Computer assisted learning system

• US 6,793,498 B1
• Filed: 12/08/2000
• Issued: 09/21/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Aubrey Nunes
• Original Assignee: Aubrey Nunes
• Inventors: Nunes, Aubrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrison, Jessica
• Assistant Examiner(s): ADAMS, CHANDA L
• Application Number:
  US09/719,345
• Time in Patent Office: 1,383 Days
• Field of Search: 434/322, 434/323, 434/350, 434/362
• US Class Current: 434/322
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/065 Combinations of audio and video presentations, e.g. videotapes, videodiscs, television systems
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/04 characterised by modifying the teaching programme in response to a wrong answer, e.g. repeating the question, supplying a further explanation

Abstract

The system is loaded with a database of developmental networks and associated activity modules. The user selects a node in a developmental network and an associated activity module is activated which gives the student a multimedia presentation of some area of learning. The student'"'"'s responses are evaluated and the corresponding node is marked as passed or failed accordingly. The nodes in a network are connected by links between nodes for a skill and nodes for easier skills that a student should have, it is expected, if the student has that skill. The student'"'"'schoice of activity if restricted according to which nodes in a network have been failed. Interfaces for allowing the user to make a selection among the available nodes are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A computer assisted learning apparatus comprising:

a database having at least one developmental network, the network having a plurality of nodes, each node representing a developmental skill or an inference concerning such a skill, and links between nodes, each link being between a node for a first skill and a node for a second easier skill, the links providing alternate paths between the nodes, the database further comprising interactive activity modules associated with the nodes,

means for allowing an interactive activity module defined in the database to be chosen by a user,

means for presenting a selected activity module defined in the database to the user whether visually, audibly or otherwise,

means for allowing the user to interact with an activity so presented,

means for recording at least some of the user'"'"'s actions during or responses to the presented activity, and

means for evaluating at least some of those recorded actions or responses to decide, or provide an inference as to, whether the user has attained a skill associated with a node, and

access prevention means operative in respect of at least a particular node of a network at least for some of the time, for preventing the user from choosing an activity module associated with that particular node according to some criterion based, at least in part, on the results of said evaluation for at least one activity module associated with at least one node of said network,

said access prevention means is arranged to prevent access to nodes for which the user has attempted an associated activity module but has not attained the skill that the node represents,

said access prevention means allows, after a period, access to a node for which an associated activity module has been attempted but for which the skill that the node represents has not been attained, and

said access prevention means allows access to a node via one of the links for which the user has attempted an associated activity module but has not attained the skill that the node represents once the user has subsequently attained the skill for an easier node that is connected to that node via a certain number of links, each in the direction of a node for a harder skill to one for an easier skill.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said criterion is based, at least in part, on the results of the said evaluation for at least one activity module associated with at least one node for an easier skill connected to the particular node either by a single said link or by more than one of said links, each of those links being in the direction of a harder skill to an easier skill.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the means for presenting an activity module is capable of passing to an activity module arguments associated with a particular one of a plurality of nodes associated with that activity module, those arguments defining or adding to a definition of the skill represented by the node.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and further including means for presenting an activity module for at least one item in an electronic encyclopaedia.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and further including means for allowing a user to record an audio track of their own voice, for storing that track in association with a node and for allowing the user to replay that track.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for recording responses includes an on screen keyboard.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for evaluating the recorded responses or actions comprises a means for marking the recorded responses and for providing corresponding marks.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein the evaluating means comprises means for reducing the marks provided by the means for marking to one or more statistics.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the evaluating means generates at least one flag indicating whether the skill represented by a node has been attained by a user and whether the node is accessible to the user.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein said at least one flag or value indicates, from time to time, the following conditions:

that the user has not attempted an activity module associated with the node, that the user has attempted an activity module associated with the node but has not attained the skill tat the node represented, and that the user has attained the skill that the node represents.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein said at least one flag indicates, from time to time, the following condition:

that the node is to be accessible to the user irrespective of whether the user has attempted an associated activity module or has attained the skill that the node represents.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the certain number of links is one.

13. Apparatus as claim in claim 1, wherein said period is a predetermined period of time.

14. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said access prevention means is arranged not to prevent access to a node merely for the reason that the user has attempted an activity module associated with that node but has not attained the skill that that node represents.

15. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the said means for preventing access always allows access to a root node.

16. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for preventing access does not prevent access to a node elected by a user to be accessible.

17. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said criterion is based on which of the routes from a particular node to a root node has a node for which the user has attempted an easier skill but has not attained that skill, the links making up said routes always being in the direction of a harder skill to an easier skill.

18. Apparatus as claimed in claim 17 wherein the access prevention means is arranged to prevent access to an activity module associated with a node if on the only such route or anyone of such routes there is such a said node.

19. Apparatus as claimed in claim 17 wherein the access prevention means is arranged to prevent access to an activity module associated with a node if on the only such route or on all of such routes there is such a said node.

20. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and further including means for presenting the activity modules allowed to a user by the preventing means into a hierarchical system of menus for presentation to the user.

21. Apparatus as claimed in claim 20 wherein at least some of the items on at least one of said menus is presented graphically.

22. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and further including means for displaying a graphic having a layout corresponding to the interconnection of the network and allowing the user to select among the activity modules associated with that network that are allowed to the user by the access prevention means.

23. Apparatus as claimed in claim 22 wherein the means for displaying a graphic hides portions of the graphic representing nodes inaccessible to the user.

24. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and further including means for presenting a list of activity modules accessible to the user with the activity modules for nodes in the same network as a node associated with the last activity module attempted by the user being presented first.

25. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and further including means for allowing the user to select from among encyclopaedia entries allowed to the user by the preventing means.

26. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 including means operable with an activity module for which the evaluation means operates to decide whether the user has attained the skills of at least two different nodes.

27. Apparatus as claimed in claim 26 wherein the two said nodes are in the same network.

28. Apparatus as claimed in claim 26 wherein the two said nodes are in different networks.

29. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 including means arranged to allow navigation between related networks, the representation of said networks including links for said navigation.

30. Apparatus as claimed in claim 29 including means arranged to place restrictions on the user'"'"'s navigation between networks based on the results of the said evaluation for nodes of those networks.

31. Apparatus as claimed in claim 29 including means arranged to guide the user, when moving between one network and another linked to it, to a particular node in said latter network, the identity of that node being recorded in the representation of said networks.

32. A method for providing computer assisted learning comprising:

providing a database having at least one developmental network, the network having a plurality of nodes, each node representing a developmental skill or an inference concerning such a skill, and links between nodes, each link being between a node for a first skill and a node for a second easier skill, the link providing alternate paths between the nodes, the database further including interactive activity modules associated with the nodes,

allowing an interactive activity module defined in the database to be chosen by a user,

presenting a selected activity module defined in the database to the user,

allowing the user to interact with an activity so presented,

recording at least some of the user'"'"'s actions during or responses to the presented activity,

evaluating at least some of those recorded actions to provide an indication as to whether the user has attained a skill associated with a node,

preventing, for at least some period of time, the user from choosing an activity module associated with at least a particular node according to some criterion based, at least in part, on the results of the said evaluation for at least one activity module associated with at least one node of the said network, and

allowing a user to enter at least one keyword and returning a list of activity modules that are associated with the keyword and that are not prohibited to the user by said access preventing.

33. The method as claimed in claim 32 wherein said criterion is based, at least in part, on the results of the said evaluation for at least one activity module associated with at least one node for an easier skill connected to the particular node either by a single said link or by more than one of said links, each of those links being in the direction of a harder skill to an easier skill.

34. The method according to claim 32 wherein presenting to the activity module includes passing to the activity module arguments associated with a particular one of a plurality of nodes associated with that activity module, those arguments defining or adding to a definition of the skill represented by the node.

35. The method according to claim 32 and further including:

presenting an activity module for at least one item in an electronic encyclopaedia.

36. The method as claimed in claim 32 and further allowing a user to record an audio track of their own voice, for storing that track in association with a node and for allowing the user to replay that track.

37. The method as claimed in claim 32 wherein recording responses includes recording those made to an on screen keyboard.

38. The method as claimed in claim 32 evaluating the recorded responses includes marking the recorded responses and providing corresponding marks.

39. The method as claimed in claim 38 wherein the evaluating comprises reducing the marks provided by said marking at least one statistic.

40. The method as claimed in claim 32 wherein evaluating includes producing at least one flag or value indicating whether the skill represented by a node has been attained by a user and whether the node is accessible to the user.

41. The method as claimed in claim 40 wherein the at least one flag indicates the following conditions:

that the user has not attempted an activity module associated with the node, that the user has attempted an activity module associated with the node but has not attained the skill that the node represents, and that the user has attained the skill that the node represents.

42. The method as claimed in claim 40 wherein the at least one flag indicates the following condition:

that the node is to be accessible to the user irrespective of whether the user has attempted an associated activity module or has attained the skill that the node represents.

