U.S. patent number 6,988,138 [Application Number 09/608,208] was granted by the patent office on 2006-01-17 for internet-based education support system and methods.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Blackboard Inc.. Invention is credited to Robert L. Alcorn, Daniel E. Cane, Michael L. Chasen, Timothy R. Chi, Stephen R. Gilfus, Scott Perian, Matthew L. Pittinsky.
United States Patent |
6,988,138 |
Alcorn , et al. |
January 17, 2006 |
**Please see images for:
( Reexamination Certificate ) ** |
Internet-based education support system and methods
Abstract
A system and methods for implementing education online by
providing institutions with the means for allowing the creation of
courses to be taken by students online, the courses including
assignments, announcements, course materials, chat and whiteboard
facilities, and the like, all of which are available to the
students over a network such as the Internet. Various levels of
functionality are provided through a three-tiered licensing program
that suits the needs of the institution offering the program. In
addition, an open platform system is provided such that anyone with
access to the Internet can create, manage, and offer a course to
anyone else with access to the Internet without the need for an
affiliation with an institution, thus enabling the virtual
classroom to extend worldwide.
Inventors: |
Alcorn; Robert L. (Arlington,
VA), Cane; Daniel E. (Washington, DC), Chasen; Michael
L. (Washington, DC), Chi; Timothy R. (Fairfax, VA),
Gilfus; Stephen R. (Woodbridge, VA), Perian; Scott
(Washington, DC), Pittinsky; Matthew L. (Washington,
DC) |
Assignee: |
Blackboard Inc. (Washington,
DC)
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Family
ID: |
35550864 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/608,208 |
Filed: |
June 30, 2000 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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60141283 |
Jun 30, 1999 |
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60141864 |
Jul 1, 1999 |
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60187890 |
Mar 8, 2000 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
709/225; 434/350;
709/203; 709/204; 709/217; 709/218 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G09B
5/02 (20130101); G09B 7/02 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
15/173 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;709/225,203,218,217,204,205 ;343/350,204,336 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Jaroenchonwanit; Bunjob
Assistant Examiner: Nguyen; Thanh T
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and
Dorr LLP
Parent Case Text
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This patent application is based on and claims filing priority from
co-pending U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/141,283, filed
on Jun. 30, 1999; co-pending U.S. provisional application Ser. No.
60/141,864, filed on Jul. 1, 1999; and co-pending U.S. provisional
application Ser. No. 60/187,890, filed on Mar. 8, 2000, all of
which are incorporated herein by reference.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A course-based system for providing to an educational community
of users access to a plurality of online courses, comprising: a) a
plurality of user computers, with each user computer being
associated with a user of the system and with each user being
capable of having predefined characteristics indicative of multiple
predetermined roles in the system, each role providing a level of
access to a plurality of data files associated with a particular
course and a level of control over the data files associated with
the course with the multiple predetermined user roles comprising at
least two user's predetermined roles selected from the group
consisting of a student role in one or more course associated with
a student user, an instructor role in one or more courses
associated with an instructor user and an administrator role
associated with an administrator user, and b) a server computer in
communication with each of the user computers over a network, the
server computer comprising: means for storing a plurality of data
files associated with a course, means for assigning a level of
access to and control of each data file based on a user of the
system's predetermined role in a course; means for determining
whether access to a data file associated with the course is
authorized; means for allowing access to and control of the data
file associated with the course if authorization is granted based
on the access level of the user of the system.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the instructor user is provided
with an access level to enable the creation and editing of a
plurality of files associated with a course.
3. The system of claim 2 wherein the course files comprise an
announcement file.
4. The system of claim 2 wherein the course files comprise a course
information file.
5. The system of claim 2 wherein the course files comprise a staff
information file posted to all registered in the course.
6. The system of claim 2 wherein the course files comprise a course
document file posted to all registered in the course.
7. The system of claim 2 wherein the course files comprise an
assignments file posted to all registered in the course.
8. The system of claim 2 wherein the course files comprise a
dropbox file.
9. The system of claim 2 wherein the course files comprise an
asynchronous communication file.
10. The system of claim 2 wherein the course files comprise a
synchronous communication file.
11. The system of claim 2 wherein the student user is provided with
an access level to enable reading of a plurality of files
associated with a course.
12. The system of claim 11 wherein the student user is provided
with an access level to enable modification of a subset of the
plurality of files associated with a course.
13. The system of claim 11 wherein the user is provided with an
access level to enable creation of a student file associated with a
file for which the student user is able to read.
14. The system of claim 13 in which the file that the student is
able to read is an assessment file created by the instructor user,
and the student file created by the student user is a response to
the assessment file.
15. The system of claim 14 wherein the assessment file comprises a
plurality of examination questions selected by the instructor user
to assess the ability of the student user.
16. The system of claim 15 wherein the examination questions are
selected by the instructor user from a predetermined pool of
available examination questions.
17. The system of claim 15 wherein the examination questions are
created by the instructor user substantially at the time of the
creation of the assessment file.
18. The system of claim 15 wherein the student file is reviewed by
the instructor user and assigned a grade.
19. The system of claim 18 wherein the grade is made available to
the student user.
20. The system of claim 18 wherein the instructor user collates a
plurality of grades obtained from reviewing a plurality of student
files, and wherein the collated grades are made available to all
student users associated with the course.
21. The system of claim 13 in which the file that the student is
able to read is an assignment file created by the instructor user,
and the student file created by the student user is a response to
the assignment file.
22. The system of claim 8 wherein the dropbox file comprises a
plurality of files transferred to the server computer from one or
more student users associated with the course.
23. The system of claim 22 wherein the instructor user is provided
with access to the files in the dropbox file, whereby the
instructor user may download, edit and upload the files in the
dropbox.
24. The system of claim 1 wherein a user is required to enter a
login sequence into a user computer in order to be provided with
access to course files associated with that user.
25. The system of claim 24 wherein the user is provided with access
to all courses with which the user is associated after entry of the
logon sequence.
26. The system of claim 25 wherein the user is provided with a web
page comprising a plurality of course hyperlinks, each of said
course hyperlinks associated with each course that the user has
enrolled in.
27. The system of claim 26 wherein selection of a course hyperlink
will provide the user with a web page associated with the selected
course, the web page comprising a plurality of content hyperlinks
to various content areas associated with the course.
28. The system of claim 27 wherein said content hyperlinks comprise
an announcement area hyperlink, a course information hyperlink, a
staff information hyperlink, a course documents hyperlink, an
assignments hyperlink, a communications hyperlink, and a student
tools hyperlink.
29. The system of claim 28 wherein selection of the announcement
area hyperlink provides a web page comprising a group of course
announcements.
30. The system of claim 28 wherein selection of the course
information hyperlink provides a web page comprising information
regarding the associated course.
31. The system of claim 28 wherein selection of the staff
information hyperlink provides a web page comprising data regarding
the instructors of the associated course.
32. The system of claim 28 wherein selection of the course
documents hyperlink provides a web page comprising a listing of
documents associated with the course.
33. The system of claim 32 wherein the listing of course documents
comprise active hyperlinks to the documents.
34. The system of claim 28 wherein selection of the assignments
hyperlink provides a web page comprising a group of course
assignments.
35. The system of claim 28 wherein selection of the communications
hyperlink provides a web page comprising hyperlinks to a group of
communication tools comprising an asynchronous communication tool
and a synchronous communication tool.
36. An method for providing online education method for a community
of users in a network based system comprising the steps of: a.
establishing that each user is capable of having redefined
characteristics indicative of multiple predetermined roles in the
system and each role providing a level of access to and control of
a plurality of course files; b. establishing a course to be offered
online, comprising i. generating a set of course files for use with
teaching a course; ii. transferring the course files to a server
computer for storage; and iii. allowing access to and control of
the course files according to the established roles for the users
according to step (a); c. providing a predetermined level of access
and control over the network to the course files to users with an
established role as a student user enrolled in the course; and d.
providing a predetermined level of access and control over the
network to the course files to users with an established role other
than a student user enrolled in the course.
37. The method of claim 36 wherein at least one of the course files
comprises a course assignment, further comprising the steps of: e)
the student user creating a student file in response to the course
assignment; and f) the student user transferring the student file
to the server computer.
38. The method of claim 37 further comprising the steps of: g) the
instructor user accessing the student file from the server
computer; h) the instructor user reviewing the student file to
determine compliance with the course assignment; and i) the
instructor user assigning a grade to the student file as a function
of the determination of compliance with the course assignment.
39. The method of claim 38 further comprising the step of the
instructor user posting the grade to a file on the server computer
accessible only to the student user with which the grade is
associated.
40. The method of claim 38 further comprising the steps of the
instructor repeating the steps (g), (h), and (i) for a plurality of
student users that are enrolled in the course.
41. The method of claim 40 further comprising the step of the
instructor user performing a statistical analysis on the grades
assigned to the plurality of student users.
42. The method of claim 41 further comprising the step of making
results of the statistical analysis available to the student users
enrolled in the course.
43. The method of claim 36 further comprising the step of providing
an asynchronous communication tool accessible to student users
enrolled in the course for enabling asynchronous communication
amongst the student users.
44. The method of claim 36 further comprising the step of providing
a synchronous communication tool accessible to student users
enrolled in the course for enabling synchronous communication
amongst the student users.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for
the exchange of information between instructors and students in an
educational context. More specifically, the present invention
relates to systems and methods in which an educational instructor
interacts with one or more non-collocated students by transmitting
course lectures, textbooks, literature, and other course materials,
receiving student questions and input, and conducting participatory
class discussions using an electronic network such as the Internet
and World Wide Web. The present invention also relates to the
provision of an infrastructure that allows for on-line registration
and tuition payment of educational courses.
The ability of educators, including educational institutions,
private corporations, and institutions of higher learning, to reach
potential students has generally been limited by geography. In most
instances, a potential student must physically move to within
commuting distance or onto a campus in order to have access to
course instructors, classes, and materials. Furthermore, potential
students and persons seeking knowledge of all sorts are generally
limited to proximate sources of courses of instruction, tutoring,
or training. Due to these limitations, a prospective student must
either seek to learn a given subject from whatever local means of
instruction is available to her or move her household in order to
be able to access her preferred sources of instruction. Many
prospective students are deprived of receiving instruction from
other, possibly better-qualified instructors or institutions
located outside of their immediate locale. Similarly, educational
institutions have been limited to serving only those students
located within commutable distance of their campuses.
The advent of networked computers and communications has afforded a
partial solution to these limitations. In particular, the
widespread use and availability of electronic networks such as the
Internet and the World Wide Web have made it possible for students
and educators to overcome geographic dispersion and physical
location as a barrier to education. Using this electronic medium,
students and instructors are able to exchange information including
(live or transcribed) classroom lectures, homework assignments,
texts and materials, grading, (live or transcribed) question and
answer interaction sessions, and other related information to
effect a traditional learning or educational experience regardless
of physical location.
However, electronic networks, including the Internet, are complex
technological systems requiring the user to have or acquire
specialized knowledge in order to use them effectively. Even
graphical user interfaces (GUIs) designed to enhance simplicity of
use, such as that provided by the World Wide Web, may require
specialized knowledge of network terminology and technical aspects.
For example, an Internet user's ability to access information using
that medium is significantly reduced if the user lacks
understanding of how to use Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) to
traverse (i.e., navigate) web pages. Slow adoption of new
technology and lack of technological sophistication have a chilling
effect on the widespread use of the medium in general. Applied
specifically in an educational context, these chilling factors
apply to instructors who, while possessing high expertise in their
respective intellectual or educational fields, would be required to
further attain technological knowledge necessary to effectively use
the Internet to educate non-collocated students.
Furthermore, the complexity of using the Internet for educational
purposes is compounded as the number of user choices required at
the user interface increases because not only must the instructor
and students acquire technological competency in the use of the
medium, but they must in addition understand the presentation and
consequences of a plethora of choices required by a particular user
interface (e.g., a web page). The design of the user interface
therefore can be critical in enabling widespread use of the medium
in an educational context. Solutions other than the present
invention may be characterized as having relatively complicated and
confusing user interfaces. Users, including both students and
instructors, of these other solutions are confronted with one or
more web pages that typically require the user to review and select
a subsequent web page or function from among a large array of
potential user choices, thereby complicating the user's task of
interacting with the system.
Further, many educational institutions have existing or legacy
network-based systems which students access to obtain various types
of information (e.g., class schedules). The addition of yet another
network-based system requires the host or sponsoring institution to
incur implementation and maintenance costs associated with the
installation, integration, administration, and maintenance of a new
network-based system. These costs place limits on the achieving the
widespread use of the medium for educational purposes.
Further, access, presentation, and aggregation of information
contained in existing networks are provided from the institution's
perspective and not an individual student's perspective. Typically,
a student must access different locations or web pages of an
institution's network for each datum she wishes to inspect.
Further, a student may have to log-on to multiple networks in order
to access different items of data. For example, a student may wish
to view his financial aid status before registering for an upcoming
course or semester. In existing networks, the student will have to
traverse multiple web pages and possibly log-on to multiple
networks in order to access his current financial aid status,
assess that information, and then register online taking into
account his particular information. Many similar situations are
commonplace involving access to grading information, class
schedule, exam materials, student group meetings, and other such
information. Existing systems, in short, aggregate course,
institution, and student information in an institution-centric
manner. This imposes a time cost upon each student/user of the
existing systems in order to reduce complexity from the
institution's implementation and maintenance perspectives. However,
given that these time costs are imposed on all students, the sum of
these distributed costs outweigh the cost savings realized by the
institution in the institution-centric approach, resulting in a net
loss.
Further, instructors' teaching techniques are greatly variable,
based on personal preference and the subject matter being taught.
Network-based systems that do not provide for a significant degree
of customization are ill-suited to address to this need to
accommodate diverse teaching modes in a single system.
Further, a general concern with use of the electronic network
medium is that response time tends to slow as more users are added
to the system. As response time becomes prohibitive, the time- and
cost-effectiveness associated with using the medium for educational
purposes is greatly reduced.
Many colleges and universities have stayed away from allowing
on-line registration and tuition payment for a number of reasons,
including high initial setup costs and incompatible billing
practices.
The exception to this rule are so-called virtual schools. Virtual
schools traditionally charge an enrollment fee, and then offer free
courses. In lieu of paying for each course taken, a student is
subjected to advertising while viewing on-line course material.
While such billing and income generation methods may be acceptable
for companies providing on-line training, such methods are not
consistent with traditional college and university billing
practices. Colleges and universities typically charge a low
enrollment fee and bill students on a per-credit or per-course
basis.
Therefore, it is a general object of the present invention to
provide a system and methods that allow users to interact with a
computer network-based education support system through means of a
simplified, easy-to-use user interface.
A further general object of the present invention is to provide a
system that can be easily integrated with existing computer network
and backend systems with minimal disruption to existing operations
and systems.
A still further general object of the present invention is to
provide a system that is scalable in order to accommodate
increasing numbers of users, such that system responsiveness is not
materially degraded as the number of users of the system grows to
an increasingly large number.
A still further general object of the present invention is to
provide a system and methods that can accommodate a variety of
diverse teaching modes without requiring substantial modifications
to the system.
A further object of the invention is to provide such a system that
allows multiple types of users to access the features of the system
as a function of their predefined role within the framework of the
system (e.g. student, teacher, administrator).
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a system
that integrates with the education platform provided therein value
added services and control such as calendar, task, contact and
communication functions.
These as well as other objects of the present invention are
apparent upon inspection of this specification, including the
drawings and appendices attached hereto.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with these and other objects, provided is a system
for providing to a community of users access to a plurality of
online courses, comprising a plurality of user computers and a
server computer in communication with each of the user computers
over a network. Each user computer is associated with a user of the
system having predefined characteristics indicative of a
predetermined role in the system. Each role provides a level of
access to data files associated with a course, and a level of
control over data files associated with a course. The server
computer has means for storing data files associated with a course,
means for assigning a level of access to each file, wherein the
level of access is associated with the ability of a user to access
the file, means for determining an access level of a user
requesting access to a file, and means for allowing access to a
file associated with a course as a function of the access level of
the user.
The user roles comprise a student role associated with a student
user, an instructor role associated with an instructor user, and an
administrator role associated with an administrator user (roles may
be mixed; for example when an instructor of one course, is also a
student in another course). The instructor user is provided with an
access level to enable the creation and editing of a plurality of
course files associated with a course. The course files include an
announcement file, a course information file, a staff information
file, a course documents file, an assignments file, a dropbox file,
an asynchronous communication file, and a synchronous communication
file.
The student user is provided with an access level to enable reading
of course files associated with a course. The student user is also
provided with an access level to enable modification of some of the
files associated with a course. Also, the user may be provided with
an access level to enable creation of a student file associated
with a file for which the student user is able to read. The file
that the student is able to read may be an assessment file created
by the instructor user, and the student file created by the student
user is a response to the assessment file. The assessment file may
be a plurality of examination questions selected by the instructor
user to assess the ability of the student user. The examination
questions may be selected by the instructor user from a
predetermined pool of available examination questions. The
examination questions also may be created by the instructor user
substantially at the time of the creation of the assessment file
and optionally added to the pool. The student file may be reviewed
by the instructor user and assigned a grade, which would be made
available online to the student user. The instructor user may
collate the grades obtained from reviewing a number of student
files, and the collated grades may be made available online to all
student users associated with the course (e.g.: an average for the
class, a pie or bar chart, etc.).
The student will also be able to read an assignment file created by
the instructor user, and the student file created by the student
user is a response to the assignment file.
The "digital dropbox" may contain a plurality of files transferred
to the server computer from one or more student users associated
with the course. The instructor user may be provided with access to
the files in the dropbox file, whereby the instructor user may
download, edit and upload the files in the dropbox.
A user may be required to enter a login sequence into a user
computer in order to be provided with access to course files
associated with that user. The user is then provided with access to
all courses with which the user is associated after entry of the
logon sequence. The user is provided with a web page comprising a
plurality of course hyperlinks, each of the course hyperlinks
associated with each course that the user has been enrolled either
as an instructor or as a student. Selection of a course hyperlink
will provide the user with a web page associated with the selected
course; the web page having content hyperlinks and buttons to
various content areas associated with the course. The content
hyperlinks and/or buttons include an announcement area hyperlink, a
course information hyperlink, a staff information hyperlink, a
course documents hyperlink, an assignments hyperlink, a
communications hyperlink, and a student tools hyperlink. Selection
of the announcement area hyperlink provides a web page including a
group of course announcements. Selection of the course information
hyperlink provides a web page including information regarding the
associated course. Selection of the staff information hyperlink
provides a web page including data regarding the instructors of the
associated course. Selection of the course documents hyperlink
provides a web page including a listing of documents associated
with the course, which may be active hyperlinks to the documents.
Selection of the assignments hyperlink provides a web page
including a group of course assignments. Selection of the
communications hyperlink provides a web page including hyperlinks
to a group of communication tools including an asynchronous
communication tool and a synchronous communication tool.
In another aspect if the invention, provided is a system for
providing to a community of users access to online courses,
including a server computer in communication with user computers
over a network, wherein the server computer has means for creating
course user accounts from a file of existing user accounts
associated with an external computer. In this manner, existing
legacy systems having large members of user accounts stored in
memory may be integrated with this system without having to
re-enter user data into the system (so-called batch
enrollment).
In yet another aspect of the invention, provided is a method for
providing online education, which includes the steps of
establishing a course to be offered online, offering the course to
be taken online to a group of student users; and providing access
over the network to the course files to a student user who has
enrolled in the course. The establishment of the course includes an
instructor user generating a set of course files for use with
teaching the course, then transferring the course files to a server
computer for storage thereat, and then making access to the course
files available to a predefined community of student users having
access to the server computer over a network.
Preferably, at least one of the course files comprises a course
assignment, and the student user creates a student file in response
to the course assignment and transfers the student file to the
server computer. The instructor user accesses the student file from
the server computer, reviews the student file to determine
compliance with the course assignment, and the instructor user
assigns a grade to the student file as a function of the
determination of compliance with the course assignment. The
instructor user may post the grade to a file on the server computer
accessible only to the student user with which the grade is
associated. The instructor user may repeat these steps for a number
of student users that are enrolled in the course, and then perform
a statistical analysis on the grades assigned to the student users.
The results of the statistical analysis may be made available to
the student users enrolled in the course.
An asynchronous communication tool accessible to student users
enrolled in the course may be provided for enabling asynchronous
communication amongst the student users. Likewise, a synchronous
communication tool accessible to student users enrolled in the
course may be provided for enabling synchronous communication
amongst the student users.
