Distance education system

• US 20040248074A1
• Filed: 03/12/2004
• Published: 12/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: SAGA University
• Original Assignee: SAGA University
• Inventors: Sumi, Kazuhiro, Hoyashita, Shigeru, Ikegami, Yasuyuki
• Application Number:
  US10/798,274
• Publication Number:
  US 20040248074A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 434/322
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/04 characterised by modifying the teaching programme in response to a wrong answer, e.g. repeating the question, supplying a further explanation

Abstract

A distance education system for providing an educational service to a user via a network is provided, the system includes: education providing part for providing the educational service utilizing at least one educational material to the user via the network, wherein the educational material includes a plurality of elements; test transmission part for transmitting a test to the user by each predetermined stage and for prompting the user to send an answer to the test, wherein the test is associated with the educational material; evaluation part for receiving the answer from the user via the network to evaluate it; and evaluation transmission means for transmitting the evaluation result by the evaluation part to the user.

Claims

1. A distance education system for providing an educational service to a user via a network, comprising:

education providing means for providing the educational service utilizing at least one educational material to the user via the network, wherein the educational material includes a plurality of elements;

test transmission means for transmitting a test to the user by each predetermined stage and for prompting the user to send an answer to the test, wherein said test is associated with said educational material;

evaluation means for receiving the answer from the user via the network to evaluate it; and

evaluation transmission means for transmitting the evaluation result by the evaluation means to the user.

2. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:

educational material optimizing means for selecting at least one element from a educational material database based upon the evaluation result by the evaluation means with reference to predetermined selection criteria; and

educational material dynamic changing means for dynamically changing a part of said educational material using said selected at least one element, wherein the part corresponds to the selected element and is not yet taken by the user.

3. The system according to claim 1, further comprising means for transmitting a pre-test prior to transmitting the educational material and for prompting the user to send an answer to the pre-test,

wherein said evaluation means further receives the answer to the pre-test to evaluate it,

and wherein said educational material optimizing means selects the educational material including a plurality of elements from the pre-established educational material database based upon the evaluation result of the pre-test with reference to said predetermined selection criteria.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein said optimizing means selects the educational material from the pre-established educational material database based upon at least one of:

the evaluation result of the answer to the pre-test;

a request of the user;

a history of taking lectures of the user; and

past evaluation result of the user.

5. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an educational support member database in which educational support members, specializations areas of respective educational support members, and contact addresses of respective educational support members are recoded therein;

support member selection means for receiving support request form the user via the network and for selecting at least one educational support member who has a specialization field coinciding with a specialization fields of said support request received from the user via the network or a specialization field in which the educational service is provided to the user from said educational support member database; and

connection agent means for mediating a connection between said contact address of the selected educational support member and said user via the network and for communicating at least one piece of information from audio information, image information, and text information between the selected educational support member and the user.

6. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an educational support member database, in which educational support members, specializations areas of the respective educational support members, and contact addresses of respective educational support members are recoded therein;

support member selection means for receiving support request form the user via the network and for selecting at least one educational support member who has a specialization field coinciding with a specialization fields of said support request received from the user via the network or a specialization field in which the educational service is provided to the user from said educational support member database;

support request transmission means for transmitting said support request to the contact address of the selected educational support member via the network and for prompting the educational support member to reply it; and

user support means for receiving the reply of the support request from the selected educational support member via the network and for forwarding it to the corresponding user via the network.

7. The system according to claim 5, further comprising register means for registering status of the educational support members, in which each support member is whether or not readily respond to the support request, to the educational support member database,

and wherein said support selection means, when an educational support member is to be selected, for preferentially selecting the educational support member who has a status in which a member can readily respond.

8. The system according to claim 6 further comprising register means for registering status of the educational support members, in which each support member is whether or not readily respond to the support request, to the educational support member database,

and wherein said support selection means, when an educational support member is to be selected, for preferentially selecting the educational support member who has a status in which a member can readily respond.