43. The method as claimed in claim 32 wherein access preventing includes preventing access to nodes for which the user has attempted an associated activity module but has not attained the skill that the node represents.

44. The method as claimed in claim 43 wherein access preventing includes allowing, after a period, access to a node for which an associated activity module has been attempted but for which the skill that the node represents has not been attained.

45. The method as claimed in claim 44 wherein access preventing includes allowing access to a node for which the user has attempted an associated activity module but has not attained the skill that the node represents once the user has subsequently attained the skill for an easier node that is connected to that node via a certain number of links, each in the direction of a node for a harder skill to one for an easier skill.

46. The method as claimed in claim 45, wherein the certain number of links is one.

47. The method as claimed in claim 44, wherein the period is a predetermined period of time.

48. The method as claimed in claim 32 wherein access preventing includes not preventing access to a node merely for the reason that the user has attempted an activity module associated with that node but has not attained the skill that that node represents.

49. The method as claimed in claim 32 wherein preventing access always allows access to a root node.

50. The method as claimed in claim 32 wherein preventing access does not prevent access to a node elected by a user to be accessible.

51. The method as claimed in claim 32 wherein the criterion is based on which of the routes from a particular node to a root node has a node for which the user has attempted an easier skill but has not attained that skill, the links making up said routes always being in the direction of a harder skill to an easier skill.

52. The method as claimed in claim 51 wherein access preventing includes preventing access to an activity module associated with a node if on the only such route or anyone of such routes there is such a said node.

53. The method as claimed in claim 51 wherein access includes preventing access to an activity module associated with a node if on the only such route or on all of such routes there is such a said node.

54. The method as claimed in claim 32 and further including presenting the activity modules allowed to a user by said access preventing in a hierarchical system of menus.

55. The method as claimed in claim 54 wherein at least some of the items on at least one of the menus is presented graphically.

56. The method as claimed in claim 32 and further including displaying a graphic having a layout corresponding to the interconnection of the network and allowing the user to select among the activity modules associated with that network that are allowed to the user by said access preventing.

57. The method as claimed in claim 56 wherein displaying the graphic includes hiding portions of the graphic representing nodes inaccessible to the user.

58. The method as claimed in claim 32 and further including allowing the user to select from among encyclopaedia entries allowed to the user by said access preventing.

59. The method as claimed in claim 32 wherein evaluating includes deciding whether the user has attained the skills of at least two different nodes in response to said recording for an activity module.

60. The method as claimed in claim 59 wherein the two nodes are in the same network.

61. The method as claimed in claim 59 wherein the two nodes are in different networks.

62. The method as claimed in claim 32 including allowing navigation between related networks, the representation of said networks including links for that purpose.

63. The method as claimed in claim 62 and further including placing restrictions on the user'"'"'s navigation between networks based on the results of the said evaluation for nodes of those networks.

64. The method as claimed in claim 62 and further including guiding the user, when moving between one network and another linked to it, to a particular node in said latter network, the identity of that node being recorded in the representation of said networks.

65. The method as claimed in claim 32 wherein said network is defined by a set of developmental criteria and wherein the representation of said network records those criteria and the degree of difficulty of individual nodes of the network with respect to those criteria, the method further including selecting, from the nodes the network allowed to the user by the access preventing, one or more nodes having a selected degree of difficulty with respect to the developmental criteria.

66. The method as claimed in claim 65 wherein the selected degree of difficulty with respect to a particular developmental criterion is a certain degree of difficulty and all possible greater degrees of difficulty with respect to that developmental criterion.

67. A computer assisted learning apparatus comprising:

a database having at least one developmental network, the network having a plurality of nodes, each representing a developmental skill or an inference concerning such a skill, and links between nodes, each link being between a node for a first skill and a node for a second easier skill, the links providing alternate paths between the nodes, the database further including interactive activity modules associated with the nodes,

means for allowing an interactive activity module defined in the database to be chosen by a user,

means for presenting a selected activity module defined in the database to the user,

means for allowing the user to interact with an activity so presented,

means for recording at least some of the user'"'"'s actions during or responses to the presented activity,

means for evaluating at least some of those recorded actions to provide an indication as to whether the user has attained a skill associated with a node,

access preventing means, for at least some period of the time, for preventing the user from choosing an activity module associated with at least a particular node according to some criterion based, at least in part, on the results of the said evaluation for at least one activity module associated with at least one node of the said network, and

means for allowing the user to enter at least one keyword and returning a list of activity modules that are associated with the keyword and that are not prohibited to the user by said access preventing.

