A Distributed Multi-Server Architecture for Scalable Educational Applications

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9453764 Feurzeig The projected National Information Infrastructure will have to accommodate a tremendous level of user traffic, with great dynamic fluctuations in both user load and computational demand-and it will have to do this in a user-transparent seamless fashion. At the same time, the system will need to be a great deal more accessible and friendly than current networks, to better serve users of widely varying degrees of sophistication. This calls for the development of new networking technologies incorporating significant advances in the underlying technological foundations. It also calls for a new and more natural superstructure based on a distinctly different organizational paradigm that will provide the required salability while supporting the rich, complex, multi-media communication, computation, and collaboration essential for distributed educational networking applications. We propose to develop and demonstrate MuseNet, a sophisticated technological infrastructure for network-mediated science and math education. MuseNet is a generic distributed computer and communications environment simultaneously accessible by multiple users over interactive computer network connections. The system will support instructional interactions centered on student work with science and mathematics microworlds including visual simulations and models. The programs will be distributed through network servers for local operation on client machines. The enabling technology will support the communication, computational, and educational environments for supporting an extensive and diverse set of science education projects. It will serve as a pilot facility for exploring and investigating the technical and educational issues posed by high bandwidth networks such as the projected NII system. ***