System and method for case study instruction

• US 20030014400A1
• Filed: 06/11/2002
• Published: 01/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Wisdom Tools, Inc.
• Original Assignee: ADVANCED RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE
• Inventors: Siegel, Martin A.
• Application Number:
  US10/167,131
• Publication Number:
  US 20030014400A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/3
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/00 Electrically-operated educational appliances working with questions and answers G09B7/00; simulators G09B9/00; advertising or displaying in general G09F
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/00 Electrically-operated teaching apparatus or devices working with questions and answers mechanically operated G09B3/00; computing arrangements G06F

Abstract

A system and method for case study instruction, comprising a host server, a database associated with the host server, at least one client computer, and a network operably connecting the host server and the client computer(s). Client computers are operated by learners or facilitators. Case studies according to the present invention comprise episodes. Each episode comprises events on timelines, character profiles, and, optionally, resources. Each event optionally comprises activities. Information about a case study is retrievably stored on the host server and in the database. Case studies are executed by one or more learners using a client computer to retrieve case study information through the network. Learners may be organized into teams. Where the network comprises a global computer network, learners may execute a case study from substantially any place in the world, at substantially any time of the day. Facilitators assist learners during execution of a case study.

Claims

1. A system for case study instruction comprising:

a host server;

a database associated with said host server;

at least one client computer;

a network operably connecting said host server and said at least one client computer; and

information about a case study, said case study comprising at least one episode, each of said at least one episodes comprising at least one event and at least one character profile, at least one of said events comprising at least one activity, said information retrievably stored on said host server and in said database, said information comprising a plurality of display pages, wherein at least one of said display pages comprises multimedia.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said episodes further comprises at least one resource.

3. A system for case study instruction comprising:

a host server;

a database associated with said host server;

at least one client computer operated by at least one learner;

a network operably connecting said host server and said at least one client computer; and

information about a case study, said information retrievably stored on said host server and in said database, said case study comprising at least one episode, each of said at least one episodes comprising at least one event and at least one character profile, at least one of said events comprising one or more activities, said case study designed to assist said at least one learner in improving at least one hard skill.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein at least one of said episodes further comprises at least one resource.

5. A system for case study instruction comprising:

a host server;

a database associated with said host server;

at least one client computer;

a network operably connecting said host server and said at least one client computer; and

information about a case study, said information retrievably stored on said host server and in said database, said case study comprising at least one episode, each of said at least one episodes comprising at least one event and at least one character profile, wherein at least one of said events comprises one or more activities, at least one of said activities being selected from the group consisting of quiz activities, point-of-view activities, and computer facilitated practice activities.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein at least one of said events comprises location-specific scene content.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein at least one of said activities is a location-specific activity.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein at least one of said episodes further comprises at least one resource.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said at least one resource is a location-specific resource.

10. The system of claim 5, wherein at least one of said client computers is operated by a facilitator, said system further comprising:

means useable by said facilitator for acquiring a report pertaining to at least one of said activities, said means operable to retrieve a portion of said information from said database, to compile said retrieved information in a format displayable on said client computer operated by said facilitator, and to display said compiled information on said client computer operated by said facilitator.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein each of said at least one activities is selected from the group consisting of survey activities, quiz activities, discussion forum activities, point-of-view activities, and computer facilitated practice activities.

12. The system of claim 5, wherein at least one of said activities comprises a quiz activity.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said quiz activity comprises quiz activity randomization.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein said quiz activity comprises an adaptive quiz.

15. The system of claim 5, wherein at least one of said activities comprises a computer facilitated practice activity.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said computer facilitated practice activity is adapted for use with generalized subject matter.

17. The system of claim 5, wherein at least one of said activities comprises a point-of-view activity.

18. The system of claim 5, wherein at least one of said activities is selected from the group consisting of quiz activities, point-of-view activities, computer facilitated practice activities, and survey activities, wherein said survey activities comprise survey activity randomization.

19. The system of claim 5, wherein at least one event comprises at least two activities.

20. A system for case study instruction comprising:

a host server;

a database associated with said host server;

a plurality of client computers operated by a plurality of participants;

a network operably connecting said host server and said plurality of client computers;

information about a case study, said information retrievably stored on said host server and in said database, said case study comprising at least one episode, each of said at least one episodes comprising at least one event and at least one character profile, at least one of said events comprising one or more activities; and

means for communicating between said plurality of participants.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein at least one of said episodes further comprises at least one resource.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein said plurality of participants comprises a plurality of learners, said plurality of learners being organized into at least two teams with each of said teams comprising at least one learner, said means for communicating between said plurality of participants comprising a threaded discussion wherein said at least one learner from a first team may communicate with said at least one learner from a second team.

