A university distance lesson system: experiments, services, and future developments

Abstract

This paper presents a real-time interacting distance teaching activity at the Politecnico di Milano (the Technical University of Milano, Italy). The human, organizational, and economic factors of the system's philosophy are introduced; current technologies, infrastructures, and implementations are examined. The distance teaching services, now in use, are presented together with a summary of their evaluation. Two types of upgraded designs of distance teaching classrooms are proposed and analyzed. Finally, the benefits and limits of distance teaching systems for the three basic services; lessons, seminars, and tutoring, are discussed. The basic parameters and limitations for examples of typical higher education distance teaching courses are also given.