

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  21. Granda J, Uría C, García D, Suárez F, González F (2008) Design issues in remote visualization of information in interactive multimedia e learning systems. In: Proceedings of the IEEE international conference visualisation (VIS 2008). London, UK, pp 70–76

  22. Granda JC, García DF, Nuño P, Suárez FJ (2010) An efficient networking technique for synchronous e-learning platforms in corporate environments. Comput Commun 33(14):1752– 1766

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Hellstrom G, Jones P (2005) RTP payload for text conversation. RFC 4103, Internet Engineering Task Force

  24. Higuchi Y, Mitsuishi T, Go K (2006) An interactive multimedia instruction system: IMPRESSION for multipoint synchronous online classroom environment. In: Proceedings of the 10th international conference on knowledge-based intelligent information and engineering systems (KES 2006), vol 4252 LNAI - II. Bournemouth, pp 1027–1034

  25. Isaacs E, Tang J (1994) What video can and cannot do for collaboration: a case study. Multimed Syst 2(2):63–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Isenhour P, Carroll J, Neale D, Rosson M, Dunlap D (2000) The virtual school: an integrated collaborative environment for the classroom. Educ Technol Soc 3(3):74–86

    Google Scholar 

  27. ITU-T (1998a) Multipoint still image and annotation protocol. Recommendation T.126, International Telecommunication Union

  28. ITU-T (1998b) Protocol for multimedia application text conversation. Recommendation T.140, International Telecommunication Union

  29. Jacobson V, McCanne S (1993) Visual audio tool. Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. ftp://ftp.ee.lbl.gov/conferencing/vat

  30. Johnson DW, Johnson RT, Smith KA (1991) Cooperative learning: increasing college faculty instructional productivity. ASHE ERIC Higher Education Report 4, The George Washington University, School of Education & Human Development, Washington, D.C.

  31. Latchman H, Salzmann C, Gillet D, Bouzekri H (1999) Information technology enhanced learning in distance and conventional education. IEEE Trans Ed 42(4):247–254

    Google Scholar 

  32. Latchman H, Salzmann C, Gillet D, Kim J (2001) Learning on demand - a hybrid synchronous/asynchronous approach. IEEE Trans Ed 44(2):208

    Google Scholar 

  33. Lecce VD, Giove A, Quarto A (2009) A virtual classroom interface for student participation measurement. In: Proceedings of the international conference on virtual environments, human-computer interfaces and measurements systems (VECIMS 2009). Hong Kong, China, pp 255–260

  34. Ludlow BL, Duff MC (1996) The instructor-producer relationship: a partnership for effective distance education. Tech. Rep. RC 020 572, In: Rural goals 2000: building programs that work

  35. Malpani R, Rowe LA (1997) Floor control for large-scale MBone seminars. In: Proceedings of the 5th ACM international multimedia conference. Seattle, WA, USA, pp 155–163

  36. Marjanovic O (1999) Learning and teaching in a synchronous collaborative environment. J Comput Assist Learn 15(2):129–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. McCanne S, Jacobson V (1995) vic: a flexible framework for packet video. In: Proceedings of the ACM multimedia. San Francisco, CA, USA, pp 511–522

  38. Nuño P, Granda JC, García DF, Suárez FJ (2010) Automatic deployment of a communication mesh for synchronous e-learning activities. In: Proceedings of the 5th international conference on systems and networks communications (ICSNC 2010). Nice, France, pp 213–220

  39. Pahud M (2008) ConferenceXP research platform: toward an extensible collaborative environment. Microsoft research. http://research.microsoft.com/conferencexp

  40. Papert S, Harel I (1991) Constructionism. Ablex Publishing Corporation, New York, NY, USA

    Google Scholar 

  41. Paxson V (1999) End-to-end internet packet dynamics. IEEE/ACM Trans Netw 7(3):277–292

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Premchaiswadi W, Tungkasthan A, Jongsawat N (2010) Enhancing learning systems by using virtual interactive classrooms and web-based collaborative work. In: Proceedings of the IEEE eduation engineering conference (EDUCON 2010). Madrid, Spain, pp 1531–1537

  43. Rosenberg J, Schulzrinne H, Camarillo G, Johnston A, Peterson J, Sparks R, Handley M, Schooler E (2002) SIP: session initiation protocol. RFC 3261, Internet Engineering Task Force

  44. Schulzrinne H, Casner S, Frederick R, Jacobson V (2003) RTP: a transport protocol for real-time applications. RFC 3550, Internet Engineering Task Force

  45. Snow C, Pullen J, McAndrews P (2005) Network educationWare: an open-source web-based system for synchronous distance education. IEEE Trans Ed 48(4):705–712

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Ullrich C, Shen R, Tong R, Tan X (2010) A mobile live video learning system for large-scale learning–system design and evaluation. IEEE Trans Learning Technol 3(1):6–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Weller M (2007) The distance from isolation. why communities are the logical conclusion in e-learning. Comput Educ 49(2):148–159

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  48. Yang Z, Liu Q (2007) Research and development of web-based virtual online classroom. Comput Educ 48(2):171–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Zhao X, Zhang Y (2006) An instructor-oriented prototype system for virtual classroom. In: Proceedings of the 6th international conference on advanced learning technologies (ICALT 2006). Kerkrade, The Netherlands, pp 200–204

  50. Zhao X, Zhong Y, Matsumoto M (2006) A real-time interactive shared system for distance learning. In: Proceedings of the 12th international multi-media modelling conference (MMM 2006). Beijing, China, pp 102–107

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was partially funded by ArcelorMittal under contract number CN-06-038. Financial support (grant:UNOV-10-BECDOC-S) given by the University of Oviedo-Banco de Santander is acknowledged. This work was partially funded by the Spanish National Plan of Research, Development and Innovation under the projects TIN2008-06045-C02 and TIN2011-24903.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Informatics, University of Oviedo, Campus de Viesques, 33204, Gijón, Spain

    Juan C. Granda, Pelayo Nuño & Francisco J. Suárez

  2. La Toba ArcelorMittal Training Center, Avilés, Spain

    María A. Pérez

Authors
  1. Juan C. Granda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Pelayo Nuño
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Francisco J. Suárez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. María A. Pérez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Juan C. Granda.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Granda, J.C., Nuño, P., Suárez, F.J. et al. E-pSyLon: a synchronous e-learning platform for staff training in large corporations. Multimed Tools Appl 66, 431–463 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-012-1061-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-012-1061-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation