Prompting a user for input during a synchronous presentation of audio content and textual content

• US 9,280,906 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2013
• Issued: 03/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Audible Incorporated (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Audible Incorporated (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Arora, Ajay, Story, Guy Ashley Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Baderman, Scott
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kells, Asher
• Application Number:
  US13/758,749
• Publication Number:
  US 20140223272A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,128 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/06 with both visual and audible presentation of the material to be studied

Abstract

A selective synchronization service may facilitate the synchronous presentation of corresponding audio content and textual content. Corresponding words in companion items of audio and textual content may be selected for synchronous presentation. A corresponding word may be selected for synchronous audible and textual presentation according to any of a number of criteria. Further, a corresponding word may be selected for a modified synchronous presentation, in which the audible and/or textual presentation of the corresponding word is modified. Alternately, a corresponding word may be selected for an audible presentation without a textual presentation, or a textual presentation without an audible presentation.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

an electronic data store configured to store;

an audiobook; and

an electronic book that is a companion to the audiobook; and

a computing device, comprising a physical processor, that is in communication with the electronic data store, the computing device configured to;

identify a plurality of words that correspond between the audiobook and the electronic book, wherein each of said plurality of words occurs in both the audiobook and the electronic book in identical order;

select a word, from the plurality of words, for modified presentation;

cause textual presentation of the plurality of words;

during the textual presentation of the plurality of words, cause audible presentation of one or more words, from the plurality of words, that precede the word selected for modified presentation without causing audible presentation of the word selected for modified presentation;

prompt a user to speak the word selected for modified presentation;

obtain a spoken response as audio input;

determine that the spoken response includes the word selected for modified presentation; and

subsequent to determining that the spoken response includes the word selected for modified presentation, cause audible presentation of one or more words, from the plurality of words, that follow the word selected for modified presentation.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing device is configured to cause a synchronous audible and textual presentation of each of the plurality of words other than the word selected for modified presentation.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the computing device is configured to cause the synchronous audible and textual presentation in part by:

at least substantially while causing audible presentation of a first word of the plurality of words, causing a highlighted textual presentation of the first word.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the word selected for modified presentation is selected from the plurality of words based at least in part on user input.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of words is less than all words that correspond between the audiobook and the electronic book.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the audio input is received from a microphone, wherein the computing device is further configured to identify a spoken word in the audio input at least in part by applying a speech recognition technique to one or more spoken phonemes in the audio input.

7. A computer-implemented method comprising:

under control of one or more computing devices configured with specific computer-executable instructions,

identifying a first corresponding word, wherein the first corresponding word occurs in both an item of textual content and in an item of audio content;

identifying a second corresponding word, wherein the second corresponding word occurs after the first corresponding word in both the item of textual content and in the item of audio content;

identifying a third corresponding word, wherein the third corresponding word occurs after the second corresponding word in both the item of textual content and in the item of audio content;

causing a synchronous audible and textual presentation of the first corresponding word;

causing a textual presentation of the second corresponding word without synchronously audibly presenting the second corresponding word;

prompting a user to speak the second corresponding word;

obtaining a spoken response as audio input;

determining that the spoken response includes the second corresponding word; and

in response to determining that the spoken response includes the second corresponding word, causing audible presentation of the third corresponding word.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the first corresponding word and the second corresponding word are separated by a predetermined number of words in the textual content.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 further comprising:

prior to obtaining the spoken response as audio input;

receiving an initial spoken response as audio input;

determining that the initial spoken response does not comprise the second corresponding word; and

providing a hint regarding the second corresponding word.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the second corresponding word comprises at least a first phoneme and a second phoneme, the computer-implemented method further comprising:

causing an audible presentation of the first phoneme;

prompting a user to speak the first phoneme;

responsive to the user speaking the first phoneme, causing an audible presentation of the second phoneme;

prompting the user to speak the second phoneme; and

responsive to the user speaking the second phoneme, causing an audible presentation of the second corresponding word.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 further comprising:

before causing textual presentation of the second corresponding word, prompting a user to input a word; and

determining that the input word is substantially identical to the second corresponding word or that the input word is a synonym for the second corresponding word;

wherein the textual presentation of the second corresponding word is only caused if the input word is substantially identical to the second corresponding word or the input word is a synonym for the second corresponding word.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 further comprising obtaining content synchronization information pertaining to the item of textual content and the item of audio content, and wherein the first corresponding word is identified based at least in part on the content synchronization information.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising:

causing textual presentation of the third corresponding word prior to prompting the user to speak the second corresponding word.

14. A system comprising:

an electronic data store configured to store content synchronization information, wherein the content synchronization information indicates a plurality of words that occur in both an item of textual content and in an item of audio content; and

a computing device, comprising a physical processor, that is in communication with the electronic data store, the computing device configured to;

select a word, from the plurality of words, for modified audible presentation;

cause a textual presentation of one or more words, from the plurality of words, that precede the word selected for modified audible presentation;

prompt a user to input the word selected for modified audible presentation;

receive a response to the prompt as one of audio input or textual input;

determine that the response includes the word selected for modified audible presentation; and

subsequent to determining that the response includes the word selected for modified audible presentation, cause audible presentation of one or more words, from the plurality of words, that follow the word selected for modified audible presentation.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the computing device is further configured to cause modified audible presentation of the word selected for modified audible presentation by muting the word during audible presentation of the audio content.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the prompt requests that the user speak the word selected for modified audible presentation, and wherein the response is received as speech from a microphone.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the computing device is further configured to:

determine that the speech comprises the word selected for modified audible presentation;

determine that the word was spoken with an incorrect pronunciation; and

provide a pronunciation hint to the user.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein:

the one or more words that precede the word selected for modified audible presentation are audibly presented at a first presentation rate; and

the computing device is configured to cause modified audible presentation of the word selected for modified audible presentation at a second presentation rate.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the second presentation rate is slower than the first presentation rate.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the computing device is configured to cause modified audible presentation of the word selected for modified audible presentation by audibly presenting the word with an incorrect pronunciation.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions configured to execute in one or more processors of a computing device, wherein the computer-executable instructions when executed cause the computing to:

identify a corresponding word, wherein the corresponding word occurs at a corresponding presentation position in both an item of textual content and in an item of audio content;

cause an audible presentation and textual presentation of one or more words that precede the corresponding word in both the item of textual content and in the item of audio content;

cause an audible presentation of the corresponding word in the item of audio content;

prompt a user to input the corresponding word;

receive a response to the prompt as textual input;

determine that the response includes the corresponding word; and

subsequent to determining that the response includes the corresponding word, cause audible presentation of one or more words that follow the corresponding word in the item of audio content.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the instructions further configure the computing device to cause modified textual presentation of the corresponding word by presenting at least one of a blank, a homophone of the corresponding word, a misspelling of the corresponding word, or an incorrect grammatical case of the corresponding word.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the prompt requests that the user spell the corresponding word.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to cause a modified textual presentation of the corresponding word.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 24, wherein causing the modified textual presentation comprises highlighting the corresponding word.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 24, wherein the corresponding word is caused to be textually presented at a presentation position other than the corresponding presentation position.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the corresponding word is identified based at least in part on content synchronization information pertaining to the item of textual content and the item of audio content.