Solution for multimedia information recording and streaming over Internet

Video and audio conversion

Online training solution

Users:
The solution is focused on the following social groups: students (pupils), teachers and educational projects tutors (information managers).

Objective:
To make it possible for the users to organize interactive optional studies to learn main subjects and deepen knowledge.

The following services should be performed to realize the basic project target:

• user online logging
• training courses registration and full information supply about the course (a teacher, time and date, the topic of the course, additional literature, interactive study materials
• instant messaging
• audio conferencing
• online discussion of the tasks and solutions by means of interactive color whiteboard available to all the course participants
• interactive UML design on the diagram whiteboard
• study materials mailing to the course participants
• online tests, credits and exams conduct
• personal tutorial with a teacher
• teaching material recording and replay (for review).

Additional services:

• rankings (academic ranking, teachers rating, courses rating)
• interaction with other popular messaging services (ICQ, etc.)
• information search within the framework of the solution and online
• solution management, including administering of the user access to solution services
• client application and upgrade upload;
• Usage activity.

Solution:
Two applications development were supposed to achieve basic goals. One of them is web site (Web application); the other is client (stand alone) application installed in front-end computer.

Web site is meant for the users' interaction and the academic activity creation. It is also meant for users' online registration, training courses criteria-based search, statistics monitoring, information interchange. It also contains Information for use of the solution components and general online interaction of the users.

Client Application makes it possible to organize interaction at the lesson and makes the information on the web site available for all. Its installation is possible after its download from the site and auto update.

The client application has the following features:

• possibility to work both on-line and off-line
• possibility to arrange videoconferences (elements for video stream display, which could be changed for the conversational partner display; component which is meant for reading out of the video stream from the client's web camera and its transmission to a conversational partner
• real time signal transmission and signal processing (elements of the audio stream replay/recording)
• organization and participation in chat conferences (elements of control, input and text display)
• work with whiteboard (elements of the color selection, text and elementary forms input);
• work with diagram board (elements of the UML diagrams selection, their distribution on the board, resizing and feature updates);
• participation in the testing (elements for the text selection, filling and test results analysis, including right answers commentaries);
• slides demonstration (element for a teacher to show slides with s materials).

The advantages of the solution and its implementation features:
The solution has user-friendly interface, which is easy-to-understand for the users. The client application supports the plug-ins conceptual design and could be extended. The solution provides a set of services for tasks accomplishment in the sphere of iLearning.

Technologies:
The solution is based on costless freeware and open standards, excluding the cases, when it is impossible or too time-consuming to get the required solution without the paid software. The solution is based on the following products and technologies: Java (JDK 1.5), MyFaces, Facelets, JSP/Servlets, JavaScript, Eclipse RCP, SWT Spring, Hibernate, Acegi-security, JPA, Axis WS, XSLT/XPath, DBMS - MySQL or FireBird, JMF API, JAI API.