System and method for real-time observation assessment

• US 7,568,160 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2006
• Issued: 07/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Amplify Education Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Wireless Generation, Inc. (Amplify Education Incorporated)
• Inventors: Markovits, Anouk, Stewart, John D., Gunn, Gregory M., Lynn, Elizabeth, Gunn, Kenneth M., Adams, Nicole M., Boyd, Aaron, Berger, Lawrence Jason
• Primary Examiner(s): Theriault; Steven B
• Application Number:
  US11/275,986
• Publication Number:
  US 20060204947A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,266 Days
• Field of Search: 715/750, 715/512, 715/751, 715/776, 434/317, 434/336, 434/167, 434/178, 434/362
• US Class Current: 715/750
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/00 Electrically-operated educational appliances working with questions and answers G09B7/00; simulators G09B9/00; advertising or displaying in general G09F
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/02 with visual presentation of the material to be studied, e.g. using film strip
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/00 Electrically-operated teaching apparatus or devices working with questions and answers mechanically operated G09B3/00; computing arrangements G06F

Abstract

Techniques for real-time observation assessment are provided. The techniques, which are designed for educators, take advantage of handheld computers, desktop/laptop computers and Internet access in order to reduce the paperwork associated with conventional educational assessments. An array of instructional assessment applications are designed to run on handheld computers. The instructional assessment applications may be based on existing and widely used paper methodologies. A common Web-based platform for assessment application distribution, selection, download, data management and reporting is also provided. Users can then periodically synchronize instructional data (assessments, diagnostic results, notes and/or schedules) to the Web site. At the Web site, browser-based reports and analysis can be viewed, administered and shared via electronic mail.

Claims

1. A method for providing a teacher with a student observation application performed on a mobile computing device, the method comprising:

storing content on the mobile computing device, the content including at least a first word and a second word;

displaying, to the teacher on a display of the mobile computing device, the stored content, including the first word and the second word;

receiving, from the teacher, a selection of the first word, the first word being associated with at least one type of error behavior of a student, the error behavior being observed by the teacher while assessing the student;

displaying, on the display of the mobile computing device, a plurality of icons that correspond to types of error behaviors observable by the teacher;

receiving, from the teacher, a selection of one of the plurality of icons, wherein the icon selected corresponds to the at least one type of error behavior observed by the teacher while assessing the student; and

displaying, on the display of the mobile computing device, a visual indication of the at least one observed type of error behavior in association with the first word.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the plurality of icons that correspond to types of error behaviors observable by the teacher on the display of the mobile computing device comprises permanently displaying the plurality of icons that correspond to types of error behaviors observable by the teacher on the display of the mobile computing device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the plurality of icons that correspond to types of error behaviors observable by the teacher on the display of the mobile computing device comprises displaying the plurality of icons that correspond to types of error behaviors observable by the teacher on the display of the mobile computing device while the first word and the second word are displayed on the display of the mobile computing device.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a notations area on the display of the mobile computing device, the notations area being configured to receive a note from the teacher; and

receiving, from the teacher, a note in the notations area, wherein note is associated with the first word and the at least one observed type of error behavior.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the selection of the first word comprises receiving an indication that the teacher has selected a point within an area on the display of the mobile computing device area that displays the first word.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the visual indication of the at least one observable type of error behavior comprises displaying an annotation corresponding to the at least one observable type of error behavior.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the visual indication of the at least one observable type of error behavior comprises displaying the visual indication of the at least one observable type of error behavior in association with the first word, but not in association with the second word.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the teacher, a selection of the second word, the second word being associated with a second type of error behavior of a student, the second type of error behavior being observed by the teacher while assessing the student and being different from the at least one type of error behavior associated with the first word;

receiving, from the teacher, a selection of a second one of the plurality of icons, wherein the second icon selected corresponds to the second type of error behavior observed by the teacher while assessing the student; and

displaying, on the display of the mobile computing device, a visual indication of the second type of error behavior in association with the second word.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein:

