Education system suitable for group learning

• US 20020132217A1
• Filed: 03/14/2002
• Published: 09/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Ito, Shuichi, Yonezu, Yasufumi, Osaki, Masanobu
• Granted Patent: US 6,915,104 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 434/362
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/02 with visual presentation of the material to be studied, e.g. using film strip

Abstract

An education system includes a network, individual learning terminals, a group learning terminal and a learning management server. The individual learning terminals are connected with the network and are provided for individual learning of students. The group learning terminal is connected with the network and provided for group learning of a group of the students. The learning management server is connected with the network to provide first education modules for the individual learning to the individual learning terminals and second education modules for the group learning to the group learning terminal.

Claims

1. An education system comprising:

a network;

individual learning terminals connected with said network and provided for individual learning of students;

a group learning terminal connected with said network and provided for group learning of a group of the students; and

a learning management server connected with said network to provide first education modules for the individual learning to said individual learning terminals and second education modules for the group learning to said group learning terminal.

2. The education system according to claim 1, further comprising a database apparatus which stores:

a student database which has personal data of the students; and

a group database which has a group organization list including education items corresponding to education purposes,

wherein said learning management server automatically organizes the group based on said personal data of the students and a selected one of said education items.

3. The education system according to claim 2, wherein said personal data includes ability data and character data of each of the students.

4. The education system according to claim 2, wherein said learning management server represents the education items of the group organization list to allow a teacher to select one of the education items based on education policies.

5. The education system according to claim 2, wherein said database apparatus further stores a teaching materials database which has education modules including said first and second education modules, and

said learning management server supplies said first and second education modules to said individual and group learning terminals, respectively.

6. The education system according to claim 5, wherein said teaching materials database further has an education module management file which indicates link relations of said education modules, and each of the link relations is determined based on a kind of the group, and

said learning management server refers to said education module management file based on the kind of the group to supply said first and second education modules to said individual and group learning terminals, respectively.

7. The education system according to claim 5, wherein each of said education modules has sub-modules in a hierarchy, and the individual learning and the group learning are carried out based on the submodules in the hierarchy.

8. The education system according to claim 2, wherein said database apparatus further stores an evaluation database which has evaluation materials,

each of said first and second education modules has a learning time limit, and

said learning management server refers to said evaluation database to retrieve one of said evaluation materials corresponding to the group when said individual learning or group learning is ended within the learning time limit, and supplies a test to said individual learning terminal for each of the students or said group learning terminal for the group based on the retrieved evaluation material.

9. The education system according to claim 8, wherein said learning management server evaluates the students of the group or the group based on a result of the test, and stores the test result in said student database.

10. The education system according to claim 9, wherein said learning management server determines whether the group should be reorganized, based on the test result when the individual learning of a set of said first education modules is ended or the group learning of a set of said second education modules is ended.

11. An education method comprising the steps of:

(a) automatically organizing a group of students for a selected education course;

(b) supplying first education modules to an individual learning terminal via a network for individual learning of each student of the group;

(c) supplying second education modules to a group learning terminal via the network for group learning of the group;

(d) carrying out a test to evaluate the students and the group; and

(e) selectively reorganizing the group based on the evaluation result.

12. The education method according to claim 11, wherein said (a) automatically organizing step comprises the steps of:

(f) retrieving personal data of the students from a student database;

(g) retrieving a group organization list from a group database, said group organization list including education items, one of which corresponds to the selected education course; and

(h) automatically organizing the group based on said personal data and one of said education items corresponding to the selected education course.

13. The education meted according to claim 12, wherein said personal data includes ability data and character data of each of the students.

14. The education method according to claim 12, wherein said (g) retrieving step comprises the step of:

representing the education items of the group organization list to allow a teacher to select one of the education items based on education policies.

15. The education method according to claim 11, wherein said (b) supplying step comprises the step of:

retrieving said first education modules from a teaching materials database based on said education course to supply said first education modules, and

said (c) supplying step comprises the step of;

retrieving said second education modules from said teaching materials database based on said education course to supply said education modules.

16. The education method according to claim 15, wherein each of said (b) and (c) supplying steps comprises the step of:

referring to an education module management file of said teaching materials database based on said education course to determines said first or second education modules, wherein said education module management file indicates link relations of education modules, and each of the link relations is determined based on said education course.

17. The education method according to claim 15, wherein each of said education modules has sub-modules in a hierarchy, and the individual learning and the group learning are carried out based on the sub-modules in the hierarchy.

18. The education method according to claim 12, wherein each of said first and second education modules has a learning time limit,

said (d) carrying out step comprises the steps of:

referring to an evaluation database to retrieve one of evaluation materials corresponding to said education course when said individual learning or group learning is ended within the learning time limit; and

carrying the test which is produced from the retrieved evaluation material.

19. The education method according to claim 18, wherein said (d) carrying out step comprises the step of:

storing the test result in a student database.