23. The system of claim 22, further comprising means for organizing said learners into said teams, said means comprising:

means for obtaining profile information about at least two of said learners;

means for storing said profile information in said database; and

means operable to evaluate at least a portion of said profile information against predetermined team assignment criteria retrievably stored in said database, and operable to assign at least one said learner to at least one said team according to said evaluation.

24. The system of claim 20, wherein said means for communicating between said plurality of participants comprises a threaded discussion comprising at least one message, and wherein at least one of said participants is a facilitator, the system further comprising:

means operable by said facilitator for extracting at least one message from said threaded discussion and retrievably storing said at least one message in a computer file.

25. The system of claim 20, wherein said means for communicating between said plurality of participants comprises instant messaging.

26. The system of claim 20, wherein said means for communicating between said plurality of participants comprises means for sending one or more e-mail messages to another participant.

27. The system of claim 20, wherein said means for communicating between said plurality of participants comprises a chat room.

28. The system of claim 20, wherein said means for communicating between said plurality of participants comprises means for attaching a computer file to a message.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein at least one of said episodes further comprises at least one resource.

31. The system of claim 29, further comprising a second client computer operated by a second participant, said network operably connecting said host server and said second client computer, the system further comprising:

means for preventing said second participant from retrieving said personal messages retrievably stored by said first participant.

29. A system for case study instruction comprising:

a host server;

a database associated with said host server;

a first client computer operated by a first participant;

a network operably connecting said host server and said first client computer;

information about a case study, said information retrievably stored on said host server and in said database, said case study comprising at least one episode, each of said at least one episodes comprising at least one event and at least one character profile, wherein at least one of said events comprises one or more activities; and

means useable by said first participant for retrievably storing personal messages on said host server and in said database.

32. A system for case study instruction comprising:

a host server;

a database associated with said host server;

a first client computer operated by a first participant;

a network operably connecting said host server and said first client computer;

information about a case study, said information retrievably stored on said host server and in said database, said case study comprising at least one episode, each of said at least one episodes comprising at least one event and at least one character profile, wherein at least one of said events comprises one or more activities; and

action planning means useable by said first participant for retrievably storing an action plan.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein at least one of said episodes further comprises at least one resource.

34. The system of claim 32, further comprising a second client computer operated by a second participant, said network operably connecting said host server and said second client computer, the system further comprising:

means for preventing said second participant from retrieving said action plan retrievably stored by said first participant.

35. The system of claim 32, wherein said action planning means comprises means for editing said action plan.

36. The system of claim 32, wherein said action planning means comprises means for creating said action plan.

37. The system of claim 32, wherein said action plan comprises an action plan of a type selected from the group consisting of non-customizable action plans, semi-customizable action plans, and fully customizable action plans.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein at least one of said episodes further comprises at least one resource.

40. The system of claim 38, wherein said report pertains to at least one of said activities.

41. The system of claim 40, wherein each of said at least one activities is selected from the group consisting of survey activities, quiz activities, discussion forum activities, point-of-view activities, and computer facilitated practice activities.

42. The system of claim 38, further comprising at least one additional client computer operated by at least one learner, said at least one additional client computer operably connected to said host server by said network, wherein said participant is a facilitator and said compiled information is representative of said at least one learner'"'"'s participation during said case study.

43. The system of claim 42, wherein said report comprises means useable by said facilitator for communicating with said at least one learner.

44. The system of claim 38, further comprising a plurality of additional client computers operated by a plurality of learners, said plurality of additional client computers operably connected to said host server by said network, wherein said report comprises compiled information representative of the participation of at least two of said plurality of learners during said case study.

45. The system of claim 44, wherein said report comprises means useable by said facilitator for communicating with at least one learner selected from among the learners to which the report pertains.

47. The system of claim 46, wherein said supplemental information comprises information about one or more activities.

48. The system of claim 46, wherein said database comprises an activity database and a resource database.

49. The system of claim 48, wherein said activity database comprises one or more activity templates, each of said activity templates being retrievable from said activity database by said facilitator using said client computer, populatable with information comprising an activity by said facilitator using data entry means of said client computer, and retrievably storable on said host server and in said database by said facilitator using said client computer.

50. The system of claim 48, further comprising an activity example database.

51. The system of claim 46, wherein said supplemental information comprises information about one or more resources.

52. The system of claim 48, wherein said resource database comprises resource templates, each of said resource templates being retrievable from said resource database by said facilitator using said client computer, populatable with information comprising a resource by said facilitator using data entry means of said client computer, and retrievably storable on said host server and in said database by said facilitator using said client computer.

53. The system of claim 48, further comprising a resource example database.

38. A system for case study instruction comprising:

a host server;

a database associated with said host server;

a client computer operated by a participant;

a network operably connecting said host server and said client computer;

information about a case study, said information retrievably stored on said host server and in said database, said case study comprising at least one episode, each of said at least one episodes comprising at least one event and at least one character profile, wherein at least one of said events comprises one or more activities; and

means useable by said participant for acquiring a report, said means operable to retrieve a portion of said information from said database, to compile said retrieved information in a format displayable on said client computer, and to display said compiled information on said client computer.

