Computer-assisted education apparatus and method for adaptively determining presentation pattern of teaching materials

• US 7,110,989 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2001
• Issued: 09/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited, Osamu Iemoto
• Inventors: Iemoto, Osamu, Endo, Syoichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hirl, Joseph P.
• Application Number:
  US09/866,647
• Publication Number:
  US 20020120593A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,938 Days
• Field of Search: 706/16, 706/14, 706/12, 434/118, 434/169, 434/362, 434322- 3, 705/26
• US Class Current: 706/14
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/02 with visual presentation of the material to be studied, e.g. using film strip

Abstract

The invention relates to determination of a presentation pattern of a teaching material in a computer-assisted education system. An information processing apparatus includes first processor means for analyzing an answer from a user to determine a trait of the user related to a personality, and for determining a teaching material presentation pattern for the user in accordance with the trait of the user. Second processor means is provided for selecting and editing ones of a plurality of teaching material elements of a specific subject in accordance with the presentation pattern, generating a teaching material module, and presenting the teaching material module to the user in accordance with the presentation pattern. Third processor means is provided for analyzing learning behavior of the user during learning of the user using the presented teaching material module in accordance with the presentation pattern, and modifying the presentation pattern in accordance with the analysis.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus, comprising:

a memory having a first memory area for storing a plurality of teaching material elements including text, video and/or audio data, and having a second memory area for storing teaching material presentation patterns;

first processor for providing a questionnaire to a user and analyzing an answer to said questionnaire to determine a trait of said user related to personality in accordance with magnitudes in a plurality of scales associated with learning behavior of said user, and for determining a teaching material presentation pattern for said user in accordance with said determined trait of said user and storing the determined teaching material presentation pattern in said second memory area;

second processor for retrieving said teaching material presentation pattern for said user from said second memory area, selecting and editing ones of a plurality of teaching material elements of a specific subject in said first memory area in accordance with said teaching material presentation pattern to generate a teaching material module, and presenting said teaching material module to said user in accordance with said teaching material presentation pattern; and

third processor for analyzing learning behavior of said user during a learning process of said user using said presented teaching material module in accordance with said teaching material presentation pattern, dynamically modifying said teaching material presentation pattern based on the trait and the learning behavior of said user and storing said modified presentation pattern in said second memory area.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second processor further retrieves said modified teaching material presentation pattern for said user from said second memory area, selects and edits ones of said plurality of teaching material elements of said specific subject in said first memory area in accordance with said modified presentation pattern to generate another teaching material module, and presents said other teaching material module to said user in accordance with said modified presentation pattern.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said third processor stores a record of said learning behavior of said user in said second memory area, and analyzes said stored record of the learning behavior of said user.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said teaching material presentation pattern defines specific magnitudes related to difficulty, required time and dissimilarity of the teaching material elements.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said questionnaire comprises first and second portions, and said second portion of said questionnaire is determined depending on an answer to said first portion of said questionnaire, and is provided after said first portion of said questionnaire is provided.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first processor analyzes the answer to said questionnaire to further determine a trait of said user related to general life attitude.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said first processor determines said trait of said user related to learning attitude in accordance with said personality trait and said trait of general life attitude.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said teaching material element is a video clip.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 being connected to an information processing terminal over a network for providing said questionnaire and said teaching material module to said information processing terminal.

10. A program stored in a recording medium for use in an information processing apparatus, said information processing apparatus comprising a memory and a processor, said memory having a first memory area for storing a plurality of teaching material elements including text, video and/or audio data, and having a second memory area for storing a teaching material presentation pattern, said program enabling said processor to perform:

providing a questionnaire to a user and analyzing an answer to said questionnaire to determine a trait of said user related to personality in accordance with magnitudes in a plurality of scales associated with learning behavior of said user;

determining a teaching material presentation pattern for said user in accordance with said determined trait of said user and storing the determined teaching material presentation pattern in said second memory area;

retrieving said teaching material presentation pattern for said user from said second memory area, selecting and editing ones of a plurality of teaching material elements of a specific subject in said first memory area in accordance with said teaching material presentation pattern to generate a teaching material module, and presenting said teaching material module to said user in accordance with said teaching material presentation pattern; and

analyzing learning behavior of said user during a learning process of said user using said presented teaching material module in accordance with said teaching material presentation pattern, dynamically modifying said teaching material presentation pattern based on the trait and the learning behavior of said user and storing said modified presentation pattern in said second memory area.

11. The program according to claim 10 further enabling said processor to retrieve said modified teaching material presentation pattern for said user from said second memory area, selecting and editing ones of said plurality of teaching material elements of said specific subject in said first memory area in accordance with said modified presentation pattern to generate another teaching material module, and presenting said other teaching material module to said user in accordance with said modified presentation pattern.

