February 2004 — Applications
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Videoconferencing System Brings Japanese Students Face-to-Face With U.S. Professors
The Next Generation of Distance Learning
When giving a presentation or a lecture in the U.S., professors use a variety of Microsoft applications such as PowerPoint, and it is in these applications that the StarBoard software has been most useful. Offering the capability to control the PowerPoint slide show through the StarBoard software, presenters also have access to a full palate of inks and stamps to annotate over slides, which are automatically saved and can later be viewed as a separate file. When networked, Hosei and HURIC share the data across the Internet so both Japan and California can see the same information. This enables U.S. professors to instruct their classes while Japanese students view the same class lecture and presentation in real time via the IP connections.
Multimedia such as video, voice and computer data is also shared between the campus in Japan and the professors in California. When professors have to emphasize a point within their lectures, they can simply use the stylus pen to annotate on the StarBoard EM Panel in California, and it is instantaneously projected on one of the two R-70X rear-projection displays in Japan.
Currently, Hosei University is in its fourth semester using this system. In only a year, students have the ability to earn their MBA without having to transfer to the U.S. thanks to these technologies. For many, it is the first time they are subject to this type of technology, but students adapt quickly because it is so easy to use and understand that no prior training is required. Hosei plans to continue its use of this system, and would like to expand it to other countries worldwide so more students have access to this type of education, both in the classroom and through international conferences.
- Yoshi Shinkai
Contact Information
Hitachi Software
(888) 615-9600
www.hitachi-soft.com
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