VTutor: A Platform for Improving Searchability and Interactivity of Recorded Lectures

Abstract

Recorded lectures have gained popularity as a method of delivering lecture content as they give learners a host of distinct advantages such as the ability to follow lectures without time or location constraints and to consume the lectures at their own pace. However, despite such benefits, they have a tendency to be lengthy and tedious to watch. They also prove cumbersome when precise information needs to be extracted from the content. Another drawback is that recorded lecture videos fail to show the connection between the lecture and its support material such as slides and questionnaires. Though many of the existing platforms allow editing lecture videos for more interactivity, the methods employed by these platforms have always been manual, and therefore time intensive. VTutor is a web platform that aims to address these drawbacks by introducing automation into the video enhancement process, eventually combining the lecture material to create an enhanced user experience. Specifically, VTutor allows users to navigate through a lecture video using subtopics, its corresponding slides and code samples. Furthermore, it is equipped with the ability to automatically generate questions by scraping the internet based on provided keywords thus improving the level of engagement that a learner has with the lecture.