68. The apparatus of claim 67 wherein said criterion is based, at least in part, on the results of said evaluation for at least one activity module associated with at least one node for an easier skill connected to the particular node either by a single said link or by more than one of said links, each of those links being in the direction of a harder skill to an easier skill.

69. The apparatus of claim 67 wherein said means for presenting an activity module includes means for passing to the activity module arguments associated with a particular one of a plurality of nodes associated with that activity module, those arguments defining or adding to a definition of the skill represented by the node.

70. The apparatus of claim 67 and further including means for performing the step of presenting an activity module for at least one item in an electronic encyclopaedia.

71. The apparatus of claim 67 and further including means for allowing a user to record an audio track of their own voice, for storing that track in association with a node and for allowing the user to replay that track.

72. The apparatus of claim 71 wherein said access preventing means includes means for not preventing access to a node merely for the reason that the user has attempted an activity module associated with that node but has not attained the skill that that node represents.

73. The apparatus of claim 71 wherein said access preventing means always allows access to a root node.

74. The apparatus of claim 71 wherein said access preventing means does not prevent access to a node elected by a user to be accessible.

75. The apparatus of claim 71 wherein said criterion is based on which of the routes from a particular node to a root node has a node for which the user has attempted an easier skill but has not attained that skill, the links making up said routes always being in the direction of a harder skill to an easier skill.

76. The apparatus of claim 75 wherein said access preventing means includes preventing access to an activity module associated with a node if on the only such route or anyone of such routes there is such a said node.

77. The apparatus of claim 75 wherein the said access preventing means includes preventing access to an activity module associated with a node if on the only such route or on all of such routes there is such a said node.

78. The apparatus of claim 67 wherein the means for recording responses includes means for recording those made to an on screen keyboard.

79. The apparatus of claim 67 wherein the means for evaluating the recorded responses includes means for marking the recorded responses and providing corresponding marks.

80. The apparatus of claim 79 wherein the means for evaluating comprises means for reducing the marks provided by said marking to one or more statistics.

81. The apparatus of claim 67 wherein the means for evaluating includes means for producing at least one flag indicating whether the skill represented by a node has been attained by a user and whether the node is accessible to the user.

82. The apparatus of claim 81 wherein said at least one flag indicates the following conditions:

that the user has not attempted an activity module associated with the node, that the user has attempted an activity module associated with the node but has not attained the skill that the node represents, and that the user has attained the skill that the node represents.

83. The apparatus of claim 81 wherein said at least one flag indicates the following condition:

that the node is to be accessible to the user despite the user having attempted an activity module associated with the node but has not attained the skill that the node represents.

84. The apparatus of claim 67 wherein the said access preventing includes means for preventing access to nodes for which the user has attempted an associated activity module but has not attained the skill that the node represents.

85. The apparatus of claim 84 wherein said access preventing includes means for allowing, after a period, access to a node for which an associated activity module has been attempted but for which the skill that the node represents has not been attained.

86. The apparatus of claim 85 wherein said access preventing means includes means for allowing access to a node for which the user has attempted an associated activity module but has not attained the skill that the node represents once the user has subsequently attained the skill for an easier node that is connected to that node via a certain number of links, each in the direction of a node for a harder skill to one for an easier skill.

87. The apparatus of claim 85, wherein said period is a predetermined period of time.

88. The apparatus of claim 86, wherein the certain number of links is one.

89. The apparatus of claim 67 and further including means for presenting the activity modules allowed to a user by said access preventing means in a hierarchical system of menus.

90. The apparatus of claim 89 wherein at least some of the items on at least one of the said menus is presented graphically.

91. The apparatus of claim 67 and further including means for displaying a graphic having a layout corresponding to the interconnection of the network and allowing the user to select among the activity modules associated with that network that are allowed to the user by said access preventing means.

92. The apparatus of claim 91 wherein said means for displaying the graphic includes means for hiding portions of the graphic representing nodes inaccessible to the user.

93. The apparatus of claim 67 sand further including means for presenting a list of activity modules accessible to the user with the activity modules for nodes in the same network as a node associated with the last activity module attempted by the user being presented first.

94. The apparatus of claim 67 and further including means for allowing the user to select from among encyclopaedia entries allowed to the user by said access preventing means.

95. The apparatus of claim 67 operable with an activity module for which said evaluating means includes means for deciding whether the user has attained the skills of at least two different nodes.

