Pre-data-collection applications test processing system

• US 6,675,133 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2001
• Issued: 01/06/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NCS Pearson Incorporated (Pearson plc)
• Original Assignee: NCS Pearson Incorporated (Pearson plc)
• Inventors: Knowles, Kristian, Pascale, Robert Nicola
• Primary Examiner(s): Barlow, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dougherty, Anthony
• Application Number:
  US09/799,212
• Publication Number:
  US 20030009312A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,037 Days
• Field of Search: 702/189, 434/322, 434/331, 434/335, 382/100, 382/317
• US Class Current: 702/189
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0032 Apparatus for automatic testing and analysing marked record carriers, used for examinations of the multiple choice answer type teaching apparatus working with questions and answers G09B7/00

Abstract

A system and method for determining which of a plurality of pre-data-collection software applications to apply to optically imaged responses received from a response provider.

Claims

1. In a computerized test processing workflow system configured for analyzing electronic images of test question responses provided by a test taker, the system comprising a server subsystem having at least one server computer, a client subsystem having at least one client computer, and at least one of a plurality of types of optical imaging devices for electronically capturing the test question responses, wherein each particular client computer system has a user interface, a method for applying at least one of a plurality of pre-data-collection software applications depending upon the imaging device type, the method comprising:

a. generating an optical-imaging-device-type command at any particular client computer for indicating to the coupled server subsystem the particular type of optical imaging device being used to capture the test question responses as electronic images;

b. generating a pre-data-collection software command at the particular client computer system for indicating to the server subsystem which one or more of the plurality of pre-data-collection software applications to apply to the electronic images;

c. receiving a plurality of electronic images from the particular client computer system and corresponding optical imaging device;

d. based upon the optical-imaging-device-type command and the pre-data-collection software command, electronically selecting which one or more of the plurality of pre-data-collection software applications to apply to the plurality of received electronic images; and

e. applying at the particular client computer system the selected one or more pre-data collection software applications to the plurality of received electronic images;

whereby distributed optical imaging devices of various types coupled to client computers may be effectively employed for data imaging while permitting effective data collection after selected pre-data-collection software applications have been applied according to the type of optical imaging device used at any particular imaging site.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of applying character recognition to the received electronic images.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of applying within the business object layer of the architecture the selected one or more pre-data collection software applications to the plurality of received electronic images.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating an optical-imaging-device-type command comprises a command for a device that output images in tagged image file format (TIFF).

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating an optical-imaging-device-type command comprises a command for a scanner.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein generating an optical-imaging-device-type command comprises a command for a facsimile machine.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein generating an optical-imaging-device-type command comprises a command for devices that digitize an electronic image represented as binary data.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of applying the selected one or more pre-data collection software applications to the plurality of received electronic images comprises applying human handwriting recognition technology.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of applying the selected one or more pre-data collection software applications to the plurality of received electronic images comprises applying barcode recognition technology.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of applying the selected one or more pre-data collection software applications to the plurality of received electronic images comprises applying software having the ability to identify an image as belonging to a particular set of images.

30. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of applying the selected one or more pre-data collection software applications to the plurality of received electronic images comprises applying software having the ability to remove from an electronic image noise or superfluous lines without removing characters.

31. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of applying the selected one or more pre-data collection software applications to the plurality of received electronic images comprises applying optical character recognition technology.

32. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating an optical-imaging-device-type command is accomplished using a user interface.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating a pre-data-collection software command is accomplished by a user through a user interface.

34. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving a plurality of electronic images from the optical imaging device comprises receiving an electronic representation of at least a portion of the test question response.

35. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of storing in the system information generated from application of the one or more pre-data collection software applications to the received electronic images.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the step of storing the information generated from the application of the one or more pre-data collection software applications comprises information about the identity of the plurality of received electronic images.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein the step of storing the information generated from the application of the one or more pre-data collection software applications comprises information about cleaned electronic images of the plurality of returned electronic images, cleaned electronic images representing an electronic image that has had removed electronically noise and superfluous lines without removing actual characters.

2. In a computerized test processing workflow system configured for analyzing electronic images of test question responses provided by a test taker, the system comprising a server subsystem having at least one server computer, a client subsystem having at least one client computer, and at least one of a plurality of types of optical imaging devices for electronically capturing the test question responses, wherein each particular client computer system has a user interface, a method for applying at least one of a plurality of pre-data-collection software applications depending upon the imaging device type, the method comprising:

a. receiving at the server subsystem an optical-imaging-device-type command indicating the particular type of optical imaging device being used to capture the test question responses as electronic images;

b. receiving at the server subsystem a pre-data-collection software command indicating which one or more of the plurality of pre-data-collection software applications to apply to the electronic images;

c. receiving a plurality of electronic images at the server subsystem and from the optical imaging device;

d. based upon the optical-imaging-device-type command and the pre-data-collection software command, electronically selecting which one or more of the plurality of pre-data-collection software applications to apply to the plurality of received electronic images; and

e. applying the selected one or more pre-data collection software applications to the plurality of received electronic images using a server component;

whereby distributed optical imaging devices of various types coupled to client computers may be effectively employed for data imaging while permitting effective data collection after selected pre-data-collection software applications have been applied according to the type of optical imaging device used at any particular imaging site.

