Virtual classrooms and interactive remote instruction

SUMMARY Through the integration of high speed computer networks and interactive multimedia workstations, the IRI (Interactive Remote Instruction) system creates a geographically dispersed virtual classroom. Each student participates in a lesson using a personal workstation which can be used to view multimedia lectures, to make presentations, to take notes in a multimedia notebook and to interact via audio/video and shared computer tools. We compare this approach with other modes of instruction and describe lessons learned from the instructor, student and technical perspectives.