46. A system for case study instruction comprising:

a host server;

a database associated with said host server;

a client computer operated by a facilitator, said client computer comprising at least one data entry means;

a network operably connecting said host server and said client computer;

information about a case study, said information retrievably stored on said host server and in said database, said case study comprising at least one episode, each of said at least one episodes comprising at least one event and at least one character profile, wherein at least one of said events comprises one or more activities; and

means useable by said facilitator for supplementing said information about said case study, said means operable to receive said supplemental information from said facilitator, and to retrievably store said received supplemental information on said host server and in said database.

54. A system for creating information about a case study comprising:

a host server;

a database associated with said host server;

at least one client computer, each of said at least one client computers operated by a user, each of said at least one client computers comprising at least one data entry means;

a network operably connecting said host server and said at least one client computer;

means operable by said user for creating information about a case study, said information being retrievably storable on said host server and in said database, said case study comprising at least one episode, each of said at least one episodes comprising at least one event and at least one character profile, wherein at least one of said events comprises one or more activities.

55. The system of claim 54, wherein at least one of said episodes further comprises at least one resource.

56. The system of claim 54, wherein said database comprises an activity database, a scene database, a character profile database, and a resource database.

57. The system of claim 56, wherein said activity database comprises one or more activity templates, each of said activity templates being retrievable from said activity database by said user using said client computer, populatable with information comprising an activity by said user using data entry means of said client computer, and retrievably storable on said host server and in said database by said user using said client computer.

58. The system of claim 56, further comprising an activity example database.

59. The system of claim 56, wherein said resource database comprises one or more resource templates, each of said resource templates being retrievable from said resource database by said user using said client computer, populatable with information comprising a resource by said user using data entry means of said client computer, and retrievably storable on said host server and in said database by said user using said client computer.

60. The system of claim 56, further comprising a resource example database.

61. The system of claim 56, wherein said event database comprises one or more event templates, each of said event templates being retrievable from said event database by said user using said client computer, populatable with information comprising a scene by said user using data entry means of said client computer, and retrievably storable on said host server and in said database.

62. The system of claim 56, further comprising a scene example database.

63. The system of claim 56, wherein said character profile database comprises one or more character profile templates, each of said character profile templates being retrievable from said character profile database by said user using said client computer, populatable with information comprising a character profile by said user using data entry means of said client computer, and retrievably storable on said host server and in said database by said user using said client computer.

64. The system of claim 56, further comprising a character profile example database.

65. The system of claim 56, further comprising a case study example database.

68. A method for case study instruction, said case study comprising at least one episode, each of said at least one episodes comprising at least one event and at least one character profile, the method comprising:

providing a system according to claim 54;

identifying at least one subject matter expert;

identifying at least one learning objective;

identifying at least one learner;

defining information about said at least one character profile;

defining information about said at least one episode;

defining information about said at least one event;

finalizing said information about said case study; and

retrievably storing said information about said case study on said host server and in said database.

66. A system for case study instruction comprising:

a host server;

a database associated with said host server;

at least one client computer;

a network operably connecting said host server and said at least one client computer;

information about a case study, said case study comprising at least one episode, each of said at least one episodes comprising at least one event and at least one character profile, at least one of said events comprising at least one activity, said information retrievably stored on said host server and in said database, said information comprising a plurality of display pages; and

a Learning Management System accessible using said client computer, said information being accessible using said Learning Management System.

69. The method of claim 68, further comprising after the step of defining information about said at least one episode, the step of:

defining information about at least one resource.

70. The method of claim 68, further comprising after the step of defining information about said at least one event, the step of:

defining information about at least one activity.

71. The method of claim 68, further comprising the steps of:

defining a plan for implementing said case study;

registering said at least one learner;

introducing said at least one learners to said case study; and

executing said case study.

72. The method of claim 71, wherein said step of registering said at least one learner comprises the steps of:

obtaining profile information about at least one of said learners;

evaluating at least a portion of said profile information against predetermined team assignment criteria; and

assigning at least one of said learners to a team according to said evaluation.

67. A system for case study instruction comprising:

a host server;

a database associated with said host server;

at least one client computer operated;

a network operably connecting said host server and said at least one client computer;

information about a case study, said case study being executable by said learner, said case study comprising at least one episode, each of said at least one episodes comprising at least one event and at least one character profile, at least one of said events comprising at least one activity, said information retrievably stored on said host server and in said database, said information comprising a plurality of display pages; and

data reflective of said learner'"'"'s execution of said case study, said data retrievably stored on said host server and in said database, said data formatted in accordance with at least one standard for learning data interchange.