A revolution in education

A classroom is equipped with strategically placed cameras to show the instructor, a zoomed view of material chosen by the instructor, the board, and all students in the class. Enough cameras provide different views to closely observe all activities of interest in the classroom. The board itself may be electronic-a computer display as well as a tablet used for input to a computer. The combined system builds a model of the classroom at every instant and permits interactive viewing of it. In live mode, the system lets any person anywhere be telepresent in the class and participate in it. You can observe and explore as you wish, rather than relying on what the cameraman wants you to see. In a real classroom, you have a fixed location and cannot move around without disturbing the class. Not so in remote mode. A remote student can electronically copy the contents of the classroom material, including the board display. A remote student can ask questions in class at any time, and their video may be displayed to the class at any time. In fact, it is possible to display all remote students as a video gallery to provide feedback to the instructor. This classroom removes the requirement of physically being in a class to attend. In archive mode, the system can reconstruct the class proceedings in telepresence mode to let a student visit, or revisit, the class from any viewpoint. All class activities are archived for this purpose. Postprocessing can further enhance features as required. Many other information sources can be attached to provide all information at one place. The archival system lets students tele-attend a class at their own convenience and pace. This does not mean just viewing a talking-head video, but immersion in the classroom