96. The apparatus of claim 95 wherein the two said nodes are in the same network.

97. The apparatus of claim 95 wherein the two said nodes are in different networks.

98. The apparatus of claim 67 further including means for performing the step of allowing navigation between related networks, the representation of said networks including links for the navigation.

99. The apparatus of claim 98 and further including means for moving between one network and another linked to it, to a particular node in said latter network, the identity of that node being recorded in the representation of said networks.

100. The apparatus of claim 67 and further including means for placing restrictions on the user'"'"'s navigation between networks based on the results of the said evaluation for nodes of those networks.

101. The apparatus of claim 67 wherein said network is defined by a set of developmental criteria and wherein the representation of said network records those criteria the program further including means for selecting, from the nodes in a network allowed to a user by said access preventing, one or more nodes having a selected degree of difficulty with respect to the developmental criteria.

102. The apparatus of claim 101 wherein said selected degree of difficulty with respect to a particular developmental criterion is a certain degree of difficulty and all possible greater degrees of difficulty with respect to that developmental criterion.

103. The apparatus of claim 101 wherein said selecting means includes means for offering the user a choice among group of nodes selected by said selecting only once the size of that group is below a certain size.

104. The apparatus of claim 103 wherein if said group of nodes is above said certain size said selecting means includes means for adjusting or allowing the user to adjust, the degrees of difficulty used to make said selection of nodes.

105. A computer assisted learning apparatus comprising:

a database having at least one developmental network, the network having a plurality of nodes, each representing a developmental skill or an inference concerning such a skill, and links between nodes, each link being between a node for a first skill and a node for a second easier skill, the links providing alternate paths between the nodes, the database further comprising interactive activity modules associated with the nodes,

means for allowing an interactive activity module defined in the database to be chosen by a user,

means for presenting a selected activity module defined in the database to the user whether visually, audibly or otherwise,

means for allowing the user to interact with an activity so presented,

means for recording at least some of the user'"'"'s actions during or responses to the presented activity,

means for evaluating at least some of those recorded actions or responses to decide, or provide an inference as to, whether the user has attained a skill associated with a node,

access prevention means operative in respect of at least a particular node of a network at least for some of the time, for preventing the user from choosing an activity module associated with that particular node according to some criterion based, at least in part, on the results of said evaluation for at least one activity module associated with at least one node of said network, and

a search engine for allowing the user to enter one or more keywords and returning a list of activity modules that are associated with the keywords and that are not prohibited to the user by the preventing means.

106. A computer assisted learning apparatus comprising:

a database having at least one developmental network, the network having a plurality of nodes, each representing a developmental skill or an inference concerning such a skill, and links between nodes, each link being between a node for a first skill and a node for a second easier skill, the links providing alternate paths between the nodes, the database further comprising interactive activity modules associated with the nodes,

means for allowing an interactive activity module defined in the database to be chosen by a user,

means for presenting a selected activity module defined in the database to the user whether visually, audibly or otherwise,

means for allowing the user to interact with an activity so presented,

means for recording at least some of the user'"'"'s actions during or responses to the presented activity,

means for evaluating at least some of those recorded actions or responses to decide, or provide an inference as to, whether the user has attained a skill associated with a node,

access prevention means operative in respect of at least a particular node of a network at least for some of the time, for preventing the user from choosing an activity module associated with that particular node according to some criterion based, at least in part, on the results of said evaluation for at least one activity module associated with at least one node of said network,

means for operating on a network defined by a set of developmental criteria and whose representation records those criteria and the degree of difficulty of individual nodes of the network with respect to those criteria, and

selection means for selecting, from the nodes in a network allowed to the user by said access prevention means, one or more nodes having a selected degree of difficulty with respect to the developmental criteria, said selection means being arranged to offer the user a choice among a group of nodes selected by said selection means only after the size of that group is below a certain size.

107. The apparatus as claimed in claim 106 wherein said selected degree or degrees of difficulty with respect to a particular developmental criterion is a certain degree of difficulty and all possible greater degrees of difficulty with respect to that developmental criterion.

108. The apparatus a claimed in claim 106 wherein if the said group of nodes is above said certain size the selection means is arranged to adjust, or allow the user to adjust, the degrees of difficulty used to make said selection of nodes.