3. In a computerized test processing workflow system configured for analyzing electronic images of test question responses provided by a test taker, the system comprising a server subsystem having at least one server computer, a client subsystem having at least one client computer, and at least one of a plurality of types of optical imaging devices for electronically capturing the test question responses, wherein each particular client computer system has a user interface, a method for applying at least one of a plurality of pre-data-collection software applications depending upon the type of scanner, the method comprising:

a. generating a scanner command for indicating to the server subsystem the particular type of scanner being used to capture the test question responses as electronic images;

b. generating a pre-data-collection software command for indicating to the server subsystem which one or more of the plurality of pre-data-collection software applications to apply to the electronic images;

c. receiving a plurality of electronic images at the server subsystem and from the scanner;

d. based upon the scanner command and the pre-data-collection software command, electronically selecting which one or more of the plurality of pre-data-collection software applications to apply to the plurality of received electronic images; and

e. applying the selected one or more pre-data collection software applications to the plurality of received electronic images;

whereby distributed scanners of various types coupled to client computers may be effectively employed for data imaging while permitting effective data collection after selected pre-data-collection software applications have been applied according to the type of scanner used at any particular imaging site.

4. A computer program product readable by a computing system for a computer process for a computerized test processing workflow system configured for analyzing electronic images of test question responses provided by a test taker, the system comprising a server subsystem having at least one server computer, a client subsystem having at least one client computer, and at least one of a plurality of types of optical imaging devices for electronically capturing the test question responses, wherein each particular client computer system has a user interface, a method for applying at least one of a plurality of pre-data-collection software applications depending upon the imaging device type, the computer program product comprising encoded instructions either embedded on a computer-readable media or transmitted in a propagating wave, the encoded instructions being arranged and configured to be read by the computing system for causing the computing system to perform the steps of:

a. generating an optical-imaging-device-type command, wherein the optical-imaging-device-type command comprises information of the particular type of optical imaging device being used to capture the test question responses as electronic images;

b. generating a pre-data-collection software command for selecting which one or more of the plurality of pre-data-collection software applications to apply to the electronic images;

c. receiving a plurality of electronic images from the optical imaging device;

d. based upon the optical-imaging-device-type command and the pre-data-collection software command, electronically selecting the one or more of the plurality of pre-data-collection software applications to apply to the plurality of received electronic images; and

e. applying the selected one or more pre-data collection software applications to the plurality of received electronic images;

whereby distributed optical imaging devices of various types coupled to client computers may be effectively employed for data imaging while permitting effective data collection after selected pre-data-collection software applications have been applied according to the type of optical imaging device used at any particular imaging site.

5. A computer program product readable by a computing system for a computer process for a computerized test processing workflow system configured for analyzing electronic images of test question responses provided by a test taker, the system comprising a server subsystem having at least one server computer, a client subsystem having at least one client computer, and at least one of a plurality of types of optical imaging devices for electronically capturing the test question responses, wherein each particular client computer system has a user interface, a method for applying at least one of a plurality of pre-data-collection software applications depending upon the imaging device type, the computer program product comprising encoded instructions either embedded on a computer-readable media or transmitted in a propagating wave, the encoded instructions being arranged and configured to be read by the computing system for causing the computing system to perform the steps of:

a. generating an optical-imaging-device-type command at any particular client computer for indicating to the coupled server subsystem the particular type of optical imaging device being used to capture the test question responses as electronic images;

b. generating a pre-data-collection software command at the particular client computer system for indicating to the server subsystem which one or more of the plurality of pre-data-collection software applications to apply to the electronic images;

c. receiving a plurality of electronic images from the particular client computer system and corresponding optical imaging device;

d. based upon the optical-imaging-device-type command and the pre-data-collection software command, electronically selecting which one or more of the plurality of pre-data-collection software applications to apply to the plurality of received electronic images; and

e. applying at the particular client computer system the selected one or more pre-data collection software applications to the plurality of received electronic images;

whereby distributed optical imaging devices of various types coupled to client computers may be effectively employed for data imaging while permitting effective data collection after selected pre-data-collection software applications have been applied according to the type of optical imaging device used at any particular imaging site.

