Interactive protocol simulation applets for distance education

Traditionally education relies on lectures and on execercises. During lectures, information is transferred from teacher to learner via text, images and sometimes videos. But these communication media are mostly fix and do not allow manipulation. Exercises care for stepping into this breach. They take place in simulated or real environment and enable experimenting but can be far from lectures. Thus, learners have to stay in relatively close contact to tutors to be able to perform their exercises. In distance education, such closeness can not always be guaranteed. To overcome this problem, the project HiSAP (Highly interactive Simulation of Algorithms and Protocols) introduces interactive simulation ap plets for lectures as well as exercises in the area of distributed system protocols. Such applets contain a suited model of certain learning material and provide a high level of interaction from changing the speed of the animation up to modifying the simulated material itself.