Education and demonstration – Question or problem eliciting response
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-08
2004-09-21
Harrison, Jessica (Department: 3714)
Education and demonstration
Question or problem eliciting response
C434S323000, C434S362000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06793498
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to computer assisted learning systems in general whether the learner is an adult, a child or otherwise, which may include the case where the learner is a heuristic computer system.
Some computer assisted learning systems structure the activities that a user may engage in according to their difficulty, and the activities are presented to the user, the learner, in that order. In some systems the user may have an entirely free choice of which activity to attempt next. Either way the user may suffer frustration or boredom because he or she will choose activities at random, or be presented activities, which are too easy or too hard and hence which are of no benefit to the user.
It is an object of the invention to provide a system that to some extent guides the user to appropriate activities.
Preferably some choice is left to the user which emphasizes and exercises responsibility and helps to maintain his or her interest.
In a preferred embodiment the system allows the separation of the user interface and the educational content, which facilitates the development educational aspects of a system, lets the user configure the interface to suit him or herself, and allows the same material to be used across a wide range of age and (dis)ability.
The invention makes use of what are termed herein as developmental networks which encode information as to the relative difficulty of the various skills that a user is to attain. As will be described below the skills are not simply arranged into a linear order.
According to the present invention there is provided a computer assisted learning apparatus for operating upon a database comprising at least one developmental network, the network having a plurality of nodes, each representing a developmental skill or an inference concerning such a skill, and links between nodes, each link being between a node for a first skill and a node for a second easier skill, the database further comprising interactive activity modules associated with the nodes,
the apparatus comprising
means for allowing an interactive activity module defined in the database to be selected,
means for presenting a selected activity module defined in the database to the user whether visually, audibly or otherwise,
means for allowing the user to interact with an activity so presented,
means for recording at least some or the user's actions during or responses to the presented activity, and
means for evaluating at least some of those recorded actions or responses to decide, or provide an inference as to, whether the user has attained a skill associated with a node, and
access prevention means operative in respect of at least a particular node of a network at least for some of the time, for preventing the user from accessing an activity module associated with that particular node according to some criterion based, at least in part, on the results of the said evaluation for at least one activity module associated with at least one other node of the said network.
Further, the present invention also provides a computer assisted learning program for operating upon a database comprising a least one developmental network, the network having a plurality of nodes, each representing a developmental skill or an inference concerning such a skill, and links between nodes, each link being between a node for a first skill and a node for a second easier skill, the database further comprising interactive activity modules associated with the nodes, the program comprising
means for allowing an interactive activity module defined in the database to be chosen by the user,
means for presenting a selected activity module defined in the database to the user whether visually, audibly or otherwise,
means for allowing the user to interact with an activity so presented,
means for recording at least some of the user's actions during or responses to the presented activity, and
means for evaluating at least some of those recorded actions or responses to decide, or provide an inference as to, whether the user has attained a skill associated with a node, and
access prevention means operative in respect of at least a particular node of a network at least for some of the time, for preventing the user from choosing an activity module associated with that particular node according to some criterion based, at least in part, on the results of the said evaluation for at least one activity module associated with at least one node of the said network.
The said criterion may be based, at least in part, on the results of the said evaluation for at least one activity module associated with at least one node for an easier skill connected to the particular node either by a single said link or by more than one of said links, each of those links being in the direction of a harder skill to an easier skill.
The means for presenting an activity module may be capable of passing to an activity module arguments associated with a particular one of a plurality of nodes associated with that activity module, those arguments defining or adding to a definition of the skill represented by the node.
The apparatus may comprise means for presenting an activity module for one or more items in an electronic encyclopaedia.
The apparatus may comprise means for allowing a user to record an audio track of their own voice, for storing that track in association with a node and for allowing the user to replay that rack.
The means for recording responses may include an on screen keyboard.
The means for evaluating the recorded responses or actions may comprise a means for marking the recorded responses and for providing corresponding marks.
The evaluating means may comprise means for reducing the marks provided by the means for marking to one or more statistics.
The evaluating means and/or the access preventing means may produce or maintain at least one flag or value indicating whether the skill represented by a node has been attained by a user and/or whether the node is accessible to the user. The said at least one flag or value may indicate, from time to time, the following conditions: that the user has not attempted an activity module associated with the node, that the user has attempted an activity module associated with the node but has not attained the skill that the node represents, and that the user has attained the skill that the node represents. The said at least one flag or value may indicate, from time to time, the following condition: that the node is to be accessible to the user despite the user having attempted an activity module associated with the node but has not attained the skill that the node represents. The said at least one flag or value may indicate, from time to time, the following condition: that the node is to be accessible to the user irrespective of whether the user has attempted an associated activity module or has attained the skill that the node represents.
The said access prevention means may be arranged to prevent access to nodes for which the user has attempted an associated activity module but has not attained the skill that the node represents. The said access prevention means may allow, after a period, access to a node for which an associated activity module has been attempted but for which the skill that the node represents has not been attained. The said means or preventing access to nodes may allow access to a node for which the user has attempted an associated activity module but has not attained the skill that the node represents once the user has subsequently attained the skill for an easier node that is connected to that node via a certain number of links, each in the direction of a node for a harder skill to one for an easier skill. That certain number of links may be one. Alternatively the said period may be a predetermined period of time.
The said access prevention means may be arranged not to prevent access to a node merely for the reason that the user has attempted an activity module associated with that node but has no attained the skill that that node represents.
The sa
Harris Chanda L.
Harrison Jessica
Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP
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