Computer-aided learning system and method

• US 9,141,827 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2003
• Issued: 09/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: IpLearn LLC
• Original Assignee: IpLearn LLC
• Inventors: Ho, Chi Fai, Tong, Peter P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hylinski, Steven J
• Application Number:
  US10/734,932
• Publication Number:
  US 20040126748A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,302 Days
• Field of Search: 434/118, 434/322, 434/362, 434/353
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/00 Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application
• 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 5/065 Combinations of audio and video presentations, e.g. videotapes, videodiscs, television systems
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/14 with provision for individual teacher-student communication
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/02 of the type wherein the student is expected to construct an answer to the question which is presented or wherein the machine gives an answer to the question presented by a student
• 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

A computer-aided learning method and apparatus based on a super-recommendation generator, which is configured to assess a user'"'"'s or a student'"'"'s understanding in a subject, reward the user who has reached one or more milestones in the subject, further the user'"'"'s understanding in the subject through relationship learning, reinforce the user'"'"'s understanding in the subject through reviews, and restrict the user from enjoying entertainment materials under certain condition, with the entertainment materials requiring a device to fulfill its entertainment purpose. The generator does not have to be configured to perform all of the above functions.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for helping a user learn, the method comprising:

(a) presenting, by a display, materials to help the user learn, the display being coupled to a computing device, which comprises a rule storage medium, an assessment table including assessment attributes regarding users, and a recommendation generator;

(b) retrieving, by the recommendation generator from the rule storage medium, at least two rules from a group of rules, with at least one of the rules being related to a subject, to help determine additional materials to present to the user,

wherein each of the two rules includes a consequence and one or more conditions,

wherein if any condition of each of the two rules is not satisfied, the consequence of the corresponding rule is false,

wherein each of the two rules is represented in a table of attributes, with one attribute being the consequence of the rule and with one or more other attributes being the one or more conditions of the rule,

wherein the table of attributes is stored in the rule storage medium, and

wherein in retrieving the at least two rules, the consequence and the one or more conditions of each of the two rules are retrieved from the table of attributes in the rule storage medium;

(c) determining a recommendation, by the recommendation generator, based on at least a rule from the table of attributes in the rule storage medium, for the additional materials to present via the display, after the materials have been presented at (a); and

(d) selecting, by the recommendation generator, at least some of the materials presented at (a) to the user via the display, for a further time to refresh the user'"'"'s memory of the materials,

wherein (c) includes;

analyzing at least the two rules to determine an inference, wherein the inference includes a consequence and at least one condition;

accessing at least two assessment attributes from the assessment table;

determining the at least two assessment attributes from the assessment table being in conflict with the consequence and the at least one condition of the inference; and

generating a new rule, which is added to the group of rules in the rule storage medium and which takes precedence over the at least two rules, in view of the conflict, to determine the recommendation for the additional materials to present via the display.

2. The computer-implemented method as set forth in claim 1, wherein at (d) the selecting of at least some of the materials presented at (a) for presentation to the user for the further time occurs after the additional materials determined at (c) have been presented.

3. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1, wherein the method further comprises having at least some of the presented materials transmitted via a network to the display to be presented to the user, and wherein the network includes a private network and/or a public network.

4. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least some of the materials presented to the user at (a) are selected at (d) for presentation to the user for the further time depending on a time elapsed from when the materials are presented at (a).

5. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 4, wherein the at least some of the materials presented to by the user at (a) can be repeatedly selected for presentation to the user, but if the time elapsed is more than a predetermined duration of time, the at least some of the materials presented at (a) are no longer selected.

6. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least some of the materials presented at (a) can be repeatedly selected for presentation to the user.

7. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1, wherein the additional materials to present be presented to the user at (c), also relate to the subject.

8. An article comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising a plurality of instructions for helping a user learn, the plurality of instructions, if executed by a computing device, result in the computing device;

(a) presenting, by a display, materials to help the user learn, the display being coupled to a computing device, which comprises a rule storage medium, an assessment table including assessment attributes regarding users, and a recommendation generator;

(b) retrieving, from the rule storage medium, at least two rules from a group of rules to help determine additional materials to present to the user,

wherein each of the two rules includes a consequence and one or more conditions,

wherein if any condition of each of the two rules is not satisfied, the consequence of the corresponding rule is false,

wherein each of the two rules is represented in a table of attributes, with one attribute being the consequence of the rule and with one or more other attributes being the one or more conditions of the rule,

wherein the table of attributes is stored in the rule storage medium, and

wherein in retrieving the at least two rules, the consequence and the one or more conditions of each of the two rules are retrieved from the table of attributes in the rule storage medium;