109. A method for providing computer assisted learning comprising:

providing a database having at least one developmental network, the network having a plurality of nodes, each representing a developmental skill or an inference concerning such a skill, and links between nodes, each link being between a node for a first skill and a node for a second easier skill, the links providing alternative paths between the nodes, the database further including interactive activity modules associated with the nodes,

allowing an interactive activity module defined in the database to be chosen by a user,

presenting a selected activity module defined in the database to the user,

allowing the user to interact with an activity so presented,

recording at least some of the user'"'"'s actions during or responses to the presented activity,

evaluating at least some of those recorded actions to provide an indication as to whether the user has attained a skill associated with a node,

preventing, for at least some period of time, the user from choosing an activity module associated with at least a particular node according to some criterion based, at least in part, on the results of the said evaluation for at least one activity module associated with at least one node of the said network, and

presenting a list of activity modules accessible to the user with the activity modules for nodes in the same network as a node associated with the last activity module attempted by the user being presented first.

110. A method for providing computer assisted learning comprising:

providing a database having at least one developmental network, the network having a plurality of nodes, each representing a developmental skill or an inference concerning such a skill, and links between nodes, each link being between a node for a first skill and a node for a second easier skill, the links providing alternative paths between the nodes, the database further including interactive activity modules associated with the nodes, the network having a set of developmental criteria and wherein the representation of the network records those criteria and the degree of difficulty of individual nodes of the network with respect to those criteria,

allowing an interactive activity module defined in the database to be chosen by a user,

presenting a selected activity module defined in the database to the user, allowing the user to interact with an activity so presented,

recording at least some of the user'"'"'s actions during or responses to the presented activity,

evaluating at least some of those recorded actions to provide an indication as to whether the user has attained a skill associated with a node,

preventing, for at least some period of time, the user from choosing an activity module associated with at least a particular node according to some criterion based, at least in part, on the results of the said evaluation for at least one activity module associated with at least one node of the said network,

selecting, from the nodes in the network allowed to the user by the access preventing, one or mode nodes having a selected degree of difficulty with respect to the developmental criteria, and

offering the user a choice among a group of nodes selected by selecting only once the size of that group is below a certain size.

111. The method as claimed in claim 110 wherein if the group of nodes is above the certain size selecting including adjusting or allowing the user to adjust, the degrees of difficulty used to make said selection of nodes.

112. A computer assisted learning apparatus comprising:

a database having at least one developmental network, the network having a plurality of nodes, each representing a developmental skill or an inference concerning such a skill, and links between nodes, each link being between a node for a first skill and a node for a second easier skill, the links providing alternative paths between the nodes, the database further including interactive activity modules associated with the nodes,

means for allowing an interactive activity module defined in the database to be chosen by a user,

means for presenting a selected activity module defined in the database to the user,

means for allowing the user to interact with an activity so presented,

means for recording at least some of the user'"'"'s actions during or responses to the presented activity,

means for evaluating at least some of those recorded actions to provide an indication as to whether the user has attained a skill associated with a node,

means for preventing, for at least some period of the time, the user from choosing an activity module associated with at least a particular node according to some criterion based, at least in part, on the results of the said evaluation for at least one activity module associated with at least one node of the said network,

means for allowing navigation between related networks, the representation of said networks including links for said navigation, and

means for moving between one network and another linked to it, to a particular node in the latter network, the identity of that node being recorded in the representation of said networks.

113. A computer assisted learning apparatus comprising:

a database having at least one developmental network, the network having a plurality of nodes, each representing a developmental skill or an inference concerning such a skill, and links between nodes, each link being between a node for a first skill and a node for a second easier skill, the links providing alternative paths between the nodes, the database further including interactive activity modules associated with the nodes, the network is defined by a set of developmental criteria and wherein the representation of the network records those criteria,

means for allowing an interactive activity module defined in the database to be chosen by a user,

means for presenting a selected activity module defined in the database to the user,

means for allowing the user to interact with an activity so presented,

means for recording at least some of the user'"'"'s actions during or responses to the presented activity,

means for evaluating at least some of those recorded actions to provide an indication as to whether the user has attained a skill associated with a node,

means for preventing, for at least some period of the time, the user from choosing an activity module associated with at least a particular node according to some criterion based, at least in part, on the results of the said evaluation for at least one activity module associated with at least one node of the said network,

means for selecting, from the nodes in a network allowed to the user by said access preventing, one or more nodes having a selected degree of difficulty with respect to the developmental criteria, and

means for offering the user a choice among a group of nodes selected by said selecting only once the size of that group is below a certain size.

114. The apparatus of claim 113 wherein if said group of nodes is above said certain size said selecting includes adjusting or allowing the user to adjust, the degrees of difficulty used to make said selection of nodes.