Technical Merits & Economical Consideration of Videoconferencing in Distance Learning

Abstract

Distance Education is considered as the one of the main modes of modern education, due to its many advantages. Teaching and Learning are no longer confined to the lecture room or classroom. There are many technologies that can offer a great deal of flexibility in the manner in which education resources are distributed The purpose of this study is to investigate the current state of videoconferencing system technology and evaluate the potential effectiveness of this technology for delivering interactive lectures to remote audience. Technologies for videoconferencing were discussed, including the compression of audio and video data and the transmission of this data over various communication channels. To demonstrate the use of videoconference system for distance learning, three experiments were made, using the Intranet of University of Khartoum. The setup of these experiments and their outcome are fully discussed. As the economical side of any project takes a considerable part in any Engineering planning, the fixed and running costs of different media were also considered, in order to select the best media from the point of technical as well as economical views.