Caroline is open-source Python framework for interactive web/HTML+JS based science presentations. With Caroline you can show and annotate everything. Interface is minimalistic and focus is on content, as we stick to the principle that the best software is the one that you don't realize is there. Caroline blurs distinction between slides and whiteboard, between demonstration and derivation, and smoothly even crosses from one way lecturing to interacting with the audience, allowing real-time note-taking, quizzes and even all-to-all collaboration. With Caroline making flow of ideas smooth, we can now reimagine how lectures can look! Caroline is made specifically not just to impress the audience but to allow you to do everything you possibly can to reach "aha!" moment of understanding and inspiration, thanks to
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Simple input: supports full markdown support, LaTeX, code highlighting, zoomable figures; shows blinking pointer when mouse/pen pressed...
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Annotations textual or by drawing during lecture over anything (text, video, figure...)
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Camera support: for lecturer view; multiple camera for experimental demonstrations
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Interactive elements: interactive figures, 3D objects, movies, JavaScript simulations and other IFrames
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Audience engagement: quizzes, Roundtable discussions and feedback, audience slide-copy supports annotations and exploration in parallel with a lecture
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Simple portability, and a decluttered interface focused on really necessary: Works in any web browser (from PC to smart fridge), even offline (assuming that no online materials are added in IFrames). Presentation is defined with a human readable plain text file that can be easily versioned with git.
Example presentation that highlights Caroline's capabilities is available here. The link opens lecturer copy. To see audience copy, follow the link on the first opened slide, but keep lecturer copy open to control presentation and see audience-submitted responses.
Example of stand-alone Roundtable - surface for collaborative feedback - which is part of is available at https://roundtable.researchx3d.com as a public demo server. Roundtable can be accessed from within the Caroline framework also. When used as support during meetings (in-person, video conference or mixed), it is ideally viewed opened on horizontal tablet surface while keeping vertical surface for direct view of collaborators, keeping the usual geometry of in-person meetings.
Start by installing Caroline package from calling Python pip (install Python first if you don't have it) from the command line :
pip install caroline-presentation
In the folder where you want to make your presentation run
python -m caroline.template
This creates a template presentation in the folder. Edit presentation by changing
presentation_code.py in your favorite code editor. Save changes and run
python presentation_code.py
To open/preview a presentation open presentation.html (or just refresh the page if it is already opened).
Alternatively, if you want to start from one full example of presentation, run
python -m caroline.example
To see other methods to start presentation that has support for interaction with the audience, or that is automatically pre-filled with material you have provided in a folder, please check ways to start a new presentation.
Caroline is named after Caroline Herschel (1750-1848) who was a pioneering astronomer and scientist. She had independent scientific career as a creator of New General Catalogue and discoverer of several comets, in addition to her work with her brother William Herschel (1738 -1822) early in her career. She was the first woman to receive a salary as a scientists, the first woman to hold a government position in England, the first woman to publish scientific findings in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.
The arrow and the line below Caroline name in the package's logo illustrate the aim of the package to show and annotate everything.
Roundtable is part of the Caroline framework, inspired by collaborative feedback sessions during supervision meetings. It is named after famous Round table of King Arthur, where everyone is equal, since when using Roundtable everyone can contribute, manipulate and annotate the content equally.
Developed by Nikola Šibalić, with encouragement, constructive feedback and early testing by Charles S. Adams.
If you like the Caroline, or Roundtable sub-project, please spread the word!
If you want to contribute to the project check contributing guidelines. Caroline is open-source, build with open-source stack of tools with aim to be flexible and adjustable.
All the files distributed with this program are provided subject to the BSD-3-Clause license. A copy of the license is provided.