6. A system for applying at least one of a plurality of pre-data-collection software applications depending upon the imaging device type in a computerized test processing workflow system configured for analyzing electronic images of test question responses provided by a test taker, the system comprising a server subsystem having at least one server computer, a client subsystem having at least one client computer, and at least one of a plurality of types of optical imaging devices for electronically capturing the test question responses, wherein each particular client computer system has a user interface, the system comprising:

a. means for generating an optical-imaging-device-type command, wherein the optical-imaging-device-type command comprises information of the particular type of optical imaging device being used to capture the test question responses as electronic images;

b. means for generating a pre-data-collection software command for selecting which one or more of the plurality of pre-data-collection software applications to apply to the electronic images;

c. means for receiving a plurality of electronic images from the optical imaging device;

d. means for electronically selecting the one or more of the plurality of pre-data-collection software applications to apply to the plurality of received electronic images based upon the optical-imaging-device-type command and the pre-data-collection software command; and

e. means for applying the selected one or more pre-data collection software applications to the plurality of received electronic images;

whereby distributed optical imaging devices of various types coupled to client computers may be effectively employed for data imaging while permitting effective data collection after selected pre-data-collection software applications have been applied according to the type of optical imaging device used at any particular imaging site.

7. A system for applying at least one of a plurality of pre-data-collection software applications depending upon the imaging device type in a computerized test processing workflow system configured for analyzing electronic images of test question responses provided by a test taker, the system comprising a server subsystem having at least one server computer, a client subsystem having at least one client computer, and at least one of a plurality of types of optical imaging devices for electronically capturing the test question responses, wherein each particular client computer system has a user interface, the system comprising:

a. a processing system configured to generate an optical-imaging-device-type command, wherein the optical-imaging-device-type command comprises information of the particular type of optical imaging device being used to capture the test question responses as electronic images;

b. the processing system also being configured to generate a pre-data-collection software command for selecting which one or more of the plurality of pre-data-collection software applications to apply to the electronic images;

c. the processing system further configured to receive a plurality of electronic images from the optical imaging device;

d. the processing system being further capable of electronically selecting the one or more of the plurality of pre-data-collection software applications to apply to the plurality of received electronic images based upon the optical-imaging-device-type command and the pre-data-collection software command; and

e. the processing system also being configured to apply the selected one or more pre-data collection software applications to the plurality of received electronic images;

whereby distributed optical imaging devices of various types coupled to client computers may be effectively employed for data imaging while permitting effective data collection after selected pre-data-collection software applications have been applied according to the type of optical imaging device used at any particular imaging site.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising an electronic storage component capable of storing in the system information generated from application of the one or more pre-data collection software applications to the received electronic images.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the processing system further comprises a server component for applying the selected one or more pre-data collection software applications to the plurality of received electronic images.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the optical-imaging-device-type comprises a device that outputs images in tagged image file format (TIFF).

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the optical-imaging-device-type comprises a scanner.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the optical-imaging-device-type comprises a facsimile machine.

13. The system of claim 7, wherein the optical-imaging-device-type comprises a device that digitizes an electronic image represented as binary data.

14. The system of claim 7, wherein the pre-data collection software comprises human handwriting recognition technology.

15. The system of claim 7, wherein the pre-data collection software comprises barcode recognition technology.

16. The system of claim 7, wherein the pre-data collection software comprises software having the ability to identify an image as belonging to a particular set of images.

17. The system of claim 7, wherein the pre-data collection software comprises software having the ability to remove from an electronic image noise or superfluous lines without removing characters.

18. The system of claim 7, wherein the pre-data collection software comprises optical character recognition technology.

19. The system of claim 7, wherein a user interface generates the optical-imaging-device-type command.

20. In a computerized test processing workflow system configured for analyzing electronic images of test question responses provided by a test taker, the system comprising a server subsystem having at least one server computer, a client subsystem having at least one client computer, and at least one of a plurality of types of optical imaging devices for electronically capturing the test question responses, wherein each particular client computer system has a user interface, a method for applying at least one of a plurality of pre-data-collection software applications depending upon the imaging device type, the method comprising:

a. generating an optical-imaging-device-type command, wherein the optical-imaging-device-type command comprises information of the particular type of optical imaging device being used to capture the test question responses as electronic images;

b. generating a pre-data-collection software command for selecting which one or more of the plurality of pre-data-collection software applications to apply to the electronic images;

c. receiving a plurality of electronic images from the optical imaging device;

d. based upon the optical-imaging-device-type command and the pre-data-collection software command, electronically selecting the one or more of the plurality of pre-data-collection software applications to apply to the plurality of received electronic images; and

e. applying the selected one or more pre-data collection software applications to the plurality of received electronic images;

whereby distributed optical imaging devices of various types coupled to client computers may be effectively employed for data imaging while permitting effective data collection after selected pre-data-collection software applications have been applied according to the type of optical imaging device used at any particular imaging site.