The present invention also enhances the prior art by providing a
flexible infrastructure for colleges, universities, and other
institutions wishing to facilitate on-line registration and tuition
payment. More specifically, the present invention can accommodate
different billing methods, including, but not limited to, billing
on a per-credit-hour basis, and billing on a per-registrant basis.
Tuition may be paid by credit card, debit card, check, or other
verifiable payment method. Payment verification may be performed by
the present invention, or the present invention may interface with
third-parties providing payment verification services. In addition,
the present invention allows on-line billing information to easily
interface with a college, university, or other institution's
standard billing practices. Integrating with existing billing
practices simplifies transition to automated systems.
In addition, the present invention may be configured as an open
system wherein anyone can connect to a server over the Internet and
create a course online that may be taken by anyone else connected
over the Internet. Thus, anyone may create a virtual classroom
available to anyone else, regardless if they are affiliated with a
particular institution such as a University. For example, a lawyer
may create a course in patent law online, and configure the system
to require entry of a password to enroll. The lawyer may then
disseminate the passwords to desired students who can enroll in the
course. Alternately, the lawyer can request the system to require
payment to enroll in the course such as by credit card.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an architectural block diagram of a preferred embodiment
of an education support system according to the present
invention;
FIG. 2 describes a preferred embodiment implementing load balancing
to achieve scalability;
FIG. 3 illustrates the functioning of a preferred embodiment of an
engine/registry model according to the present invention;
FIG. 4 shows a preferred user interface according to the present
invention;
FIG. 5 shows a screen shot of the home page that a user will
view;
FIG. 6 is a screen shot of a web page showing the course list and
course catalog available to student users;
FIG. 7 is a screen shot of the default view for a course web
site;
FIG. 8 is a screen shot of the announcements provided to a student
user;
FIG. 9 is a screen shot of the course contents window;
FIG. 10 is a screen shot of the assignments web page;
FIG. 11 is a screen shot of the course documents web page;
FIG. 12 is a screen shot of the communication center web page;
FIG. 13 is a screen shot of the asynchronous discussion board web
page;
FIG. 14 is a screen shot of the student tools web page;
FIG. 15 is a screen shot of the student drop box web page;
FIG. 16 is a screen shot of the instructor's control panel web
page;
FIG. 17 is a screen shot of the announcements web page;
FIG. 18 is a screen shot of the course information web page;
FIG. 19 is a screen shot of the course tasks web page;
FIG. 20 is a screen shot of the instructor library web page;
FIG. 21 is a screen shot of the digital dropbox web page;
FIG. 22 is a screen shot of the course gradebook web page;
FIGS. 23A and 23B are a screen shot of the course statistics web
page;
FIG. 24 is a screen shot of the advanced course and portal manager
web page;
FIG. 25 is a screen shot of the community web page;
FIG. 26 is a screen shot of the services web page;
FIG. 27 is a screen shot of the calendar web page;
FIG. 28 is a screen shot of the email web page;
FIG. 29 is a screen shot of the create a course web page;
FIGS. 30A and 30B are a screen shot of the create user web
page;
FIG. 31 is a screen shot of the web resource web page;
FIG. 32 is a further screen shot of a web resource web page;
FIG. 33 is a screen shot of the virtual chat web page;
FIG. 34 is a block diagram illustrating information passed from a
course registration server to a payment server;
FIG. 35 is a sample of a payment form;
FIG. 36 is a block diagram illustrating interaction between a
payment server and a payment validation server;
FIG. 37 is a sample of a payment information page;
FIG. 38 is a block diagram illustrating post-order processing;
FIG. 39 is an overall block diagram of the system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIG. 39, the present invention comprises a system and
methods for the exchange of course content and related information
between non-collocated instructor users and student users. An
instructor user interacts with one or more non-collocated student
users by using the system and methods of the present invention to,
without limitation, transmit course files including course
lectures, textbooks, literature, and other course materials,
receive student questions and input, and conduct participatory
class discussions using an electronic network such as the Internet
or World Wide Web. Access to the course file is controlled by
access levels and control logic, to ensure integrity and security
of the system. Also, administrator users have access to the system
to perform administrative tasks as defined herein.
System Architecture
The system architecture of a preferred embodiment of an education
support system 100 according to the present invention is presented
in FIG. 1. Referring now to FIG. 1, education support system 100
comprises application subsystems 110, a web browser 120, a web host
server 130, a database subsystem 140, and core subsystems 150. Web
host server 130 further comprises a shell service 131. Applications
subsystems 110 further comprise a content registry 111, a tool
registry 112, a course registry 113, one or more content engines
114, one or more tool engines 115, and one or more course engines
116. Core subsystems 150 further comprise a core engine 151, an
access manager 152, a user interface (i.e., UI) manager 153, a user
manager 154, a group manager 155, an event manager 156, a log
manager 157, and a connection manager 158.
In a presently preferred embodiment, education support system 100
is implemented in a client-server network topology. Users (who may
have one or several roles such as a student, instructor, teaching
assistant (TA), or administrator) access and interact with
education support system 100 via web browser 120. More
specifically, a user accesses application subsystems 110 and core
subsystems 150 through shell service 131 servlet providing a
standard Internet interface including, but not limited to, TCP/IP,
HTTP, SMTP, and FTP to the user via web browser 120 running on a
standard computing platform such as a personal computer or
workstation. Specifically, shell service 131 servlet uses the
URL-encoded information contained in HTTP requests received from
web browser 120 clients to invoke the corresponding requested
application subsystem 110 or core subsystem 150. Shell service 131
servlet also provides user authentication and session
management.
Application subsystems 110 function in conformance with an
engine/registry model 300 as described in FIG. 3. Generally,
engine/registry model 300 comprises one or more engines 301, a
registry 302, and a context factory 303. Engines 301 include, but
are not limited to, content engine(s) 114, tool engine(s) 115,
course engine(s) 116, and core engine 151. Registries 302 include,
but are not limited to, content registry 111, tool registry 112,
and course registry 113. Course engine(s) 116 creates a course by
associating together a set of educational materials to which a
student user has access, by organizing references to these
informational items as contained in content registry 111.
Specifically, course engine(s) 116 queries content registry 111 for
an index to the content engine 114 associated with a particular
resource being requested by a user.
Content engine(s) 111 includes an assessment engine that generates
quizzes to assist and instruct users in the use of education
support system 100. For example, one such quiz provided by an
assessment engine of education support system 100 provides
step-by-step instructions to an instructor for building a course.
The quiz is then administered online to the instructor to allow him
to build a customized course to be provided using education support
system 100.
Unlike content engines 111 which represent actual course content,
tool engine(s) 115 generally comprise installable programs that
provide capabilities available for use with a plurality of courses
and not fixedly associated with any particular course or
courses.
Instructors have different preferred modes of teaching. Further,
the same instructor may emphasize different modes of teaching
depending upon the subject being taught. For example, some
instructors emphasize individual homework while others prefer a
group or collaborative approach. Education support system 100
supports a variety of teaching methods. By invoking a particular
set of tool engines 115 during interaction with the assessment
engine, an instructor can customize a course offering to conform to
her preferred mode of teaching. An example of a tool engine 115 is
the chat/whiteboard communication tools (synchronous and/or
asynchronous) provided by education support system 100 that allows
for student group interaction and collaboration associated with a
given course. Other tools include, but are not limited to,
announcements for broadcast of group-oriented messaging, a calendar
mechanism for storing date-related events and information, a
discussion board for posting questions and answers in a threaded
discussion format, notes-editing, group pages, and email services.
Further capabilities provided by education support system 100
include, but are not limited to, a catalog listing of all courses
available, means for student users to enroll in either open
enrollment or closed enrollment situations, means for course
creation including course templates and course themes, a
course/page editor and viewer, a site page editor and viewer, means
for making and disseminating announcements, a calendar function, a
chat board in the nature of an online discussion, a white board
allowing group interaction and display of free-form information
using, for example, Microsoft Paint.TM., means for sending email
between instructors and students and groups of students, a list of
course members and links to their web pages, a list of groups and
links to their web pages, a file sharing area, means for providing
assignments to student users, means for conducting a variety of
types of student assessments (i.e., testing), means for providing
lesson material in sequential format, means for adding and removing
users, help documents, maintaining a grade book and progress
tracking, links to personal web pages or home pages, and a resource
library containing references to all uploaded content. Course
templates allow instructors to easily reuse a course structure for
subsequent courses. Course themes allow the instructor to affect
the look and feel of the course site.
Further, a presently preferred embodiment of education support
system 100 supports a plurality of environments 400 in a single
application. Examples of different environments 400 supported
include the personalized web page of student-centric information
accessed by a student user and the administrator's environment used
for maintenance of the system. Certain parts of the education
support system 100 application are consistent across all supported
environments 400, while the appearance to the user may vary for
different environments 400. An environment 400 is defined by
console frames that surround the application areas. An example of
an environment 400 defined by a four-frame page as shown in FIG. 4
comprises a console navbar 401, and console top 402, a toolbar 403,
and content 404. Console navbar 401 and console top 402 are
controlled by a console frameset, while toolbar 403 and content 404
are controlled by a separate frameset. For example, toolbar 403
"buttons" are always located in the top frame of an application
area, regardless of the environment 400. This approach allows
users, and especially instructors, the ability to customize their
course offerings while conforming to consistent user interface
features that allow application areas to be shared across
environments 400. Student users and instructors interact with
education support system 100 via the same basic environment 400
format.
Context factory 303 contains information mapping a user to one or
more courses associated with that user.
Access control manager 151 creates an access control list (ACL) for
one or more subsystems in response to a request from a subsystem to
have its resources protected through adherence to an ACL. Education
support system 100 provides multiple levels of access restrictions
to enable different types of users to effectively interact with the
system (e.g., access web pages, upload or download files, view
grade information) while preserving confidentiality of
information.
User manager 154 integrates the student-centric information with
existing network-based systems of an associated educational
institution. In a presently preferred embodiment, user manager 154
comprises a runtime component and a batch component that
periodically access and extract information contained in external
institution databases in order to maintain current student-centric
information. User manager 154 facilitates integration of education
support system 100 with existing or legacy network-based systems,
including proprietary institutional electronic networks and systems
related to grades, registration, course schedules, financial aid,
etc. without requiring modifications to existing systems or
security procedures.