receiving the selection of the first word, the first word being associated with at least one type of error behavior of the student comprises receiving the selection of the first word, the first word being associated with at least one type of literacy error behavior of the student;

displaying the plurality of icons that correspond to types of error behaviors observable by the teacher comprises displaying the plurality of icons that correspond to types of literacy error behaviors observable by the teacher;

receiving the selection of one of the plurality of icons, wherein the icon selected corresponds to the at least one type of error behavior observed by the teacher while assessing the student comprises receiving the selection of one of the plurality of icons, wherein the icon selected corresponds to the at least one type of literacy error behavior observed by the teacher while assessing the student; and

displaying the visual indication of the at least one observed type of error behavior in association with the first word comprises displaying the visual indication of the at least one observed type of literacy error behavior in association with the first word.

10. A mobile computing device for providing a teacher with a student observation application, the mobile computing device comprising a processor connected to a storage device and a display, the mobile computing device being configured to:

store content on the storage device of the mobile computing device, the content including at least a first word and a second word;

display, to the teacher on the display of the mobile computing device, the stored content, including the first word and the second word;

receive, from the teacher, a selection of the first word, the first word being associated with at least one type of error behavior of a student, the error behavior being observed by the teacher while assessing the student;

display, on the display of the mobile computing device, a plurality of icons that correspond to types of error behaviors observable by the teacher;

receive, from the teacher, a selection of one of the plurality of icons, wherein the icon selected corresponds to the at least one type of error behavior observed by the teacher while assessing the student; and

display, on the display of the mobile computing device, a visual indication of the at least one observed type of error behavior in association with the first word.

11. The mobile computing device of claim 10, wherein the mobile computing device is configured to display the plurality of icons that correspond to types of error behaviors observable by the teacher on the display of the mobile computing device by permanently displaying the plurality of icons that correspond to types of error behaviors observable by the teacher on the display of the mobile computing device.

12. The mobile computing device of claim 10, wherein the mobile computing device is configured to display the plurality of icons that correspond to types of error behaviors observable by the teacher on the display of the mobile computing device by displaying the plurality of icons that correspond to types of error behaviors observable by the teacher on the display of the mobile computing device while the first word and the second word are displayed on the display of the mobile computing device.

13. The mobile computing device of claim 10, wherein the mobile computing device is further configured to:

provide a notations area on the display of the mobile computing device, the notations area being configured to receive a note from the teacher; and

receive, from the teacher, a note in the notations area, wherein note is associated with the first word and the at least one observed type of error behavior.

14. The mobile computing device of claim 10, wherein the mobile computing device is configured to receive the selection of the first word by receiving an indication that the teacher has selected a point within an area on the display of the mobile computing device area that displays the first word.

15. The mobile computing device of claim 10, wherein the mobile computing device is configured to display the visual indication of the at least one observable type of error behavior by displaying an annotation corresponding to the at least one observable type of error behavior.

16. The mobile computing device of claim 10, wherein the mobile computing device is configured to display the visual indication of the at least one observable type of error behavior by displaying the visual indication of the at least one observable type of error behavior in association with the first word, but not in association with the second word.

17. The mobile computing device of claim 10, wherein the mobile computing device is further configured to:

receive, from the teacher, a selection of the second word, the second word being associated with a second type of error behavior of a student, the second type of error behavior being observed by the teacher while assessing the student and being different from the at least one type of error behavior associated with the first word;

receive, from the teacher, a selection of a second one of the plurality of icons, wherein the second icon selected corresponds to the second type of error behavior observed by the teacher while assessing the student; and

display, on the display of the mobile computing device, a visual indication of the second type of error behavior in association with the second word.

18. The mobile computing device of claim 10, wherein the mobile computing device is configured to:

receive the selection of the first word, the first word being associated with at least one type of error behavior of the student by receiving the selection of the first word, the first word being associated with at least one type of literacy error behavior of the student;

display the plurality of icons that correspond to types of error behaviors observable by the teacher by displaying the plurality of icons that correspond to types of literacy error behaviors observable by the teacher;

receive the selection of one of the plurality of icons, wherein the icon selected corresponds to the at least one type of error behavior observed by the teacher while assessing the student by receiving the selection of one of the plurality of icons, wherein the icon selected corresponds to the at least one type of literacy error behavior observed by the teacher while assessing the student; and

p1 display the visual indication of the at least one observed type of error behavior in association with the first word by displaying the visual indication of the at least one observed type of literacy error behavior in association with the first word.

