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Audio interactive tutor

  • US 5,540,589 A
  • Filed: 04/11/1994
  • Issued: 07/30/1996
  • Est. Priority Date: 04/11/1994
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. An audio interactive tutor, comprising:

  • a course of study means for specifying what items of knowledge constitute the domain of knowledge to be learned as a first data structure defining audible stimulus and oral expected response pairs related in a first predetermined manner such that for each stimulus response pair the user would demonstrate correct knowledge of an item of knowledge to be learned should the user orally give the response expected;

    said course of study means also for specifying the phases of memory retention that must be passed through before any item can be determined to have been retained fully in human memory as a second data structure defining a memory retention hierarchy ordered into two series, one series representing memory phases whereat any item is still not current in human memory and the other representing memory phases whereat any item is already current in human memory, each of the phases of the two series indexing practice intervals in such a way that some phases and practice intervals call for comparatively more intensive repetition to allow any item to become current in human memory by repetition at the corresponding, comparatively more intensive practice intervals and other phases and practice intervals call for comparatively less intensive repetition to allow any item that is already current in human memory to be refreshed in memory by repetition at the corresponding comparatively less intensive practice interval;

    said course of study means also for specifying the manner that memory retention phases for particular items are to be changed based on the history of the way the user demonstrates correct and incorrect knowledge of items of knowledge to be learned as third and fourth data structures;

    said third data structure defining a second predetermined manner that memory retention phases are to be assigned in the event that the user shall demonstrate correct knowledge of an item of knowledge and said fourth data structure defining a third predetermined manner that memory retention phases are to be assigned in the event that the user shall demonstrate incorrect knowledge of an item of knowledge;

    said course of study means also for specifying the manner that instruction is to be structured as a fifth data structure defining a fourth predetermined manner by which at least one stimulus and response pair is to be selected for presentation based on the memory retention phases assigned to the items;

    user model means for specifying which items of knowledge the user has already demonstrated correct and incorrect knowledge of and the phase of memory retention for each item already attained by the user as a sixth data structure defining for each item to be learned and retained in memory both the date and time that that item was last exercised and the memory retention phase and associated practice interval last attained;

    audio output means for playing audio representative of a selected stimulus;

    voice recognition means for recognizing whether the user'"'"'s oral response corresponds to the response expected for the selected stimulus; and

    controller means coupled to the course of study means, the user model means, the audio output means and the voice recognition means for selecting in said fourth predetermined manner said predetermined number of stimulus and response pairs, for audibly presenting the stimulus associated with each pair selected via the audio output means and, responsive to whether the user'"'"'s oral reply corresponds or not to the response expected for each stimulus, for updating in said second and third predetermined ways the sixth data structure of the user model means to reflect the current state of memory retention of the items of knowledge that the user has demonstrated correct and incorrect knowledge of.

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