I will talk about our ongoing research projects on asynchronous CSCL environments. First, I introduce a AVC (Asynchronous Virtual Classroom) project, which aims at providing a quasi-synchronous learning environment although they use this system asynchronously and solitarily. The system provides multimedia learning materials, e.g., video of the lecture, slides, and text-based communication tools such as a bulletin board system. The basic idea is that the AVC system enables learners to share the past interactions about the leaning material, and reuses them appropriately for the later participants. To utilize the past action logs (question, answer, and annotation) that were stored in the same classroom, the system employs a software agent, which simulates the past interactions as an animation. In the reproduction, each statement appears on a series of relative time in the virtual classroom. The past activities have to be synchronized with the learning material.
Secondly, I will talk about a CALL environment, called Viclle (Video-based Communicative Language Learning Support System) that helps a learner study the second language asynchronously using their past conversation recorded with a video conferencing tool. This is a communicative language-learning environment between a native speaker (as a teacher) and a learner using a videoconference tool. Using Viclle-editor system, the teacher inserts educational information into the video as a useful learning material, and the learner can insert his/her feedback to the video. This paper also proposes the markup model in which they can collaboratively edit the video with traditional marks and annotations, and VCML (Video-based Correction Markup Language) based on XML for linking the original video, marks and annotations.
Finally, I will briefly talk about my research plan at L3D.