Internet-based education support system and methods

• US 20060168233A1
• Filed: 10/13/2005
• Published: 07/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blackboard Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Blackboard Incorporated
• Inventors: Alcorn, Robert L., Chi, Timothy R., Gilfus, Stephen R., Pittinsky, Matthew L., Chasen, Michael L., Perian, Scott, Cane, Daniel E.
• Granted Patent: US 7,493,396 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/02 with visual presentation of the material to be studied, e.g. using film strip
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/02 of the type wherein the student is expected to construct an answer to the question which is presented or wherein the machine gives an answer to the question presented by a student

Abstract

A system and methods for implementing education online by providing institutions with the means for allowing the creation of courses to be taken by students online, the courses including assignments, announcements, course materials, chat and whiteboard facilities, and the like, all of which are available to the students over a network such as the Internet. Various levels of functionality are provided through a three-tiered licensing program that suits the needs of the institution offering the program. In addition, an open platform system is provided such that anyone with access to the Internet can create, manage, and offer a course to anyone else with access to the Internet without the need for an affiliation with an institution, thus enabling the virtual classroom to extend worldwide.

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47. A system for providing to a community of users access to a plurality of online courses, comprising:

a server computer in communication with each of a plurality of user computers over a network, the server computer comprising;

means for storing a plurality of data files associated with a course,

means for assigning a level of access to and control of each data file based on a user of the system'"'"'s predetermined role in a course;

means for determining whether access to a data file associated with the course is authorized;

means for allowing access to and control of the data file associated with the course if authorization is granted based on the access level of the user of the system;

wherein each user of the system being capable of having predefined characteristics indicative of multiple predetermined roles in the system, each role providing a level of access to a plurality of data files associated with a particular course and a level of control over the data files associated with the course, with the multiple predetermined user roles comprising at least two user predetermined roles selected from the group consisting of a student role in one or more courses associated with a student user, an instructor role in one or more courses associated with an instructor user, and an administrator role associated with an administrator user.