In a presently preferred embodiment, application subsystems 110 and
core subsystems 150 interface with database subsystem 140 via the
Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) standard interface to allow use
of any relational database including, but not limited to, SQL and
DB2 Universal Database standards.
Scalability is provided by the modular system architecture
described in FIG. 1, and, in a preferred embodiment, through use of
a load balancing server 200 as shown in FIG. 2. As users are added
to the system and access the system as web browser 120 clients,
additional web server hosts 130 may be added to the overall system
to provide a matching increase in system capacity. Load balancing
server 200 allocates new web browser clients 120 to the least-busy
web server host 130 for servicing. By thus balancing the load
across all web server hosts 130, education support system 100
prevents response times from become unacceptably long for any one
given user. In a presently preferred embodiment, load balancing
server 200 maintains one or more metrics concerning the percent
utilization for each web server host 130 and selects the least-busy
web server host 130 based upon application of a load balancing
algorithm to these utilization metrics.
In a presently preferred embodiment, upon logging onto education
support system 100, shell service 131 servlet renders and presents
to the user (via web browser 120) a personalized web page
comprising a student-centric aggregation of data that may include,
without limitation, personal class schedules, grades, a rolled-up
or consolidated calendar, links to related tools, student group
events for groups of which a particular student is a member, and
class announcements.
Education support system 100 executes on a variety of computing
platforms including, but not limited to, UNIX.TM. servers, NT.TM.
servers, Solaris.TM., HP.TM., and Linux.TM.. Education support
system 100 supports popular web browsers including, but not limited
to, Netscape Navigator.TM. and Microsoft Internet Explorer.TM.,
and, in a preferred embodiment, does not require plug-ins at the
web browser client.
In a presently preferred embodiment, an automated upload or import
capability is provided in which a user may upload a file to the
system and system presents or displays the information contained in
the uploaded file in a manner that preserves the grouping of the
information, including fields and other categorization, based on
the file type. Education support system 100 provides a standard
import file format to accomplish this preservation of native
grouping of information. In a presently most preferred embodiment,
the automated upload capability imports an uploaded file in both
native and HTML formats, maintaining the file formats associated
with the native format for the native formatted file and converting
the native format into HTML formats for the HTML formatted
file.
Education support system 100 supports a variety of business models.
For example, an institution may charge each student for courses
taken via education support system 100; or, an instructor may use
education support system 100 to process individual student tuition
payments by providing links to e-commerce facilities.
Thus, a system and methods have been shown that that allow users to
interact with a computer network-based education support system
through means of a simplified, easy-to-use user interface, and that
can be easily integrated with existing computer network and backend
systems with minimal disruption to existing operations and systems.
The disclosed system and methods is scalable in order to
accommodate increasing numbers of users, and can accommodate a
variety of diverse teaching modes.
Three Tier Functionality
The present invention will now be described in further detail. The
invention is embodied in four embodiments that represent three
levels of functionality of the system that can be provided to and
by an institution, and one embodiment that can be offered to anyone
on the Internet. One embodiment embodies a "first tier"
functionality and incorporates the basic system, referred to as the
Course Manager. The Course Manager provides course management
system tools that enable instructors to provide their students with
course materials, discussion boards, virtual chat, online
assessments, and a dedicated academic resource center on the Web.
As explained further below, the Course Manager includes personal
information management tools, course content management tools,
course communication and collaboration tools, assessment tools,
academic Web resources, course management tools, and system
management tools.
A "second tier" embodiment incorporates all of the functionality of
the basic embodiment in an epicentric or portal model, also known
as the Course & Portal Manager. This embodiment expands beyond
the first tier Course Manager, and provides customized
institution-wide portals for faculty, students, staff, and alumni
with access to numerous personalized news and information services
from across the Web. The platform can be customized with
institutional branding and a tailored look and feel. It enables
institutions to develop online communities, Web-based email,
calendar, announcements and tasks. It also allows for a central
access point to all of the institution's online services. In
addition to the features of the Course Manager, the Course &
Portal Manager includes enterprise database support, customizable
portal modules and information services, web-based e-mail system,
community management, institutional services management, extended
customization for institutional branding, institution-wide content
sharing and management, and course e-commerce management.
The third embodiment is a third tier system, known as the Advanced
Course & Portal Manager. This embodiment incorporates the
complete end-to-end "e-Learning" solution. In addition to the
Course and Portal Manager, this third tier provides advanced
Java-based API's for unifying diverse online campus systems into
one integrated platform allowing for user-driven single log-in
service delivery, as well as capabilities that allow each school,
department or campus within the institution to maintain its own
customized environment. Thus, this is the fully functional
embodiment that includes all the features and functionality of the
first and second tiers and adds certain integration technologies
that allow integration of the invention with existing enterprise
systems, such as for downloading student databases, etc. as defined
further below. This includes a snapshot user management API, an
event-driven (real-time) user management API, an end user
authentication (security) API, and a network protocol for passing
user authentication data.
It is contemplated that each tier would be offered to institutions
in a licensing program that would best suit the needs and budget of
the institution.
A fourth embodiment of the invention is operated as a publicly
available web site on the Internet, that may be accessed by anyone,
whether they are affiliated with an institution or not. In this
embodiment, anyone on the web can create a course, enroll in a
public course, etc. as explained further below. This provides for
widespread dissemination of tools and utilities that enable anyone
to generate his own course that can be taken by virtually any
student.
As further explained herein, the course management tools featured
in the present invention allow instructors to monitor, control and
customize their course web sites from a web browser interface. The
Course Control Panel provides a robust and easy-to-use interface
for such course management. The system allows instructors to
customize the names of course web site navigation buttons to suit
their needs and requirements. The system also allows the instructor
to add or drop individuals or groups of students from a course as
required. The system features extended student enrollment option,
such as a limited-time self-enrollment (e.g. certain dates only for
the self-enroll feature), password-protected enrollment, and
defined course duration (e.g. for self-paced study). Courses may be
recycled between academic terms by automatically resetting
discussion boards, assessment, and other content areas. In
addition, the instructor can track student progress, grades and
content usage through the system.
As further explained herein, the content management tools featured
in the present invention allow instructors to post course
documents, staff information, assignments, etc. Text may be typed
directly into a form, or existing files may be accessed and
uploaded automatically. Documents such as word processing files,
spreadsheets, slide presentations, graphics, audio and video clips,
etc. may be uploaded in this manner. Streaming multimedia may
provided interactivity between the student and the course. Pop-up
maps provide easy course site navigation, thus enriching the
teaching and learning environments.
The communication and collaboration tools enhance the interaction
between the students and instructors with asynchronous discussion
boards as well as synchronous chat tools. Online discussions may be
managed wherein messages are sortable by date, author, title, etc.,
and may be archived and printed. A digital dropbox is a file
sharing utility that allows sharing of documents between users.
Virtual office hours may be held, and even field trips conducted
online with these tools.
The assessment tools in the present invention increase student
preparedness, measure student progress, and customize lessons by
creating and administering quizzes and surveys. Provided is an easy
to use, step by step process to create the quizzes and surveys,
wherein the instructor may mix and match multiple question types
such as multiple choice, multiple correct, true/false, matching,
ordering, fill in the blank, and essays. Multimedia or other
attachments may easily be included with the assessment questions.
Questions may be randomized and re-used from assessment pools.
Tests provided to students may be password protected and timed, and
may provide instant feedback to students. Advantageously,
statistical reports may be created from the assessments and student
answers.
The personal information management tools in the present invention
allow students, instructors, administrators and all other users to
access basic course, personal, and institutional data through a
user-centric "My Institution" screen. The user may view
announcements from multiple courses in one central location, and
maintain personal calendar, address book, user directory and to-do
lists.
The present invention also provides for access to a plethora of
academic resources that supplement the student's online education
experience. The user may browse discipline-specific information,
resources and communities linked to each course website. These
academic resources may be customized and personalized to fit the
users' needs.
The system management tools available with the present invention
allow system administrators to monitor, control and customize an
institution's online teaching and learning environment from the web
browser. The system administrator may control security permissions
and enable/disable features for numerous user roles. Batch user
enrollment (and unenrollment) may be performed system wide.
Preferences and options may be managed on multiple courses, all
from within a central system administrator panel. The system
administrator may also track and report faculty, student and course
statistics, may plan and manage system hardware requirements by
assigning instructors with pre-assigned disk quotas for content
storage, and may employ system-wide announcements to broadcast
messages to users about system maintenance or institutional
announcements.
In the Course & Portal Manager embodiment, the enterprise
database support provides support for tens of thousands of users
across an entire institution or system of institutions. User and
course data may be managed efficiently and effectively. Moreover,
large volumes of transactions may be managed efficiently and
effectively. The "My Institution" interface includes portal and
community functionality along with quick access to web email,
course and institutional announcements, and links to other campus
departments. Administrators may enable or disable portal modules
and establish required and optional modules from the portal options
menu bar. Administrators may also assign different portal default
settings to different user roles (e.g. students get different
portals than instructors).
Course e-commerce management functionality allows institutions to
set prices and charge fees for course enrollment directly through
the "e-Learning" platform.
In the Advanced Course & Portal Manager embodiment, the
snapshot user management tool allows scheduling of one-time or
periodic (i.e. hourly, daily, weekly) data integration from
existing student information systems, automating course population
and keeping the "e-Learning" environment synchronized with
administrative and student data. Moreover, the end-user
authentication enables a single login environment for the
institution portal for all students, instructors, administrators
and staff, which streamlines all campus services into a single web
portal environment.
The present invention will now be described in further detail and
embodiments. FIG. 5 shows a screen shot of the home page 500 that a
user will view, which is customizable in accordance with the
requirements and desires of any user. The home page may also be
institutionally branded, so that the "Your Institution" logo 504
shown in FIG. 5 would display the name of the institution that has
licensed the product (i.e. "New York University"). The home page
also provides the user with direct access to personal, course, and
institutional tools. As an added feature, the system enables each
user to select from a large number of news and information
services, so that everyone who uses the system will have access to
the most recent and relevant information for them. All of this
functionality is provided in one place--the home page--so that the
institution can provide a sense of community on campus, with
courses, and with a view to the external information sources.
By selecting the "Courses" tab 502 shown in FIG. 5, the user will
be linked to a Course page 600 as shown in FIG. 6, which provides
direct links to the courses that they teach (602, 604) and/or are
enrolled in (606, 608, 610). To access the course website, the user
will click on the course title (and 602, 604, 606, 608 or 610), he
is automatically linked to a web page associated with that course.