12. The program according to claim 10, further enabling said processor to store a record of said learning behavior of said user during the learning process of said user using said presented teaching material module of the specific subject in accordance with said teaching material presentation pattern in said second memory area, wherein analysis of learning behavior comprises analyzing said stored record of the learning behavior of said user.

13. The program according to claim 10, wherein said teaching material presentation pattern defines specific magnitudes related to difficulty, required time and dissimilarity of the teaching material elements.

14. The program according to claim 10, wherein said questionnaire comprises first and second portions, and said second portion of said questionnaire is determined depending on an answer to said first portion of said questionnaire, and is provided after said first portion of said questionnaire is provided.

15. The program according to claim 10, wherein providing a questionnaire and determining a trait comprises analyzing the answer to said questionnaire to further determine a trait of said user related to general life attitude.

16. The program according to claim 15, wherein providing a questionnaire and determining a trait comprises determining said trait of said user related to learning attitude in accordance with said personality trait and said trait of general life attitude.

17. The program according to claim 10, wherein said teaching material element is a video clip.

18. The program according to claim 10, wherein said information processing apparatus is connected to an information processing terminal over a network, and said questionnaire and said teaching material module are provided to said information processing terminal.

19. A method for adaptively presenting to a user a teaching material using a computer-implemented education system which presents to the user a plurality of teaching material elements including text, video₁ and/or audio data, said method comprising:

providing a questionnaire to a user and analyzing an answer to said questionnaire to determine a trait of said user related to personality in accordance with magnitudes in a plurality of scales associated with learning behavior of said user;

determining a teaching material presentation pattern for said user in accordance with the trait of said user;

selecting and editing ones of a plurality of teaching material elements of a specific subject in accordance with said teaching material presentation pattern for said user to generate a teaching material module, and presenting said teaching material module to said user in accordance with said teaching material presentation pattern; and

analyzing learning behavior of said user via the computer-implemented education system during a learning process of said user using said presented teaching material module and dynamically modifying said teaching material presentation pattern based on the trait and the learning behavior of said user.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising:

retrieving said modified teaching material presentation pattern for said user from said second memory area, selecting and editing ones of said plurality of teaching material elements of said specific subject in said first memory area in accordance with said modified presentation pattern to generate another teaching material module, and presenting said other teaching material module to said user in accordance with said modified presentation pattern.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein said teaching material presentation pattern defines specific magnitudes related to difficulty, required time and dissimilarity of the teaching materials.

22. The method according to claim 19, wherein providing a questionnaire and determining a trait comprises analyzing the answer to said questionnaire to further determine a trait of said user related to general life attitude.

23. The method according to claim 19, wherein said teaching material module presented to said user is provided to en information processing terminal of said user.

24. A computer-assisted education method for adaptively presenting teaching materials to a user, comprising:

presenting teaching materials based on information related to traits of the user, the traits being determined in accordance with magnitudes in a plurality of scales associated with learning behavior of the user; and

analyzing learning behavior of the user during a learning process, wherein the teaching materials are dynamically modified based on the trait and the learning behavior of the user and presented to the user.

25. A computer-assisted education system for adaptively presenting teaching materials to a user, comprising:

a processor for providing a questionnaire to a user;

an input device for receiving a response to the questionnaire from the user based on which the processor determines a trait of the user related to personality in accordance with magnitudes in a plurality of scales associated with learning behavior of the user, and determines a teaching material presentation pattern for the user;

a storage device for storing the determined teaching material presentation pattern of the user; and

a display unit to present a teaching material to the user in accordance with the determined teaching material presentation pattern, wherein the processor analyzes learning behavior of the user during a learning process, dynamically modifies the teaching material presentation pattern based on the trait and the learning behavior of the user, stores the modified presentation in the storage device.

26. A method for adaptively presenting a teaching material to a user using a computer-implemented education system, comprising:

analyzing a learning behavior of the user based on a response to a questionnaire provided to the user, the response to the questionnaire being used to determine a trait of the user related to personality and a teaching material presentation pattern for the user; and

presenting a teaching material to the user in accordance with the determined teaching material presentation pattern determined based on the trait of said user and further analyzing the learning behavior of the user during a learning process for dynamic modification of the teaching material presentation pattern and presenting the teaching material accordingly, where the trait of the user is determined in accordance with magnitudes in a plurality of scales associated with learning behavior of the user.

27. A computer-implemented education method for presenting a teaching material to a user, comprising:

providing a teaching material having a first content to the user based on traits of the user, the traits being determined based on magnitudes in a plurality of scales associated with learning behavior of the user and responses to a questionnaire provided to the user; and

analyzing learning behavior of the user while the teaching material having the first content is being provided to the user for determining teaching material presentation pattern of the user and dynamically changing the teaching material presentation pattern based on the analysis to generate a teaching material having a second content.