19. A computer storage medium storing a computer program configured to provide a teacher with a student observation application, the computer program comprising one or more code segments that, when executed, cause a mobile computing device to:

store content on the mobile computing device, the content including at least a first word and a second word;

display, to the teacher on a display of the mobile computing device, the stored content, including the first word and the second word;

receive, from the teacher, a selection of the first word, the first word being associated with at least one type of error behavior of a student, the error behavior being observed by the teacher while assessing the student;

display, on the display of the mobile computing device, a plurality of icons that correspond to types of error behaviors observable by the teacher;

receive, from the teacher, a selection of one of the plurality of icons, wherein the icon selected corresponds to the at least one type of error behavior observed by the teacher while assessing the student; and

display, on the display of the mobile computing device, a visual indication of the at least one observed type of error behavior in association with the first word.

20. The medium of claim 19, wherein the one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to display the plurality of icons that correspond to types of error behaviors observable by the teacher on the display of the mobile computing device comprise one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to permanently display the plurality of icons that correspond to types of error behaviors observable by the teacher on the display of the mobile computing device.

21. The medium of claim 19, wherein the one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to display the plurality of icons that correspond to types of error behaviors observable by the teacher on the display of the mobile computing device comprise one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to display the plurality of icons that correspond to types of error behaviors observable by the teacher on the display of the mobile computing device while the first word and the second word are displayed on the display of the mobile computing device.

22. The medium of claim 19, wherein the computer program further comprises one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to:

provide a notations area on the display of the mobile computing device, the notations area being configured to receive a note from the teacher; and

receive, from the teacher, a note in the notations area, wherein note is associated with the first word and the at least one observed type of error behavior.

23. The medium of claim 19, wherein the one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to receive the selection of the first word comprise one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to receive an indication that the teacher has selected a point within an area on the display of the mobile computing device area that displays the first word.

24. The medium of claim 19, wherein the one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to display the visual indication of the at least one observable type of error behavior comprise one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to display an annotation corresponding to the at least one observable type of error behavior.

25. The medium of claim 19, wherein the one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to display the visual indication of the at least one observable type of error behavior comprise one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to display the visual indication of the at least one observable type of error behavior in association with the first word, but not in association with the second word.

26. The medium of claim 19, wherein the computer program further comprises one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to:

receive, from the teacher, a selection of the second word, the second word being associated with a second type of error behavior of a student, the second type of error behavior being observed by the teacher while assessing the student and being different from the at least one type of error behavior associated with the first word;

receive, from the teacher, a selection of a second one of the plurality of icons, wherein the second icon selected corresponds to the second type of error behavior observed by the teacher while assessing the student; and

display, on the display of the mobile computing device, a visual indication of the second type of error behavior in association with the second word.

27. The medium of claim 19, wherein:

the one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to receive the selection of the first word, the first word being associated with at least one type of error behavior of the student comprise one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to receive the selection of the first word, the first word being associated with at least one type of literacy error behavior of the student;

the one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to display the plurality of icons that correspond to types of error behaviors observable by the teacher comprise one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to display the plurality of icons that correspond to types of literacy error behaviors observable by the teacher;

the one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to receive the selection of one of the plurality of icons, wherein the icon selected corresponds to the at least one type of error behavior observed by the teacher while assessing the student comprise one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to receive the selection of one of the plurality of icons, wherein the icon selected corresponds to the at least one type of literacy error behavior observed by the teacher while assessing the student; and

the one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to display the visual indication of the at least one observed type of error behavior in association with the first word comprise one or more code segments that, when executed, cause the mobile computing device to display the visual indication of the at least one observed type of literacy error behavior in association with the first word.