The user also has the opportunity to browse the course catalog 612
by selecting the links on the right side of the page 600, where
courses are listed according to category. The user may also search
through the course search engine by selecting the Browse Course
Catalog Link 614.
For example, by selecting the link 602 for the Introduction to
Music course, which the user in this example is teaching, the user
is shown the web page 700 illustrated in FIG. 7. The default view
for the course web site 700 in this embodiment is the Announcements
page 702, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. As seen at the lower part of
the screen in FIG. 8, the user has the option of selecting various
types of views by filtering out certain time-based announcements
(i.e. today, last 2 weeks, last month, or all) by selecting button
802. The Announcements section can also be linked to after the user
has left that page (i.e. is viewing another part of the course web
site) by simply clicking the Announcements button 804 on the
navigation toolbar 806 on the left of the web page.
Within the course website environment, the user is able to access
all of the relevant course material and communication features as
shown herein. The entire course outline may be displayed in a
separate browser window 900, wherein the course contents are
available for perusal and hyperlinking as desired. FIG. 8 shows the
entire web page for Introduction to Music in two parts (an upper
part and a lower part, which of course is scrollable as desired).
As can be seen, one of the function buttons provided is labeled
"Course Map" 808, which upon being clicked will popup the Course
Contents window 900 shown in FIG. 9 (in an expanded browser
window). As can be seen, the user will be able to expand or
collapse the various headings provided in order to drill into the
entire course contents as currently configured. So, for example,
the user can expand the Assignments section 902 and get a linkable
list of all the assignments that have been created for the course
to date. Any of the assignments may then be clicked for easy access
thereto. This separate window 900 is especially advantageous since
it allows users to browse the entire course, regardless of their
current location in the web site.
Thus, by selecting any of the Assignments links 902, the user would
be linked to the web page 1000 set forth in FIG. 10. This web page
lists each assignment that has been compiled for the course, each
of which can be linked to web pages that contain the full details
of the particular assignment. The assignment page 1000 shown in
FIG. 10 may of course also be viewed by clicking the "Assignments"
button 804 on the toolbar at the left of the course home page shown
in FIG. 8. In general, any of the functions that are provided by
toolbar buttons on the navigation bar at the left of the course
home page will be available in any page accessed for that site, so
that easy navigation may be had and the user may jump around and
visit any desired portion of the course web site no matter where
the user is currently located. Likewise, the Course Contents window
provides similar functionality as described above.
As shown in FIG. 10, folders that have quizzes and surveys may be
linked to by viewing the assignments web page. Clicking on these
folders will present the student and/or instructor with a quiz that
may be taken online, wherein the answers may be graded
automatically, in real-time, as soon as the student has finished
the quiz. This assessment functionality will be explained in
greater detail below.
In general, assignments may be provided in virtually any type of
media that he instructor has at his disposal. For example, shown in
FIG. 10 is a link 1002 to a multimedia presentation for "Physics in
Music", which will give the student a content-enriched lesson that
will be useful, prior to the next lesson. Assignments may also be
as simple as a text based file that the student would read in
preparation for the required class session.
In addition to selecting the Assignments page 1000 or the
Announcements page 700, the user may select the Course Information
button 1004 on the toolbar. This will link the user to a web page
that will list information provided by the instructor that is
useful to the student, such as an introductory welcome message,
links to helpful resources, etc. Resources otherwise found on other
parts of the course web site may also be shown here if desired by
the course web site developer. Links may be in the form of URLs to
other web pages or resources, or to folders that include groups of
logically related resources.
Selection of the Staff Information navigation button 1006 will
provide the user with a web page that will list each instructor,
TA, professor, etc., along with an abstract listing office hours,
address, telephone number, etc. on each, as well as a link that be
clicked to send an email. This gives the student with quick, easy
access to any instructor as may be desired throughout the course.
Images and other types of multimedia files may also be made
available at this page for enhanced content viewing.
The user may select the "Course Documents" link 1008 shown in the
navigational toolbar, after which the web page 1100 on FIG. 11 is
provided for that course. This provides the user with immediate
access to all documents relevant to the course. As a student, the
user has access to all of the course materials, including
additional links to information on the web that will enhance the
instructional experience. As an instructor, the user has the
ability to post documents of numerous file formats and from
disparate locations.
By selecting the "Communication" tab 1010 shown in FIG. 10, the
student is provided with the Communication Center web page 1200 as
shown in FIG. 12. In this area, the user has at his disposal many
different ways of establishing communications with other users of
the system as well as accessing other areas of the system for
various types of information. Thus, the user has access to an email
utility 1202, a student roster list 1204, a list of student
homepages 1206, a discussion board 1208, a virtual classroom chat
1210, and a group pages link 1212.
Selection of the Send E-Mail link 1202 loads a web page with
various links that allow the user to send email to individuals
registered for the course, to students only, to instructors only,
etc. The email function is accomplished via web-based email and
allows for users to send attachments, etc. as in many existing
email packages available today. Selection of the Student Roster
link 1204 displays a web page that lists all of the students
registered for the course, along with contact information if
allowed by the student (such as phone number, address, email
address, etc.). Selection of the Student Pages link 1206 provides a
web page with links to the homepage for each student in the
class.
Another very effective communication tool is the asynchronous
Discussion Board 1300, as shown in FIG. 13, which is displayed by
the student selecting the Discussion Board link 1208 of FIG. 12.
Here, students can access this for threaded discussions that are
archived for easy retrieval. By using the discussion board,
students can help each other learn even more easily outside of
regular class hours. It can also be used as an effective method for
instructors and TAs to use as a tutorial tool for out-of-class
questions and discussions that need to be saved for the purpose of
sharing with the rest of that class. This utility operates in
accordance with techniques well known in the art.
By clicking on the Virtual Chat link 1210, the student is provided
with a web page 3300 as shown in FIG. 33, labeled "virtual chat".
That is, each course has its unique chat area built into the course
site. Students can engage in chats about the course, collaborate on
assignments, and share information beyond the boundaries of the
classroom or posted materials. The instructor can monitor the chats
or actively engage in discussions. This real-time virtual chat
feature can also accommodate a whiteboard mode.
Selection of the Group Pages link 1212 displays a web page that
lists various groups of users that are grouped by special interests
(such as music lovers, bookworms, sports fans, etc.). Access to
these groups is a definable parameter that is set by the system
administrator.
Selection of the External Links button 1012 will display a web page
that is provided with URLs for relevant content that the instructor
deems may be useful to the student community. For example, in a law
course, links may be provided to various legal research web sites,
a Congressional web page, etc.
Selection of the Student Tools button 1014 will display a web page
1400 of associated links as shown in FIG. 14. These links include
various tools needed by the student, such as the Student Drop Box
1402, Change your Information 1404, Check Your Grade 1406, Edit
Your Homepage 1408, Student Calendar 1410, and the Student Manual
1412.
By clicking the Student Drop Box link 1402, the student is provided
with a web page that will allow control and access to the student's
digital dropbox, which is a folder of files that the student can
exchange with the course instructor. As shown in FIG. 15, the
dropbox web page 1500 allows the student to type in box 1502 the
resource location of a file that he wishes to provide to the
instructor, or to browse his computer's hard drive with button
1504, network drive, etc. in accordance with well known techniques
to locate the file and insert the appropriate pointer. Clicking the
Send File button 1506 will finish the task of uploading the file. A
list 1508 of uploaded files that exist in the student's dropbox is
also set forth in this page, along with a control link 1510 that
enables the removal of a file. By using this utility, the student
can submit documents such as term papers to the instructor, who can
then read and post comments to the file for return to the student
and review.
Selection of the Change Your Information link 1404 provides the
student with a web page that sets forth his personal data, such as
name, address, email, phone number, password, etc. In addition,
certain system preferences may be set at this location. Similar to
this link is the Edit Your Homepage link 1408, which will allow the
student to access his homepage and make modifications as he desires
(e.g. change a JPEG picture on the page, change hotlink list,
etc.)
Selection of the Check Your Grades link 1406 will deliver a web
page that shows the grades that the student has been assessed in
the course, such as for exams, quizzes, term papers, projects,
assignments, etc. The student may be able to link to the specific
exam or paper through this utility in order to review the exam
again, which may be useful for example in preparing for a final
exam. The instructor may also provide to the student a statistical
review of the entire class so that the student has a better feel
for the grade he may receive (for example, the class median, mean,
curve data, etc.).
The Student Calendar button 1410 will provide well known PIM
(personal information management) functionality to the student. The
Calendar web page can display calendar events in a graphical
display for that course, all the student's courses, all institution
events, as well as personal calendar events programmed by the user.
Thus, different entities can program calendar events, which can be
selectively displayed by the student by selection of display
functions on the page. For example, the instructor can program the
calendar events for the course, and an administrator can program
calendar events for the entire campus, and these will be displayed
on the student's calendar since he is registered for the course.
This provides the student with a greater ability to manage his
calendar than has been available in the past.
The final button on the Student Tools web page is the Student
Manual link 1412, which when selected provides the student with
access to an online manual that may be used for a "help" reference
in navigating the web site.
Located below the navigation button toolbar is a group of control
buttons 1420. The Resources button 1422 links directly to a web
page of related online resources to assist with course-related
issues, as described further below. The Course Map button 808 gives
a separate browser window with direct access to the course
contents, as explained above. The My Blackboard button 1424 gives
access to "My Blackboard" functionality as explained below. The
Search button 1426 enables the user to search all course materials
by criteria and keyword(s). The Logout button 1428 logs the user
out of the current course. There may also be an Enroll in this
Course button to allow students to register themselves in courses
(this button is only visible when the student accesses as a guest a
course in which he is not enrolled).
Instructor Functionality
The instructor is provided with essentially the same functionality
and control as is the student user, with additional functions
defined herein. That is, the instructor is provided with a complete
set of navigational buttons for accessing announcements, course
information, staff information, course documents, assignments,
communication tools, external links, and student tools for a given
course that he is teaching. The control panel is also given to the
instructor to enable display of a set of links to course management
and development tools that are available to an instructor.
The instructor's control panel web page 1600 is shown in FIG. 16.
This control panel 1602 provides the instructor with many features
that are useful in managing the course he instructs. The control
panel is divided into Content Areas 1604, Course Tools 1606, Course
Options 1608, User Management 1610, Assessment 1612, and Assistance
1614, as set forth below.
