Sketch Recognition Based Intelligent Whiteboard Teaching System

The virtual electronic whiteboard is one of the main tools of the CSCL. This paper realizes an intelligent whiteboard system based on sketch recognition. The system is build on multitier distributed architecture, which can support the users to communicate with each other by sketching and chatting on pen based HCI. It can recognize the gestures to help users modify, copy and move sketches as familiar pencil-and-paper process, and transform the free-hand sketches into the symbols of the domain-specific knowledge automatically using feature points detection and graphics recognition algorithms. Such novel AI-aid sketching communication can support building connection between the concrete graphics and the abstract concepts during the learning activities, especially for information technology education. The experimental whiteboard system fulfills a flowchart-to-C programming and an ER diagram-to-database recognition and communication framework. The result of the usability evaluation of the experiment suggests that this system has higher efficiency for collaborative learning and more sufficient for the concept learning of information science.