Abstract:

We are currently in the demanding process of digital transformations in schools. This includes two major challenges. The first is the provision of the necessary hardware equipment and network connectivity for students and teachers. The second challenge is to find well designed integrated software applications to support the learning processes inside and outside schools.

We did extensive research on the topic and developed the Ambient Learning Spaces (ALS) platform as a didactic infrastructure for schools. In comparison to learning management systems, ALS focuses on self-directed learning inside and outside school. The pervasive ALS platform consists of multiple interrelated learning applications that can be accessed through stationaries (e.g. PCs, multitouch walls, dome projections) and mobiles (e.g. wearables, smartphones, tablets).

During the development of the ALS platform, we studied how students and teachers can be enabled to create high quality media content with low effort. In multiple schools, we observed that almost all students had access to mobile phones, which allow them to record image, audio and video files. To enable students to process these recordings, we developed VideoEdit, a web-based tool that can be accessed from all PCs or tablets inside a school. In this publication, we will present the architecture and design of the application. We analyzed scenarios for video creation and processing in connection with diverse learning applications and implemented the video editing functions identified as mandatory. The VideoEdit application supports mobile upload functionality, so school students can upload recorded files directly into the ALS platform without a need for USB cables or the like. Once the files are uploaded, they find an easy to understand set of functions such as cutting and merging files, adding new audio tracks, adding text overlays and some effects. Once the cloud-based rendering process is initiated, the resulting video file will become automatically available to all ALS applications through our pervasive cloud-based backend system NEMO (Network Environment for Multimedia Objects). Using the NEMO backend all ALS frontend applications can access the same multimedia repository and access information with device-specific rendering (e.g. video formats and resolutions). NEMO stores information in semantic structures using different databases to support search and discovery of media and related information available. We evaluated the usability of VideoEdit in a classroom study and present the results.

Besides schools we provided VideoEdit for museum staff with high levels of acceptance.

Keywords:

Ambient Learning Spaces, Integrated Media Infrastructures, Didactic Infrastructures, Video Creation, Video Editor.