Method and apparatus for on-line teaching and learning

• US 6,302,698 B1
• Filed: 02/16/1999
• Issued: 10/16/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Educational Testing Service
• Original Assignee: Discourse Technologies, Inc. (Mindsurf Networks, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ziv-El, Jakob
• Primary Examiner(s): Martin-Wallace, Valencia
• Assistant Examiner(s): ADAMS, CHANDA L
• Application Number:
  US09/250,687
• Time in Patent Office: 973 Days
• Field of Search: 434/350, 434/322, 434/323, 434/336
• US Class Current: 434/323
• 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 networked teaching and learning system (1, 9, 29) having a plurality of student computers (9), a network server (29, 6) and at least one teacher'"'"'s computer (1) includes comparison and evaluation logic (200-232) in communication with the student computers (9) for comparing and evaluating each student keystroke with the characters of an answer, if any, immediately after every student keystroke. The system (1, 9, 29) provides character-by-character evaluation for quick learning feedback for students, as well as simultaneous observation at the teacher'"'"'s computer (1) of multiple student responses identified as correct or incorrect. The system operates (1, 9, 29) in a Hybrid Mode, which combines the Social Mode and the Self-paced Mode. The system (1, 9, 29) enables quick construction of various exercise types, the scoring of unanticipated responses, and the introduction of an explanation component in addition to a direct response to a question. Log-on methods for systems with multiple teachers are also disclosed.

Claims

1. In a networked teaching and learning system having a plurality of student computers, each having an input device and a screen and having at least one teacher'"'"'s computer including an input device and a screen, the system further comprising:

output elements controlled by the student computers for transmitting learning reinforcement signals to the students;

a packet-switched, interrupt-driven, communication protocol for communicating between the teacher'"'"'s computer and the student computers through the network;

wherein the teacher'"'"'s computer includes program instructions responsive to teacher inputs to transmit a question to each of the student computers;

wherein the student computers immediately transmit each student keystroke without waiting for the next keystroke;

the system further comprising comparison and evaluation logic in communication with the student computers for receiving student keystrokes of a multi-character student response and for comparing and evaluating each of said student keystrokes with a homologous character of at least one multi-character teacher-designated answer to the question, immediately after each student keystroke; and

wherein the student computers are immediately responsive to evaluation of each student keystroke by the comparison and evaluation logic to signal the student through at least one of the output elements with at least one learning reinforcement signal.

2. The system of claim 1, where the comparison and evaluation logic is located centrally in the network.

3. The system of claim 1, where the comparison and evaluation logic is located locally at each student computer.

4. The system of claim 1, where the system includes a common database server, for all teacher computers.

5. The system of claim 1, in which the packet switched protocol is TCP/IP.

6. The system of claim 1, in which at least one student computer is connected via an Internet service provider to the Internet.

7. The system of claim 6, where the comparison and evaluation logic is installed at the student computer via the Internet as an applet.

8. The system of claim 6, where comparison and evaluation logic is installed at the student computer via the Internet as a plug-in module.

9. The system of claim 6, where comparison and evaluation logic is installed at the student computer via the Internet as a helper application.

10. The system of claim 1, where the output devices provide predetermined learning reinforcement signals.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the teacher'"'"'s computer includes authoring program instructions for forming and transmitting a frame comprising various distinguishable components, including a judging component and a reinforcement component.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the various distinguishable components include a delivery component.

13. The system of claim 11, in which the authoring program instructions within the teacher'"'"'s computer, include instructions for creating an explanation component in addition to the multi-character answer.

14. The system of claim 13 in which the transmission of a frame with an explanation component to a student computer causes the display of a student screen display with both a response work area and an explanation work area, and wherein the comparison and evaluation logic is responsive to inputs to respective work areas to distinguish between inputs to the respective work areas.

15. The system of claim 11, in which the authoring program instructions includes further instructions for creating, in the same lesson, numbered frames with a hybrid mode component and numbered frames with a social mode component, enabling the independent self-paced addressing at the student computer, of only the contiguous hybrid mode frames, whose numbers lie between the two social mode frames that precede and follow the contiguous hybrid mode frames being addressed.

16. The system of claim 1, further comprising a response buffer in communication with the student computers, and wherein the teacher'"'"'s computer executes program instructions for displaying color-coded responses from the response buffer for a multiplicity of students simultaneously, while students are responding, as well as displaying associated scoring data for each student.

17. The system of claim 16, where the comparison and evaluation logic is located both centrally in the network, to determine the color coding of the responses, and locally at the student computers, to determine the immediate reinforcement feedback at each student computer.

18. The system of claim 16, in which the teacher'"'"'s computer includes program instructions that are responsive to student inputs for displaying a bar graph with color-coded sections and wherein said color-coded sections can be individually selected to cause sorting and display of the color-coded responses in color-coded groups corresponding to the sections of the bar graph.

19. The system of claim 1, in which the teacher'"'"'s computer includes a next task button, which is responsive to a teacher input to enable the execution in a single operational command a multiplicity of authored combination operational commands, for advancing through a social mode lesson, from one state of the system on one frame, to another state of the system on another frame.

20. The system of claim 1, in which the teacher'"'"'s computer includes a bar-code reader which enables the reading of encoded combination operational commands, and program instructions responsive to a single bar scan for advancing through a social mode lesson, from one state of the system on one frame to another state of the system on another frame.

