Orchestrating Handhelds In The Classroom With SRI’s Classsync

Abstract

In our interactive experience, we address the problem of a teacher or other leader managing the use of electronic communication devices by their students. We have embedded the control elements into the physical class structure itself so that the teacher may control the interactive system by moving about the classroom and interacting with the devices therein. We have shifted control from a teacher-controlled display in a static location to a teacher’s dynamic control that is interactive with items spatially distributed in the room. Our demonstration shows how this orchestration can be accomplished with low-cost infrared communications as opposed to more expensive radio-based solutions.