Content Areas
The Announcement link 1616 displays a web page 1700 as shown in
FIG. 17 that will set forth all of the announcements that have been
posted for the course, the author (i.e. which instructor, if there
are more than one authorized to access this area) of the
announcement, and a modify button 1702 and a remove button 1704. An
add announcement button 1706 is also provided, which displays a web
page with a blank message field that he instructor fills in and
submits to the server. The newly added announcement will then be
posted to all students registered in the class.
The Course Information link 1618 displays a web page 1800 as shown
in FIG. 18 that will set forth all of the course information
documents or folders that have been posted for the course, and a
modify button 1802 and a remove button 1804. An add item 1806 or
add folder button 1808 is also provided, which displays a web page
with various fields that the instructor will fill in to define the
course information entry. After submitting the new entry to the
server, the new course information is posted to all students
registered in the class.
The Staff Information link 1620 displays a web page that will set
forth all of the staff entries (i.e. instructors, Tasks, etc.) that
are involved with the course, and a modify button and a remove
button for each entry similar to those shown in FIG. 18. An add
item or add folder button is also provided, which displays a web
page with various fields that the instructor will fill in to define
the new staff item entry. Fields are also provided for links to
each staff member's email address, web page, etc. Images of the
staff member may also be inserted in the entry. After submitting
the new entry to the server, the new staff information is posted to
all students registered in the class as explained above.
Similarly, the Course Documents link 1622 displays a web page that
will set forth all of the course documents or folders that have
been posted for the course, and a modify button and a remove button
as discussed above. An add item or add folder button is also
provided, which displays a web page with various fields that the
instructor will fill in to define the course documents entry. The
document may be uploaded directly to the server for later access by
the student, or a link to an external referenced resource may be
provided (i.e. a URL). After submitting the new entry to the
server, the new course information is posted to all students
registered in the class as explained above.
Likewise, the Assignments link 1624 displays a web page that will
set forth all of the course assignments or folders that have been
posted for the course, and a modify button and a remove button. An
add item or add folder button is also provided, which displays a
web page with various fields that the instructor will fill in to
define the course assignment entry. The assignment entry may be
uploaded directly to the server for later access by the student.
After submitting the new entry to the server, the new course
assignment is posted to all students registered in the class as
explained above.
Also, the External Links link 1626 displays a web page that will
set forth all of the external links or folders that have been
posted for the course, and a modify button and a remove button. An
add item or add folder button is also provided, which displays a
web page with various fields that the instructor will fill in to
define the external links entry. The external links entry may be
uploaded directly to the server for later access by the student.
After submitting the new entry to the server, the new external link
page is posted to all students registered in the class as explained
above.
Course Tools
Under the Course Tools section 1606, the Course Calendar link 1628
displays a web page that will set forth all of the calendar events
that have been posted for the course, and a modify button and a
remove button. An add item button is also provided, which displays
a web page with various fields that the instructor will fill in to
define the new calendar item entry (i.e. description, date, time,
etc.). The calendar entry may be uploaded directly to the server
for later access by the student. After submitting the new entry to
the server, the new calendar page is posted to all students
registered in the class as explained above.
The Course Tasks link 1630 displays a web page 1900 as shown in
FIG. 19 that will set forth all of the tasks that have been posted
for the course, and a modify button 1902 and a remove button 1904.
An Add Task button 1906 is also provided, which displays a web page
with various fields that the instructor will fill in to define the
new task entry (i.e. description, date, time, etc.). The task entry
may be uploaded directly to the server for later access by the
student. After submitting the new entry to the server, the new
tasks page is posted to all students registered in the class as
explained above.
The Send Email link 1632 displays a web page that is similar to the
one the user will be provided with in his email function (i.e.
allows selection of individual users associated with the course,
certain predefined groups of users such as all students, etc.)
The Instructor Library link 1634 displays a web page 2000 as shown
in FIG. 20 that will set forth all of the folders and files that
have been posted by the instructor for the course, and a modify
button 2002 and a remove button 2004. These materials are
accessible to instructors only (professors, TAs, etc.), and not to
students directly. An Add File button 2006 and an Add Folder 2008
button is also provided, which displays a web page with various
fields that the instructor will fill in to define the new entry. In
addition, the instructor is able to select the Add From Institution
button 2010 to select a new reference that is available from a pool
of references made available to all instructors from the
institution. The new entry may be uploaded directly to the server
for later access by the instructors associated with the course.
After submitting the new entry to the server, the new Instructor
Library page is posted to all instructors associated with the
course.
The Virtual Classroom link 1636 displays a web page that provides a
link to either launch a virtual classroom (and thus participate in
real-time, synchronous classroom sessions), or to view the
classroom archives (view previous classroom sessions and/or
download these sessions to the instructor's computer). Each course
includes a Virtual Classroom, which is a synchronous chat room for
student and group communications. The Virtual Classroom can be used
to hold "live" classroom discussions, TA sessions, and office hour
type question/answer forums. One can even have guest speakers and
subject matter experts talk with the class in the Virtual
Classroom.
A Virtual Classroom contains several distinct areas. The Whiteboard
Space is where web pages are displayed, which is the large center
area. One can also write or draw on this space using the drawing
toolbar. The Menu Bar is used to change the information that
appears on the whiteboard space, such as selecting a font to use on
the whiteboard space and moving an object on the whiteboard space
behind another object. One can also prepare lessons, navigate
slides displayed on the whiteboard space, and clear the Group
Discussion tab and Questions and Answers tab (refer to the Tab
Panel description for further information on these tabs). The
Application Tool Bar contains tools for navigating web pages. The
Location Field is used to enter the URL of a web page the user
would like to use during the Virtual Classroom session. The web
page is then displayed on the whiteboard space. Users can also
write or draw on the web page with the drawing toolbar. The Drawing
Toolbar is used to write and draw on the whiteboard space. The
Status Region is where status messages are displayed at the bottom
of the Virtual Classroom window. The Tab Panel is used to chat with
students, respond to students' questions, control classroom
behavior, and view information about the students in the Virtual
Classroom.
The following panels are available:
TABLE-US-00001 Name of Tab Purpose Group Discussion Use this tab to
talk with the students in the Virtual Classroom. Questions and If a
student uses his/her Questions Answers tab to submit a question to
the instructor, the instructor can then answer the question using
the Incoming Questions tab. Thereafter, the instructor can view a
log of their dialogue regarding the question on the Questions and
Answers tab. Participant Use this tab to learn about the
Information students in the Virtual Classroom, such as their names.
Slides Use this tab to prepare and present a series of slides. (See
Options in Preparing Lessons). The tab is only available to the
Instructor. Incoming If a student uses his/her Questions Questions
tab to submit a question to the instructor, the instructor can then
answer the question using the Incoming Questions tab. Thereafter,
the instructor can view a log of their dialogue regarding the
question on the Questions and Answers tab. The Incoming Questions
tab is only available to the instructor. Access Control Use this
tab to control students' ability to conduct the four Virtual
Classroom activities: Question, Chat, Drawing, and Navigating. The
tab is only available to the instructor.
Selection of the Discussion Board link 1638 displays a web page
that provides links to the available discussion boards that are
associated with the course. A discussion board is another
communication tool to use in a classroom setting. This feature is
similar to Virtual Chat, but is designed for asynchronous use, so
users do not have to be available at the same time to have a
conversation. An additional advantage of the discussion board is
that user conversations are logged and organized. Conversations are
grouped into forums that contain threads and all related
replies.
Selection of the Digital Dropbox link 1640 displays a web page 2100
as shown in FIG. 21 that lists the files that exist in the digital
dropbox. The Digital Dropbox is a tool that the instructor and
students can use to exchange files. The Dropbox works by
"uploading" a file from a disk or a computer to a central location.
A participant can then come and "download" it to work locally. The
Digital Dropbox is used to exchange materials between a single
student and the instructor. Information that needs to be posted for
all students should be placed in the Course Documents area using
the Page Editors.
Individual student access to the Dropbox is available from the File
Transfer Area located in Student Tools area on the Course. Students
also have group access to a private dropbox from a group
homepage.
The web page 2100 displayed lists the current files in the dropbox,
which are the files that participants have sent to the user. Files
posted here can be accessed and saved. The Send File 2102 to the
Student area is where files are uploaded and sent to specific
students. The user can also delete files that are no longer
needed.
Course Options
The Course Options area 1608 includes a Course Options link 1642
that will display a web page to the instructor that has the links
for Button Availability, Tool Availability, Course Availability,
Course Duration, Enrollment Options, Enrollment Fees, and Guest
Access. Selection of the Button Availability link will display a
web page that will allow the user to set and configure the buttons
that are used by students in that course, including enabling or
disabling them, or making them secure (i.e. only accessible by
enrolled students). Selection of the Tool Availability link will
display a web page that will allow the instructor to enable or
disable the student tools and communication functions for that
course (i.e. email, discussion board, virtual chat, student roster,
group pages, student dropbox, edit homepage, personal information,
calendar, grades, tasks, electric blackboard, student manual, and
course search). Selection of the Course Availability link will
display a web page that will allow the instructor to enable or
disable the availability of the course to students (i.e. it can be
kept unavailable until the course site is finished). Selection of
the Course Duration link will display a web page that will allow
the instructor to select the duration of the course (continuous,
start and end dates, or number of days from the date of
enrollment). Selection of the Enrollment Options link will display
a web page that will allow the instructor to select the enrollment
options as either "instructor led", which allows students to email
enrollment requests to the instructor, or "self-enrollment", which
will specify the start and end dates and optionally require entry
by the student of an access code to enroll. Selection of the
Enrollment Fees link will display a web page that will allow the
instructor to specify if fees should be charged for enrollment in
the course, and what the fees should be. Selection of the Guest
Access link will display a web page that will allow the instructor
to specify if guests may access the course.
Selection of the Course Properties link 1644 in the Course Options
area 1608 displays a web page that enables the instructor to add
and/or edit course properties, including the course name, a
description of the course, and a subject area for categorization
purposes.
Selection of the Course Utilities link 1646 in the course options
area 1608 displays a web page that enables the instructor to select
a Course Recycler link, an Export Course Link, or an Import Course
Cartridge link. The Course Recycler link enables the instructor to
recycle the course by selectively removing areas of the course,
which are displayed as check boxes next to various content
categories (course documents, course information, textbooks,
assignments, etc.), various staff areas (staff information,
faculty), and external web links. The instructor can also choose to
recycle other areas such as discussion boards, gradebook,
assessments, etc. The Export Course link enables the instructor to
export all, or specific sections, of the course (i.e. content,
users, assessments, and/or discussion boards). The Import Course
Cartridge link enables the instructor to download and install a
course cartridge (if they have an access key).
