Computer interface for illiterate and near-illiterate users

• US 20080040693A1
• Filed: 01/25/2006
• Published: 02/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Toyama, Kentaro, Sagar, Aman, Medhi, Indrani
• Granted Patent: US 7,603,621 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/865
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/963 Calendar or scheduling

Abstract

An interface is presented that can be used by those with little or no computer skills and little or no reading skills. In an exemplary embodiment, the icon pictures are detailed enough that they do not need text to be understood. Most icons do not require that they be clicked to be selected, rather they select on cursor hover. When an icon is hovered over, in an exemplary embodiment, it increases in size to make it easier for a user to select it. The interface has a help function that provides a voice that tells the function of an icon when the icon is moused over or otherwise tentatively chosen by a user. The help function voice may be accompanied by a virtual companion a picture of a person, who, in some embodiments, is animated and appears to be speaking the help text.

Claims

1. A computer-generated graphical user interface for users with limited reading skills, comprising:

a screen display operable for displaying graphical controls in one or more text modes;

a plurality of pages, operable to be displayed on the screen display;

a plurality of controls operable to be displayed on one or more of the plurality of pages, wherein each control is represented by an icon comprising a recognizable image, and each control has a related control help message, each control operationally able to respond with the control help message upon activation;

a text-free mode implementer, operable to ensure that no text appears within the screen display; and

a page help feature, operable to appear on each page of the plurality of pages, wherein the page help feature appears at substantially the same location on each page of the plurality of pages.

2. The computer-generated graphical user interface of claim 1 wherein the control help message is an audio message or a video message.

3. The computer-generated graphical user interface of claim 1, the graphical user interface associated with an application, wherein the page help feature is operationally able to explain at least some of the following:

purpose of the application, purpose of the page the page help feature is on, use of an input device associated with the application, interaction with the computer, and function of at least some controls displayed on the page.

4. The computer-generated graphical user interface of claim 3, wherein the page help explanation comprises at least one of recorded audio, synthesized audio, recorded video, or animation.

5. The computer-generated graphical user interface of claim 1 further comprising a virtual character, the virtual character representing the page help feature.

6. The computer-generated graphical user interface of claim 4, wherein the virtual character is represented by an animated icon.

7. The computer-generated graphical user interface of claim 1, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of controls are associated, further comprising when one of the plurality of the subset of controls is selected, the interface operationally able to highlight each control in the subset of the plurality of controls.

8. The computer-generated graphical user interface of claim 1, wherein highlighting comprises at least one of:

changing color, changing size, or animating.

9. The computer generated graphical user interface of claim 1, wherein the controls further comprise at least two language controls, each language control associated with a different human language, the page help feature and the control help message having a help language;

when one of the language controls is selected by a user, the language controls operationally able to set the help language to the human language associated with the language control.

10. The computer generated graphical user interface of claim 1, wherein at least some of the plurality of controls are operationally able to be selected by at least one of mouse hover or mouse click.

11. The computer generated graphical user interface of claim 1, further comprising a number mode implementer which allows numbers to be displayed on the screen display.

12. The computer generated graphical user interface of claim 1, further comprising an incremental text displayer, operationally able to allow levels of text to be displayed when a predefined criterion is met.

13. The computer-generated graphical user interface of claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface is used in a job location application.

14. A computer-implemented method of providing a graphical user map interface, the interface comprising a plurality of textless pages, each page comprising a plurality of controls, comprising:

choosing a graphical representation of each control, each control having a function, the graphical representation comprising a recognizable picture which represents the function and which has no text associated with it;

placing a help control on each page of the plurality of pages, the help control substantially at the same location on each page and having no text associated with it;

receiving input that a first control on a first page has been help selected; and

playing a message about the first control, the message comprising one of a voice message or a audio message.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising

at least one search criterion selection icon associated with a search;

wherein when input is received that the search criterion selection icon is selected, performing the search associated with the search criterion selection icon;

returning search results, the returned search results comprising at least one icon; and

displaying information about the at least one icon.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising ordering the returned search results.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the interface further comprises a rotational control, wherein the rotational control comprises at least one rotational arrow, the rotational arrow associated with a rotation direction, and wherein the method further comprises the map area rotating in the rotation direction associated with the rotational arrow when input is received that the rotational arrow has been selected.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein at least some of the controls represent ordered information, and wherein the information is ordered using directional conventions of a language associated with the message.

19. A computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for causing a computer system to perform the method of claim 14.

20. A tangible computer readable medium comprising instructions to implement a text-free graphical interface, comprising:

a plurality of pages, each page having a help icon;

the help icon in substantially the same location on each page;

a plurality of graphical icons associated with at least one of the plurality of pages;

substantially all of the plurality of graphical icons providing voice feedback on user selection;

a subset of the plurality of graphical icons being associated, wherein when one of the plurality of the subset of graphical icons is selected, the interface highlights each graphical icon in the subset of the plurality of graphical icons.