21. The system of claim 1, further comprising a response buffer in communication with the student computers for receiving student responses, and wherein the teacher'"'"'s computer executes program instructions for displaying responses from the response buffer for a multiplicity of students simultaneously, while the students are responding, as well as displaying associated scoring data for each student, and in which the teacher'"'"'s computer includes program instructions that are responsive to teacher inputs, for overriding and modifying the scoring data for a respective student as it is displayed on the screen of the teacher'"'"'s computer.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the comparison and evaluation logic further includes means for comparing each student response with a particular selected response and scoring accordingly.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the system further comprises an answer buffer and wherein the student response is added to the answer buffer as the teacher-designated answer.

24. The system of claim 22, further comprising means for supplying reinforcement feedback according to the scores.

25. The system of claim 21, further comprising means for supplying arbitrarily, on-line, with the aid of the teacher'"'"'s computer input device, reinforcement feedback at a student computer based on the scoring data.

26. The system of claim 1, wherein the comparison and evaluation logic further includes means for comparing each student response with all other responses, and displaying a frequency distribution of responses.

27. The system of claim 1, further comprising a response buffer in communication with the student computers for receiving student responses, and wherein the teacher'"'"'s computer executes program instructions for displaying responses from the response buffer for a multiplicity of students simultaneously, while the students are responding, and further comprising means for selecting the name of a student associated with a response, and further comprising a means for opening a window on the teacher'"'"'s computer monitor and a window on the student computer screen, enabling two way transmission of messages between the two windows in real time.

28. The system of claim 1, further comprising a response buffer in communication with the student computers for receiving student responses, and wherein the teacher'"'"'s computer executes program instructions for displaying responses from the response buffer for a multiplicity of students simultaneously, while the students are responding, and further comprising program instructions in the teacher'"'"'s computer responsive to a selection of a response for broadcasting the selection to the screens of the student computers.

29. The system of claim 1, further comprising program instructions for time-stamping each and every keystroke, of the responses to a lesson, on the student computers.

30. A method of presenting, in an on-line, multi-teacher, multi-student networked computer system, a lesson to each student, comprising:

logging on a plurality of teachers to the networked computer system;

selecting by a teacher on each teacher'"'"'s screen a class roster of students from a multiplicity of class rosters stored in a database in a central computer;

logging on a plurality of students to the networked computer system;

selecting by a teacher on each teacher'"'"'s screen a list of lessons from a multiplicity of lessons stored in the database in a central computer;

displaying the list of lessons selected by each respective teacher on the screens of each student who has logged on and who is included in the respective class roster; and

selecting of a lesson by each student from the list of lessons displayed.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the logging in of the plurality of students includes entering a seat number for each of the respective students.

32. A method of logging on students to an online, multi-teacher, multi-student networked computer system, comprising:

each teacher logging on using a log-on dialog box and entering a location address in the log-on dialog box;

each student entering a location address for the respective student through a student log-on dialog box, the system responding to allow logging in of a student if the location address of the student matches the location address of a respective teacher.

33. The method of claim 32, where a seat number for each respective student is entered via the student log-on dialog.

34. A method of authoring at a teacher'"'"'s computer of a teaching and learning computer system, a fill-in-the-blanks exercise type frame, comprising:

writing in a work area a message, which includes the answers to be filled in;

selecting the answers for executing further computer operations; and

automatically transferring the selected answers to an answer buffer while recording their location and stripping the answers from the message, leaving a designated blank space in place of each answer selected and transmitting the exercise to the student computers.

35. A method of authoring at a teacher'"'"'s computer of a teaching and learning computer system, a route exercise type frame, comprising:

writing in a work area a message, which includes the characters to be filled in;

selecting the characters for executing further computer operations, one at a time, in the order in which they are required to be filled in by the students;

automatically transferring the selected characters to an answer buffer while recording their location and stripping the selected characters from the message;

leaving a designated blank space in place of each character selected and transmitting the exercise to the student computers.

36. A method of authoring at a teacher'"'"'s computer of a teaching and learning computer system, a branch exercise type frame, comprising:

displaying the potential answers in an answer area displayed on a screen of the teacher'"'"'s computer;

wherein the teacher'"'"'s computer is programmed to respond to entry of a frame number associated with each potential answer to display said frame number in a frame number area displayed on a screen of the teacher'"'"'s computer;

wherein the teacher'"'"'s computer is responsive for examining each potential answer and displaying whether each potential answer is a correct answer in a correct answer area;

wherein the teacher'"'"'s computer provides a portion of a screen display indicating the number of correct answers required; and

wherein the teacher'"'"'s computer is responsive to the entry of mode selection data to select a type of automatic reinforcement feedback to be given immediately after the last character of a correct response is entered.

37. A method for online teaching and learning, the method comprising:

communicating between a teacher'"'"'s computer and a plurality of student computers through a network using a packet-switched, interrupt-driven, communication protocol;

transmitting a question to each of the student computers;

transmitting each student keystroke from the student computers without waiting for the next keystroke;

receiving student keystrokes in a multi-character student response and comparing and evaluating each of said student keystrokes with a character of at least one multi-character teacher-designated answer to the question, immediately after each student keystroke; and

responding to evaluation of each student keystroke by the comparison and evaluation logic to signal the student with at least one learning reinforcement signal.