Selection of the Course Images link 1648 in the course options area
displays a web page that enables the instructor to select a Button
Style link (to set the button styles for the course) and to select
a Course Banner link (to add or remove a course banner on the first
page of the course).
Selection of the Academic Web Resource link 1650 in the course
options area displays a web page that enables the instructor to
select an Enable/Disable Academic Web Button link (to enable or
disable the resources button the course homepage) or a Customize
Academic Web Button link (to designate the Academic Resources for
the course, wherein the instructor can customize the number of
links and the content that is available for the students).
User Management
Selection of the Add Users link 1652 in the user management area
1610 displays a web page that enables the instructor to select a
Create User link, an Enroll Existing User link, or a Batch Add User
link. The Create User link displays a web page that will enable the
instructor to create a new user account and enroll him in the
course, by inputting name, address, etc. of the user, designating
the user's role (student, instructor, TA, grader, etc.) and
providing a password if desired. The Enroll Existing User link
displays a web page that enables the instructor to enroll a user in
the course. The Batch Add Users link displays a web page that
enables the instructor to create all of the user accounts by
uploading a text file containing the user data.
Selection of the List/Modify Users link 1654 in the user management
area 1610 displays a web page that enables the instructor to list
and/or modify the users of the course, while selection of the
Remove Users link 1656 displays a web page that enables the
instructor to remove a user if desired from the course. Selection
of the Manage Groups link 1658 enables the instructor to create and
edit certain user groups (e.g. gifted students, remedial students,
etc.).
Assessment
Within the course, instructors are able to bring quizzes, tests,
and surveys online. Included may be essay, true/false, multiple
choice, fill-in-the-blank, or matching questions. The questions can
include text, graphics or multimedia. For the student, instant
feedback is provided through automatic grading functionality. For
the instructor, there is the ability to randomize the tests, time
them, and create statistical reports of outcomes. Assessments
within this system are an optimal way to increase student
preparedness for class and to track and compare student progress
over time. The Assessment area 1612 of the control panel 1602
allows the instructor to select an Assessment Manager link 1660, a
Pool Manager link 1662, an Online Gradebook link 1664, or a Course
Statistics link 1666.
Selection of the Assessment Manager link 1660 in the assessment
area 1612 displays a web page that enables the instructor to
create, edit and otherwise manage the assessment content areas. For
example, the instructor may create an assessment by entering an
assessment name, a description, and setting certain parameters
including Show Detailed Results (shows the students the results for
each question instead of simply their final grade), Reveal Correct
Answer (shows the students the correct answer for each question),
Feedback Enabled (allows students to view the feedback that the
instructor has entered for each question), Allow Multiple Attempts
(allows students to take the assessment more than once), Set Time
for Quiz (sets a timer that is shown to the student during the
exam), and Password Protect (allows only those students with the
entered password to take the test). By clicking the Modify option,
a web page is displayed that enables the instructor to modify the
assessment by adding items. An item is added by selecting the type
of question (multiple choice, true/false, fill in the blank, etc.),
typing in the question text and possible answers (i.e. if it is
multiple choice) with an indication of the correct one, specify the
order of answers, etc. The order of the questions can be changed in
this web page as well.
Selection of the Pool Manager link 1662 in the assessment area 1612
displays a web page that enables the instructor to Add Pool, Import
Pool, Search Pool, or Export Pool. Pools are predefined groups of
questions and answer sets that are logically linked, usually by
subject matter, so that an instructor may draw from a pool to
obtain existing questions and answers sets from other courses,
instructors, semesters, etc. and not have to "recreate the wheel"
every time they generate or modify a test. Thus, by clicking the
Add Pool button, the instructor can add a new pool to the list of
pools displayed on the Pool Manager web page. He will have to type
in the name of the new pool and a description of it on this form.
By clicking the Import Pool button, the instructor will enter the
name of an existing pool to import, or alternatively browse a disk
drive to find the pool to import. By clicking the Search Pool
button, the instructor is presented with a web page that will
enumerate various available pools that can be searched for
questions of interest for importing. The entire pool can be
previewed by selecting a preview mode, and all of the available
questions in that pool may be viewed. By clicking the Export Pool
button, a pool may be selected for exporting purposes. For the list
of available pools set forth on the Pool manager page, the
instructor may modify the pool, in which case a web page is
displayed that lists all of the questions (and associated answer
sets) that are in the pool. Each question in the pool may be
modified in the same manner as explained above with respect to the
assessment manager. Likewise, questions may be deleted entirely
from a pool, and new questions may be added to the pool as
described above with respect to the assessment manager.
Selection of the Online Gradebook link 1664 in the assessment area
displays a web page that enables the instructor to perform various
functions with respect to the online course gradebook. FIG. 22
illustrates a web page 2200 entitled "Course Gradebook", which
provides a variety of information including consolidated grades,
individual assignment/test scores, direct access to specific
assignments or tests by student, or a look at a specific test with
aggregated results. This allows the instructor to organize the
grade information so that it is meaningful. It provides insight
into the effectiveness of certain assignments and provides a bridge
for allowing instructor-assessment of assignment and class content.
The functions provided on the Online Gradebook web page in the
assessment area of the control panel include Report By User (used
to find a specific user and view statistics, assessment results,
and modification of any scores for a user), Report By Item (used to
view information about a specific gradebook item), Spreadsheet View
(standard gradebook view as shown in FIG. 22, the instructor can
modify, add or remove gradebook entries as well as view assessment
results), and Export Gradebook (exported as a comma-delimited
file).
Selection of the Course Statistics link 1666 in the assessment area
displays a web page that enables the instructor to set parameters
and view certain statistics for their course. Most instructors want
to analyze their class by how much their online materials are being
accessed, but very few have the opportunity to take the time or the
effort to determine these numbers. By using the course statistics
web page 2300 shown in FIGS. 23A and 23B, the system provides a
rich tool set for instructors to evaluate the relative statistics
of their courses. These statistics may be valuable for evaluating
online versus non-online courses to determine the relative efficacy
of online materials and how they are enhancing the course. Thus,
the Course Statistics web page has input fields for selecting a
report filter, which will yield a report with Overall Summary of
Course Usage, Main Content Areas report, Communication Areas
Report, Group Areas Report, or Student Areas Report. The time
period must be specified, which may be all dates or between a
beginning date and an end date. The users must be selected, which
will be either all users or a selected subset thereof. Other
options include Total Number of Access per Area 2302, Number of
Accesses over Time 2304, User Accesses per Hour of Day 2306 (or Day
of Week 2308), and Total Accesses by User 2310. The data, charts
and graphs as shown in FIGS. 23A and 23B will then be displayed to
the instructor.
Assistance
Finally, there is an Assistance area 1614 defined in the Control
Panel, which sets forth links that will provide the instructor with
various types of help. Selecting the Online Manual link 1668 will
bring up an HTML based Instructor Manual in a separate browser
window. The Online Support link 1670 will bring up a web page with
contact info for sending an email to a support person, and the
Contact Admin link 1672 will bring up a web page with contact info
for sending an email to an administrative contact.
Administrator Functionality
The Administrator Panel 2402, shown in FIG. 24, gives the system
administrator complete access to all of the features of the system
including portal features, course and club creation and management,
institution and system tools, e-commerce features, user management,
and other various institutional options. This is accessed by
selecting the Enterprise Administration tab 2404 shown on the
homepage.
The Administrator panel 2402 includes a Portal Areas group 2406 of
functions, a System Tools area 2408, an Enterprise Tools Area 2410,
a System Options Area 2412, a Course and Community Management area
2414, a User Management Area 2416, an E-Commerce Area 2418, and an
Assistance area 2420, as explained further below.
Portal Areas
Selection of the My Institution tab 2422 in the Portal Area 2406
provides a web page that lists four hyperlink selectable options:
Customize Institution Tab, Institutional Module Options, All Module
Options, and Off-Campus Institution Partnerships. The Customize
Institution Tab link will provide a web page that allows the user
(the enterprise administrator, in this case) to enable/disable the
appearance of the "My Institution" tab for all users, as well as
enable/disable a Welcome Message that may be displayed at logon.
The user may also select an image for the tab, as well as the name,
and provide a predefined URL that will be associated with the tab
when selected by the end user.
The Institutional Module Options refers to the default layout is
the set of modules that new users sees the first time they log in
to the portal. This allows the enterprise administrator to
enable/disable and/or set as required the following modules: My
Courses, My Organizations, Today's Announcements, Today's Tasks,
Today's Calendar, School Services, Student Module, Faculty Module,
Staff Module, Alumni Module, Perspective Student Module, Guest
Module, Other Module, Institution Newspaper Module, and Blank
Module (a blank module that can be customized).
The All Module Options link allows the user to enable/disable
and/or set as required the following modules: Bookmark, Calculator,
Channels, Clip, Comment Clip, Custom Search, Directory, Discussion
Boards, various co-branded portal links (such as EXCITE news,
entertainment features, stock prices, sports updates, maps, etc.),
shopping site links, yellow pages links, etc.
The Off-Campus Institution Partnerships link allows the user to
add, modify, and edit hyperlinks to web sites with which the
institution has formed various partner or other types of
arrangements; for example, a partnership with an off-campus
bookstore may be provided as a means for supplementing the on
campus bookstore.
Selection of the Course tab 2424 in the Portal Area provides a web
page that lists four hyperlink selectable options: Customize
Courses Tab, Enable/Disable Course Creation, Course Catalog
Options, and Off-Campus Learning Partnerships. The Customize
Courses Tab link will provide a web page that allows the user (the
enterprise administrator, in this case) to enable/disable the
appearance of the "Courses" tab for all users. The user may also
select an image for the tab, as well as the name, and provide a
predefined URL that will be associated with the tab when selected
by the end user.
Selection of the Enable/Disable Creation Option link provides a web
page that allows the enterprise administrator to select an option
to not allow users to create courses, to allow users to create
courses, or to allow the user to send an email request for course
creation. Selection of the Course Catalog Options link provides a
web page that allows the enterprise administrator to select the use
of a default course catalog or to specify the use of an internal
course catalog and the URL of its location. The Off-Campus Learning
Partnerships link allows the user to add, modify, and edit
hyperlinks to web sites with which the institution has formed
various learning partner arrangements; for example, a link to the
KAPLAN or TUTORNET web sites.
