Low-bandwidth multimedia tools for Web-based lecture publishing

Some multimedia tools are described, which have been developed for recording audio-graphic presentation material for publication in an HTML reference environment, i.e. "on the Web". The tools comprise two Macintosh applications and two Netscape plug-ins. The presentation model, which is used as a basis for the recorded lectures, closely follows the model of delivery used in a lecture theatre itself. The presenter arrives with a set of pre-prepared slides and has a device for displaying those slides and a means for annotating them with hand-drawn text and diagrams. In addition, the voice is used to reinforce the slides and animations presented. The applications, the technology used to provide low-bandwidth streaming and the likely applications are described. One of those applications, the recording of university lectures, has been evaluated in a trial of the prototype for the tools presented.