Educational monitoring method and system for improving interactive skills based on participants on the network

• US 6,505,208 B1
• Filed: 06/09/1999
• Issued: 01/07/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kanevsky, Dimitri, Zlatsin, Alexander, Pickover, Clifford Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Mizrahi, Diane D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mofiz, Apu M
• Application Number:
  US09/329,128
• Time in Patent Office: 1,308 Days
• Field of Search: 434/1-432, 707/1-100
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

The educational system recommends to users, a most efficient manner of accomplishing tasks achievable by computing devices. The system detects command sequences executed by users during an interaction with computing devices distributed over a network in an attempt to achieve a certain goal. The command sequences are segmented, each segment is labeled with a goal identifying purpose mark, a cost of each segment is computed. The detected command sequences are then compared with the command sequences detected previously and the descriptions of the more efficient command sequences are provided to the users utilizing the less effective approaches. The detected command sequence is stored in place of less efficient of the command sequences and where no prior command sequences has been previously stored.

Claims

1. An educational method for recommending to users a most efficient technique of accomplishing tasks achievable by computing devices distributed over a network, said method comprising the steps of:

detecting actions executed by each of said users during their interaction with said computing devices to achieve one of said tasks;

comparing said actions with other actions of other users accomplishing identical tasks to determine said most efficient technique; and

providing said users with descriptions of said most efficient technique.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said network is Internet.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said detecting step is performed by sensors.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said tasks include one or more selected from the group consisting of:

opening a window;

opening a file;

closing a file;

executing an icon;

searching performance;

executing a command;

switching off a device;

finding a channel; and

condition activation.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said actions include one or more selected from the group consisting of:

pressing keyboard keys, clicking mouse buttons, touching touch-sensitive components of said computing devices, voice commands, physical gestures, computer application operations, and appliance operations.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said actions comprise one or more action units selected from the group consisting of:

a set of keystrokes, a set of mouse movements and clicks, a set of touches of a touch sensitive device, spoken words and phrases, sounds in a spoken phrase, elementary gestures, and elementary user functions comprising zooming an icon, displaying a menu, closing files, editing functions, executing graphic facilities functions, and drawing geometric figures.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said detecting step further comprises the steps of:

indexing and classifying said actions;

labeling each of said actions with a purpose identifier; and

computing a cost for each of said actions.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said computing step computes complexity, string length of said actions, a number of said action units, and time duration of said actions.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said comparing step comprises the steps of:

comparing said purpose identifier; and

if said purpose identifier matches, comparing said cost.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein each of said actions includes a beginning of segment to indicate a first event leading to said task and an end of segment to indicate the achievement of said task.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said first event starts when said end of segment of a previous of said actions is reached and when said computing devices are caused to start operating.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein said actions are saved in a database of said most efficient actions if they are more efficient than said other actions having the same purpose identifier, and if no other actions having the same purpose identifier exist in said database.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said actions are entered and modified by an expert and saved in said database.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said providing step displays said descriptions of said most efficient technique to said users.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein a description of steps for said most efficient technique is provided when said users attempt to execute said actions.

16. A computer program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform method steps for recommending to users a most efficient technique of accomplishing tasks achievable by computing devices distributed over a network, said method comprising the steps of:

detecting actions executed by each of said users during their interaction with said computing devices to achieve one of said tasks;

comparing said actions with other actions of other users accomplishing identical tasks to determine said most efficient technique; and

providing said users with descriptions of said most efficient technique.

17. The computer program device of claim 16, wherein said network is Internet.

18. The computer program device of claim 16, wherein said detecting step is performed by sensors.

19. The computer program device of claim 16, wherein said tasks include one or more selected from the group consisting of:

opening a window;

opening a file;

closing a file;

executing an icon;

searching performance;

executing a command;

switching off a device;

finding a channel; and

condition activation.

20. The computer program device of claim 19, wherein said actions include one or more selected from the group consisting of:

pressing keyboard keys, clicking mouse buttons, touching touch-sensitive components of said computing devices, voice commands, physical gestures, computer application operations, and appliance operations.

21. The computer program device of claim 20, wherein said actions comprise one or more action units selected from the group consisting of:

a set of keystrokes, a set of mouse movements and clicks, a set of touches of a touch sensitive device, spoken words and phrases, sounds in a spoken phrase, elementary gestures, and elementary user functions comprising zooming an icon, displaying a menu, closing files, editing functions, executing graphic facilities functions, and drawing geometric figures.

22. The computer program device of claim 21, wherein said detecting step further comprises the steps of:

indexing and classifying said actions;

labeling each of said actions with a purpose identifier; and

computing a cost for each of said actions.

23. The computer program device of claim 22, wherein said computing step computes complexity, string length of said actions, a number of said action units, and time duration of said actions.

24. The computer program device of claim 23, wherein said comparing step comprises the steps of:

comparing said purpose identifier; and

if said purpose identifier matches, comparing said cost.

25. The computer program device of claim 24, wherein each of said actions includes a beginning of segment to indicate a first event leading to said task and an end of segment to indicate the achievement of said task.

26. The computer program device of claim 25, wherein said first event starts when said end of segment of a previous of said actions is reached and when said computing devices are caused to start operating.

27. The computer program device of claim 26 wherein said actions are saved in a database of said most efficient actions if they are more efficient than said other actions having the same purpose identifier, and if no other actions having the same purpose identifier exist in said database.

28. The computer program device of claim 27, wherein said actions are entered and modified by an expert and saved in said database.

29. The computer program device of claim 28, wherein said providing step displays said descriptions of said most efficient technique on said users'"'"' terminal and plays over speakers of a user computing device.

30. The computer program device of claim 29, wherein a description of steps for said most efficient technique is provided when said users attempt to execute said actions.

31. The computer program device of claim 23, wherein said computing step further computes an amount of distance a mouse is dragged.

32. The computer program device of claim 23, wherein said computing step further computes a type of input entry.

33. An educational system for recommending to users a most efficient technique of accomplishing tasks achievable by computing devices distributed over a network, said system comprising:

means for detecting actions executed by each of said users during their interaction with said computing devices in an attempt to achieve one of said tasks;

means for comparing said actions with other actions of other users accomplishing identical tasks to determine said most efficient technique; and

means for providing said users with descriptions of said most efficient technique.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein said means for detecting comprises:

means for indexing and classifying said actions;

means for labeling each of said actions with a purpose identifier;

means for computing a cost for each of said action segments; and

means for saving said actions in a database if they are more efficient than said other actions having the same purpose identifier, and if no other actions having the same purpose identifier exist in said database.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein said means for comparing comprises:

means for comparing said purpose identifier; and

means for comparing said cost if said purpose identifier matches.