Teacher assignment based on student/teacher ratios

• US 8,170,465 B2
• Filed: 04/02/2007
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Educate Online Technology LLC
• Original Assignee: Educate Online Technology LLC
• Inventors: Griffin, Royia
• Primary Examiner(s): Hu, Kang
• Application Number:
  US11/730,567
• Publication Number:
  US 20080064018A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,856 Days
• Field of Search: 434/322, 434/350, 434/362, 709/223, 705 711- 721
• US Class Current: 434/350
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063112 Skill-based matching of a person or a group to a task
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06398 Performance of employee with respect to a job function
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/20 Education
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/08 providing for individual presentation of information to a plurality of student stations
• 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

A system for assigning one or more teachers for teaching in one or more learning sessions comprises an online learning system having one or more nodes that creates one or more online learning sessions having corresponding student/teacher ratios. A scheduling node schedules the one or more teachers for teaching the one or more online learning sessions. A database stores teacher qualification parameters associated with the student/teacher ratio of one or more learning sessions. A processing node adjusts a teacher qualification parameter associated with a teacher based on the number of scheduled learning sessions and corresponding student/teacher ratio of such learning sessions associated with the teacher. The scheduling node schedules the teacher for one or more online learning sessions having a student/teacher ratio that corresponds to the adjusted qualification parameter of the teacher.

Claims

1. A computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer readable memory adapted to be executed for assigning one or more teachers to one or more learning sessions, the computer program product comprising:

an online learning system having one or more nodes that creates one or more online learning sessions having corresponding student/teacher ratios;

a database that stores an initial teacher qualification parameter associated with a teacher;

a processing node that;

(a) creates an adjusted teacher qualification parameter for the teacher by adjusting the initial teacher qualification parameter based on;

(i) the number of previous learning sessions taught by the teacher, and (ii) the student/teacher ratio of the previous learning sessions taught by the teacher, and

(b) stores the adjusted teacher qualification parameter of the teacher in the database; and

a scheduling node that schedules the teacher for one or more future online learning sessions requiring a student/teacher ratio that corresponds to the adjusted teacher qualification parameter.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the adjusted teacher qualification parameter is related to quantitative or qualitative teacher qualification measure.

3. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein the quantitative teacher qualification measure is related to at least one of:

(i) learning sessions taught by the teacher and (ii) a test score associated with teaching skills.

4. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein the qualitative teacher qualification measure relates to at least one of:

(i) teacher certification and (ii) peer review.

5. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein each student/teacher ratio is associated with a corresponding qualification score and wherein the qualification score is associated with a qualification rule for teaching a learning session with a corresponding student/teacher ratio.