Multimedia Integration Into a Distance Learning Environment

IRI is an Interactive Remote Instruction multimedia system for distance learning. It integrates audio, video, shared applications and multiuser collaborative utilities. In this paper we concentrate on the process architecture and dynamic multicast group handling as they pertain to multimedia and show how they support robustness and short response time to user actions. IRI uses raw IP multicasting for audio and video streams and reliable multicasting for data sharing. The system is scalable (uses multicast for inter-process communication) and expandable (it is partitioned into a set of autonomous but cooperating components). In addition, we present a series of experiments that show how the machine workload innuences the audio and video subsystem. Finally, we discuss the techniques used to record and playback an IRI session.