2002 - cesnet

• general application (EXE)• multimedia program (Macromedia Authorware)• video stream (RM)One of the main contributions of the system is its intuitive interface for addingnew educational materials. Because there are many teachers who are not ITexperts, it is useful to provide them with an option for creating supportive materialsin an environment which they are used to and placing such materials onthe server even without more in-depth knowledge of the system function andstructure. Thus, virtually all teachers of the department can be involved in theonline education support process.Another important aspect is the experimental publishing of lecture records inthe video stream form. For this purpose, we have made use of the offer to placethe records on the streaming server of CESNET.The system is primarily designed for online education support in several categories.Via the Web interface, students will obtain both the access to administrativeand technical information relating to their study, and the possibility toexpress their opinions in a discussion board. However, students will, above all,have a continuously updated and extended database of primary and secondaryeducational materials available – not only in the form of text documents butalso multimedia didactic programs and lecture records in RealVideo format.Prospectively, we are also considering the option to use the system for livebroadcasting of the lectures via the Internet.We are currently completing the development of the portal at web.comtel.cz.The full operation of the portal is expected to start in the first quarter of 2003.The portal will then be moved to www.comtel.cz.13.1.3 Integration of Teleinformatic Resources ofK332 and CESNETThe intentions described above, and their partial implementation, make it possibleto define other possibilities for streamlining the teleinformatic support ofroutine activities in the environment of CTU in the future. One of the possibledirections is the integration of the complex department server with the powerfultechnical equipment managed by CESNET.An example can be creation of a database of educational programs on highcapacityhard drives linked to the multipurpose department server. The basicidea of how this connection is utilized for creating didactic programs and usingthese programs for the distance learning online support is illustrated indiagram 13.1. Appropriately equipped department servers can be coupled156 High-speed National Research Network and its New Applications 2002