LecTix : a lecture-multimedia player

Abstract

LecTix 2.0 is a multimedia player designed specifically for the playback of recorded classroom lectures. LecTix 2.0 plays multimedia consisting of synchronized audio, video, and PowerPoint-style slides. In addition to controls commonly found in multi-media players, LecTix 2.0 features controls designed specifically for lecture-multimedia playback such as customizable skip, variable-speed playback with pitch-normalization, and a browsable timeline of slides. LecTix 2.0's features contribute to its being usable, widely available, and extensible. LecTix 2.0's automatic media synchronization and large, externally consistent controls for navigation make for a learnable, memorable, and efficient user interface. LecTix 2.0's open-source implementation using the Java Media Framework allows it to be freely distributable, portable, and convenient to use without a network connection. LecTix 2.0's media class hierarchy, events, and lecture description result in a modular player that can be extended to support new media types without recompilation of the player's core. In addition to presenting LecTix 2.0, this thesis reviews seven players in use today. I compare them to LecTix 2.0 in terms of usability, availability, and extensibility. I also present a case study of the production of lecture multimedia and the use of an early version of LecTix in an introductory algorithms course.