A Software Architecture for Coordinating Education Sessions in Distributed Environments

This paper sketches an environment for distributed education that supports the lecturer in preparing and performing a computer-supported session over the network (\virtual classroom"). This task is particularly challenging because it requires the coordination of concurrent activities operating in real-time on objects of diierent types located in a distributed network environment. We describe the CONCERT software architecture that can be implemented with realistic eeorts in the mid-term future and allows non-expert users to perform such a task. Since technology is rapidly evolving, we focus on the design of an abstract architecture under which various technologies can be integrated and on top of which diierent programming interfaces can be built. This architecture can be implemented in form of an application framework i.e. of an object-oriented software library into which application/system-speciic components can be plugged. Our investigation is accompanied by a detailed analysis of the current state of the art (i.e. technology already in existence or projected to be available within one year) which can deliver components for the proposed framework and serve as the basis of its implementation.