Project No.: 5003-051362 01.11.97 - 31.01.2000 (second series)

Project leader: Prof. Giovanni Coray, Lab. d’informatique théorique, Département d’informatique, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Lausanne (EPFL)
e-mail: coray@di.epfl.ch

Name of project: CLASSROOM 2000: Authoring environment for course development using computer supported teachware and interactive distant learning

Partners:
Prof. Jean-Luc Gurtner, Institut de Pédagogie, University of Fribourg,
Prof. Antoine Delley, Ecole d’Ingénieurs Fribourg (EIF),
Dr. Christine Vanoirbeek, Département d’Informatique, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Lausanne (EPFL)

Funding: Sfr 691,712.-

Summary:
There is a growing need at all levels of education and working life for instruction in the new communication and information techniques. Technological development itself is opening up more and more possibilities of revising traditional teaching methods by putting more weight on continuous training in professional life and actually incorporating technical facilities in teaching.

The aims of the present project is a blend of traditional and computer-supported teaching methods:

• Authoring System: development and integration of teachware and technical facilities (computer-based training, simulation) and their use in the interactive virtual classroom;
• The development of teaching, testing and assessment protocols and a system architecture for establishing a virtual classroom (videophones, common use of applications);
• Improvement of the present range of training facilities for post-diploma and vocational coaching in order to put new skills and knowledge business and society quicker into practice;
• Tying Swiss efforts into European projects;
• Developing the organization and communications structures for distributed research collaboration on a European level.

Cooperation: To achieve these goals, a consortium was formed with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Lausanne (EPFL), NDIT/EPIT Bern (post-diploma education in IT and telecommunications), the University of Fribourg, the Fribourg School of Engineering and a few business partners.