(c) determining a recommendation, a by the recommendation generator, based on at least a rule from the table of attributes in the rule storage medium, for the additional materials to present to the user, after the materials at (a) have been presented; and

(d) selecting, by the recommendation generator, at least some of the materials presented at (a) to the user via the display, for a further time to refresh the user'"'"'s memory of the materials,

wherein (c) includes;

analyzing at least the two rules to determine an inference, wherein the inference includes a consequence and at least one condition;

accessing at least two assessment attributes from the assessment table;

determining the at least two assessment attributes from the assessment table being in conflict with the consequence and the at least one condition of the inference; and

generating a new rule, which is added to the group of rules in the rule storage medium and which takes precedence over the at least two rules, in view of the conflict, to determine the recommendation for the additional materials to present via the display.

9. The article comprising a computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 8, wherein the instructions if executed further result in the at least some of the materials presented at (a) being selected at (d) for presentation to the user for the further time depending on the time elapsed from when the materials are presented user accesses the materials at (a).

10. The article comprising a computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 8, wherein the instructions if executed further result in the additional materials determined to present at (c), also relating to the subject.

11. A computer-implemented method for helping a user learn, the method comprising:

(a) presenting, by a display, materials to help the user learn, the display being coupled to a computing device, which comprises a rule storage medium, an assessment table including assessment attributes regarding users, and a recommendation generator;

(b) retrieving, by the recommendation generator from the rule storage medium, at least two rules from a group of rules, with at least one of the rules being related to a subject, to help determine additional materials to present to the user,

wherein each of the two rules includes a consequence and one or more conditions,

wherein if any condition of each of the two rules is not satisfied, the consequence of the corresponding rule is false,

wherein each of the two rules is represented in a table of attributes, with one attribute being the consequence of the rule and with one or more other attributes being the one or more conditions of the rule,

wherein the table of attributes is stored in the rule storage medium, and

wherein in retrieving the at least two rules, the consequence and the one or more conditions of each of the two rules are retrieved from the table of attributes in the rule storage medium; and

(c) determining a recommendation, by the recommendation generator, based on at least a rule from the table of attributes in the rule storage medium, for the additional materials to present via the display, after the materials have been presented at (a),

wherein the determining, by the recommendation generator, comprises;

analyzing at least the two rules to determine an inference, wherein the inference includes a consequence and at least one condition;

accessing at least two assessment attributes from the assessment table;

determining the at least two assessment attributes from the assessment table being in conflict with the consequence and the at least one condition of the inference; and

generating a new rule, which is added to the group of rules in the rule storage medium and which takes precedence over the at least two rules, in view of the conflict, to determine the recommendation for the additional materials to present via the display.

12. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 11, wherein the additional materials to present to the user at (c), are determined depending on a time elapsed from when the materials are presented at (a).

13. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 11, wherein the additional materials to present at (c), also relate to the subject.

14. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 11, wherein the method further comprises, subsequent to generating the new rule, determining materials to present to another user based on the group of rules, which includes the new rule.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium including at least executable computer program code tangibly stored therein for helping a user learn, said computer readable medium comprising:

(a) computer program code for presenting, by a display, materials to help the user learn, the display being coupled to a computing device, which comprises a rule storage medium, an assessment table including assessment attributes regarding users, and a recommendation generator;

(b) computer program code for retrieving, from the rule storage medium, at least two rules from a group of rules, with at least one of the rules being related to the subject, to help determine additional materials to present to the user,

wherein each of the two rules includes a consequence and one or more conditions,

wherein if any condition of each of the two rules is not satisfied, the consequence of the corresponding rule is false,

wherein each of the two rules is represented in a table of attributes, with one attribute being the consequence of the rule and with one or more other attributes being the one or more conditions of the rule,

wherein the table of attributes is stored in the rule storage medium, and

wherein in retrieving the at least two rules, the consequence and the one or more conditions of each of the two rules are retrieved from the table of attributes in the rule storage medium; and

(c) computer program code for determining a recommendation, by the recommendation generator, based on at least a rule from the table of attributes in the rule storage medium, for the additional materials to present via the display, after the materials have been presented at (a),

wherein the determining the recommendation comprises;

analyzing at least the two rules to determine an inference, wherein the inference includes a consequence and at least one condition;

accessing at least two assessment attributes from the assessment table;

determining the at least two assessment attributes from the assessment table being in conflict with the consequence and the at least one condition of the inference; and

generating a new rule, which is added to the group of rules in the rule storage medium and which takes precedence over the at least two rules, in view of the conflict, to determine the recommendation for the additional materials to present via the display.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium as recited in claim 15 further comprising computer program code for determining materials to present to another user based on the group of rules, which includes the new rule, subsequent to generating the new rule.