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Get the Message?
A Participatory Survey in Streaming Media for Online Learning

DAVID MYCUE, JUDSON HARWARD, and JAY COLLIER
MIT Center for Advanced Educational Services

Here at CAES we produce many courses for the World Wide Web. One of the questions that we keep returning to is "Which media format conveys online class information most effectively?" For example, does a video stream reproduce a lecture more efficiently than the voice of the lecturer accompanied by slides or board writing?

This web site requests your participation in a preliminary survey to help explore the topic.

We have asked several MIT faculty to explain an interesting topic or concept in a 10 to 15 minute presentation. We then captured these presentations -- both as video and in a new streaming format called mimio boardcast from Virtual Ink which captures audio synchronized with board writing and sketching.

The plug-in that is required to use boardcast is available for the various versions of the Windows operating system. A Mac plug-in has also been announced but, unfortunately, has not yet been released.

We are also experimenting with a number of different video resolutions.

We have used simple production techniques because we are trying to find inexpensive, efficient ways to present useful material on the web.

Quality versus Cost

We would like you to view several of these presentations and then fill out a brief questionnaire to let us know which format you feel gives the "best" version of the presentation for the bandwidth.

What do we mean by "best"? It's a question of quality versus cost.

Streaming media, especially high resolution video, sends a lot of data over the network. If you choose a format that requires too much bandwidth, the program may become choppy when the network is busy. And, even if you can reliably receive a high-bandwidth program, you are using a lot of the capacity on your network when you do. That leaves less capacity for your colleagues.

The goal is to use as little bandwidth as necessary while receiving as much information as possible.

Professor Richard Larson

Think of it like ordering from a mail order catalogue and choosing a shipping method. You have several choices: you can ship the package by:

US mail for $2
2nd day air for $7, or
next day air delivery for $11

Do you really need it the next day? Is it really worth the extra money to get it sooner?

When you watch a visual web presentation, you want to choose a format that is easy to follow and of high enough quality that you do not lose interest.

But the last extra bit of sharpness may not be worth the extra cost in bandwidth.

Your Feedback is Invited

What we would like you to do is to view at least one of the presentations from beginning to end. (We suggest you start with one of the video presentations, first.)

Then, browse as many of the other formats of the same presentation as possible and decide:

1. Which format you would prefer if bandwidth were no issue, and

2. What is the cheapest format (in terms of bandwidth) that you find effective and easy to follow.

Prof. Gil Strang
Professor Gil Strang

We would appreciate any additional comments you would care to make on the contrast between the formats; for instance, whether you miss seeing the lecturer in the Boardcast presentation or whether you find that voice is what matters to you most.

The Media Formats

The following table lists two presentations in five different media formats. The average bandwidth cost of each stream is in red.

We offer the following formats:

Video, with the teacher presenting on a whiteboard, at three resolutions:

Nominal 300K: average bandwidth cost = 220 Kbps
Nominal 80K: average bandwidth cost = 80 Kbps
Nominal 56K: average bandwidth cost = 34 Kbps

Synchronized audio and Boardcast writing
- Using a virtual whiteboard: average bandwidth cost = 20 Kbps
- Using a tablet: average bandwidth cost = 20 Kbps

To view a presentation, simply click on the link in the corresponding format. You will need Real Video and the Mimeo plug-in (Windows only) to view these formats. Your Real Player will automatically download the Mimeo plug-in if you don't already have it.

Presenters

Streaming Media Formats

Dick Larson
An interesting problem
in probability
Video at 300K Video at 80K Video at 56K Boardcast using a whiteboard Boardcast using a tablet

-

Gil Strang
Eigenvalues and eigenvectors
Video at 300K Video at 80K Video at 56K Boardcast using a whiteboard Boardcast using a tablet

Bandwidth cost per stream
220Kbps 80Kbps 34Kbps 20Kbps 20Kbps

The Survey

After you have viewed at least one presentation all the way through and have browsed several of the other versions, please answer the following questionnaire.

If you watch the other presenter, please fill out a second survey.

General Information

Full Name:
(required)

Email Address:
(required)

Survey - Presenter:
Larson Strang
Video at 300K Video at 80K Video at 56K Boardcast using a whiteboard Boardcast using a tablet

1. Which complete presentation did you view first? (choose one)

2. Which other presentations did you view or browse? (choose all that apply)

3. If bandwidth were no issue, which presentation would you prefer to learn from? (choose one)

4. What was the cheapest presentation (in terms of bandwidth) that you were comfortable learning from? (choose one)

Less "expensive" bandwidth to the right ->

5. Please share any further comments about the presentations, the media, or the design of this site. Do you know of other streaming web-based media that you feel we should be experimenting with?

.

The Results

Thanks for participating! When we have gathered enough responses, we will present the results here.

For more information

Please contact Jud Harward at: jud@ceci.mit.edu.