IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, VOL.6 No.8A, August 2006 11 Manuscript received August 5, 2006. Manuscript revised August 25, 2006. Development of Self-Learning Support System Using Arousal Level and Lecture Information Yurie Iribe † , Shuji Shinohara †† , Kyoichi Matsuura †† , Ryo Taguchi †† Kouichi Katsurada †† , Yuske Sekiguchi †† and Tsuneo Nitta †† † Information and Media Center, Toyohashi University of Technology, JAPAN †† Graduate School of Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, JAPAN Summary One of today’s hot topics in an educational field is the development of efficient learning support systems. With the progress of networks and multimedia technologies, various types of web-based training (WBT) systems have been developed for distance- and self-learning. Most of the current learning support systems synchronously reproduce contents in lecture resources such as videos, slides, and digital-ink notes written by teachers. This paper describes a more efficient learning support system that provides not only multimedia data in lecture resources but also various functionalities matched to student learning level by introducing lecture information (i.e. questions/answers) and student arousal levels extracted from biological data. We also investigate the effectiveness of the proposed system through an experimental evaluation. Key words: Self-Learning, Arousal Level, Lecture Information, Learning Support System. 1. Introduction Many studies have been conducted focusing on the technology of learning support systems. With the progress of networks and multimedia technologies, various types of web-based training (WBT) systems have been developed for self-learning [1] [2]. The main advantage of WBT is that a student can keep his/her own pace when learning at university or at home under a network environment. On the other hand, however, some students may find it difficult to concentrate their attention on learning in an isolated environment [3] [4]; therefore, it is important for WBT how to keep the students’ interest. Most of the current support systems for web-based learning synchronously reproduce contents in lecture resources such as videos and Microsoft PowerPoint slides that a teacher uses during his/her lecture [5] [6]. These systems are very useful when confirming and/or reviewing any parts of the lecture that may have been missed. However, they do not take into consideration the attention level of the students during lectures. We have developed a multimedia lecture system with self-learning support functionalities to solve the above problem. The system will help students to review lectures more efficiently by introducing the arousal level, extracted from each student’s biological data (i.e. EOG (electrooculogram), EEG (electroencephalogram), and ECG (electro- cardiogram)). The multimedia lecture system provides not only multimedia contents in lecture resources but also various functionalities matched to student learning level by using the above-mentioned arousal level together with lecture information (i.e. questions/answers). Furthermore, the user interface of the proposed system is designed specifically for interactive viewing of self-learning. 2. Interactive Lecture System (ILS) The proposed multimedia lecture system is on an individual basis and self-learning (mainly for reviewing lectures) by using each student’s lecture information and biological data obtained during the lecture. The student’s lecture information is acquired using the ILS (Interactive Lecture System) developed in our group [7]. Figure 1 shows an outline of the proposed system. Fig. 1 Outline of the Proposed System.