Educational Interactive Functions of the Multimedia E-learning System E-Math and its Database-Centered Construction Methods

Today, an increasing number of universities are introducing e-learning systems. These systems enable students to study on their own, anywhere, anytime. However, they also present some problems: (1) Elearning systems may be dull and unhelpful when students study on their own, because the teaching materials are the same for every student, and (2) Custom multimedia e-learning systems are costly to develop, even those developed privately by teachers. The main goal of the work described in this paper is to support and encourage students when they are stuck and require teacher assistance, because they do not comprehend the teaching materials offered by the system. Another goal is to reduce the time and cost required for system development. The paper proposes database-centered construction methods for efficiently developing a multimedia e-learning system within a limited budget and without spending undo time and effort. It introduces our multimedia e-learning system, e-Math, as the implementation example. To help students interactively, the e-Math system offers unobtrusive and natural educational support. The paper also describes the specifications of e-Math's educational support functions: the SOS issuing function, the step-by-step explanation function, and the communication buttons.