Real-Time Interactive Collaboration Board

An online interactive collaboration system, said system comprising:

• an online system that allows generation of a live online synchronous collaboration board where users can view and interact with preloaded and inserted multimedia objects that are part of a learning activity, in real time, with or without moderation of an instructor, via a computer network;
• a client system capable of executing the live collaboration board;
• a host system, comprising:
• a server capable of providing a shared environment to launch and host the client system;
• a server capable of providing an ability to connect to the shared environment;
• and
• a server capable of providing an instructor's interface in order to perform customization tasks
• means for the instructor and one or more users to simultaneously share a portion of a predetermined view of the collaboration board;
• and
• means for said instructor and said one or more users to simultaneously share a portion of a predetermined view of the collaboration board only at the discretion of the instructor, who can activate or deactivate a “team mode”;
• wherein, the interaction includes at least one of:
• moving multimedia objects by dragging and dropping them from one region of a screen to other regions of the screen, inserting text by using an annotation toolbox, dragging and dropping inserted text, inserting text in preloaded text holders, annotating the screen by using a free hand mode drawing tool, erasing items by using an eraser tool, and pointing to objects by using a pointer tool;
• wherein, under team mode, the instructor and the one or more users can move the multimedia objects, insert text, and use annotation tools;
• and
• wherein, the online system has a “demonstration mode” where only the instructor can move the multimedia objects, insert text, and use annotation tools.