Selection of the Community tab 2426 in the Portal Area provides a
web page that lists five hyperlink selectable options: Customize
Community Tab, Enable/Disable User Creation of Organizations and
Discussion Boards, Organization Catalog Options, Manage Discussion
Boards, and Off-Campus Community Partnerships. The Customize
Community Tab link will provide a web page that allows the
enterprise administrator to enable/disable the appearance of the
"Community" tab for all users. The user may also select an image
for the tab, as well as the name, and provide a predefined URL that
will be associated with the tab when selected by the end user.
Selection of the Enable/Disable User Creation of Organizations and
Discussion Boards link provides a web page that allows the
enterprise administrator to select options to allow or disallow
instructors and students to generate general organizations and
discussion boards from the Community Tab or limit
organization/discussion board creation to the system
administrator.
Selection of the Organization Catalog Options link provides a web
page that allows the enterprise administrator to select the use of
a default club catalog or to specify the use of an internal club
catalog and the URL of its location. The Manage Discussion Board
link provides a web page that allows the user to set various
parameters and otherwise add and manage various discussion boards
on the system. The Off-Campus Community Partnerships link allows
the user to add, modify, and edit hyperlinks to web sites with
which the institution has formed various arrangements.
Selection of the Services tab 2428 in the Portal Area provides a
web page that lists three hyperlink selectable options: Customize
Services Tab, Institution Services, and Off-Campus Service
Partnerships. The Customize Services Tab link will provide a web
page that allows the enterprise administrator to enable/disable the
appearance of the "Services" tab for all users. The user may also
select an image for the tab, as well as the name, and provide a
predefined URL that will be associated with the tab when selected
by the end user.
Selection of the Institution Services tab allows the user to create
and manage links to other relevant parts of the campus intranet.
The Off-Campus Service Partnerships link allows the user to add,
modify, and edit hyperlinks to web sites with which the institution
has formed various service arrangements.
Under the System Tools area 2408 of the Portal Manager web page,
various links are provided to web pages that allow the enterprise
administrator to manage Announcements 2410, the Institution
Calendar 2412, the Institution Tasks 2414, and Send E-Mail 2416 in
a manner similar to what was described with respect to similar tabs
in the previously described sections above.
Under the Enterprise Tools area 2410 of the Portal Manager, links
are provided to web pages that allow the enterprise manager to
Manage Institution Library 2418, and View Published Requests. The
Manage Institution Library web page allows the user to add new
items from local disk or his inbox into the institution library,
edit items, remove items, etc. The View Published Requests web page
allows users to view, approve and reject instructor published files
for the Institution Library.
Under the System Option area 2412 of the Portal Manager, the user
is provided with links to Gateway Options 2424, System Settings
2426, System Statistics 2428, Institution Properties 2430, Colors
and Images 2432, and Course Marketing 2434. The Gateway Options
link 2424 provides a web page that will determine whether the login
button, course catalog, and new user account button appears on the
gateway page. The System Settings link 2426 provides a web page
with links to Button Overrides (sets which button areas can be used
throughout the system), Tool Overrides (sets which tools can be
used throughout the system), System Settings/Overrides (set
overrides for course and club tools and properties across the
entire system), and Course Disk Quotas (sets file system disk
quotas for courses).
The System Statistics link 2428 provides a web page with links to a
System Reports web page (which allows the enterprise administrator
to view reports covering the system and its usage), an
Auto-Reporting Options web page (which sets various options for
automatically reporting statistics to a service provider), and a
Send System Statistics web page (which will send the statistics to
the service provider on demand).
The Institution Properties tab 2430 provides a web page that allows
the enterprise administrator to view system information such the
current version of the software, the registration page, and email
contacts. The Colors and Images link 2432 allows access to a web
page that allows the administrator to modify the aesthetic
properties of the web site.
The Course and Community Management area 2414 of the Portal Manager
provides hyperlinks for Create Course 2436, Manage Courses 2438,
Course Utilities 2440, Course Catalog 2442, Create Organization
2444, Manage Organization 2446, Organization Utilities 2448, and
Organization Catalog 2450.
The Create Course web page 2900 is shown in FIG. 29. There, the
administrator will enter the requested information about the
desired course; i.e. the course name, and ID, and a textual
description. The administrator can then specify properties of the
buttons that will be used along with the course to match his
aesthetic concerns. The administrator can then specify various
options, such as the subject area of the course, whether guests may
access the course, if the course is currently available, if a
course cartridge may be obtained and its URL and access key, and
the instructor ID for the course.
The Manage Courses web page allows the administrator to list and/or
modify courses, remove them from the system, and set certain
default tools (email, Discussion Board, Virtual Chat, Roster, etc.)
and buttons (Announcements, Course Information, Staff Information,
Virtual Classroom, etc.) to be used with each course in the system.
The Course Utilities web page allows the administrator to select a
Copy Course link (to make a copy of a course with a new course ID),
an Import Course link, an Export Course link, and a Batch Create
Courses link. The Course Catalog link allows the user to categorize
course and otherwise manage the course catalog.
The Create Organization, Manage Organization, Organization
Utilities, and Organization Catalog links allow the user to obtain
similar control and functionality with organizations as with
courses as described above.
The User Management area 2416 of the Portal Manager provides
hyperlinks for Create User 2452, Manage Users 2454, and User
Utilities 2456. The Create User web page 3000 (FIGS. 30A and 30B)
allows creation of a user entry by entering personal information
such as name, address, etc., and a user name and password. The role
of the user is set at this time, which may be a Student, Faculty,
Staff, Alumni, Guest, etc. Also, the user may be given an
administrative role at this point by selecting the appropriate
option that is available (None, System Admin, System Support,
Course Creator, Account Admin). The role of the user will determine
the access and control of the system that the user will have as
explained throughout this document. Once a user is created, the
Manage User web page allows listing, modification, and/or removal
of users. The User Utilities link 2456 allows the system
administrator to Batch Create Users (upload a file of user data in
predefined formats compatible with the system), Batch Enroll Users
(import a file to enroll users in courses and clubs that exist in
the system), and Batch Remove Users (import a file to remove users
from the system).
The E-Commerce area 2418 of the Portal Manager provides links to
web pages for Sponsorships 2458, Partnership Program 2460, and
Course E-Commerce 2462. The Sponsorship web page has links to
Primary Site Sponsor web page a "My Institution" Area Sponsor, a
Course Area Sponsor, a Community Area Sponsor, and a Services Area
Sponsor. These links allow the user to designate if a sponsor is
used in each of these capacities, an image of the sponsor link,
etc.). The Partnership program page allows the administrator to
enroll the institution in the service provider partnership program,
which can bring additional e-commerce opportunities to the portal
environment. The Course E-Commerce page provides links to
Enable/Disable Course and Club E-Commerce (to select e-commerce
options for charging fees for the courses or clubs, allow
administrators to set prices, allow club leaders or instructors to
set prices, etc.), and a Price Course link to manage or set the
cost of enrolling in courses or organizations.
Other Utilities and Functions
One of the key elements to college and university life is the
ability to socialize and take advantage of the human element on
campus. The system's "Community" tab 2502 provides the web page
2500 shown in FIG. 25, which allows students to interact and be
involved in all aspects of campus life from fraternities and
sororities to off-campus communities that enhance the learning
experience. Many campuses also provide rich services such as job
availability through the community function. The Community center
is the web equivalent of the student union building.
Most students are so conversant in online services that they prefer
to have campus administrative services available all the time on
the web. The system provides an enterprise level teaching and
learning system that allows tight integration into student
information systems and other campus systems to provide anytime,
anywhere administrative services. The Services web page 2600 shown
in FIG. 26 (selected by tab 2602) enables users to register, add,
drop, check records, or even pay parking tickets while online at
anytime.
The system also provides a calendar 2700 that incorporates personal
as well as institutional information in a single view, as shown in
FIG. 27. The calendar utility gives students and teachers access to
all calendar events for each of the courses they are enrolled in,
as well as institutional calendar events.
Since email is the single most popular application on the Internet
today, and the leading reason that most people purchase personal
computers, email has been integrated with the system, as shown by
the web page 2800 in FIG. 28. Within a personalized home page, the
user will be able to access complete email capabilities. The email
system sits on top of the existing POP or IMAP server and offers a
web-based front end so that the user may access messages from any
machine at any time.
FIGS. 31 and 32 show web pages 3100 and 3200 that can be accessed
by tab 3102 to provide links that allow students and teachers to
find and access academic resources and content. These resources are
also context-sensitive to the course discipline. For example, if
one accesses the academic web resources from an accounting course,
he is automatically directed to news and information sources that
are relevant to accounting. The user has access to news, web links,
reference works, and search engines that enhance the ability to
locate relevant information quickly.
In another aspect of the invention, provided is a system and method
for applying E-commerce to education. Specifically, this aspect of
the invention allows users visiting a web site to register and pay
for courses provided by a college, university, or other
institution.
FIG. 34 is a block diagram illustrating information passed from a
course registration server to a payment server. As a current or
prospective student reviews courses offered by a college,
university, or other institution, a student may add courses of
interest to a list, or "shopping cart".
When a student has selected courses for which they would like to
register, a student may proceed from a registration or review area
(Block 100) to a "checkout" area (Block 110), as illustrated in
FIG. 34. When a student proceeds to a checkout, information, such
as, but not limited to, name, address, cost of courses, order
identifier, order description, and a page to which a user is to be
returned when an order is complete, is passed on. Information
passed from a registration or review area may be used to generate a
payment form.
FIG. 35 is a sample of a payment form. A payment form may consist
of an introductory paragraph 210, a purchase summary 220, a payment
information area 230, and the like. An introductory paragraph 210
may be used to instruct a student in requirements at each stage of
the payment process. A purchase summary 220 may include services
and products selected, per-unit prices, quantities requested,
inventory numbers for each product or service selected, an invoice
or purchase number, a total price, and other, similar
information.
A payment information area 230 can be used to collect payment
information from a student. A student may be required to enter some
information manually, such as, but not limited to, credit card
type, credit card number, credit card expiration date, name on
credit card, credit card billing address, check number, checking
account number, bank routing number, debit card number, and
personal identification number ("PIN code").
If a student has previously used the present invention, some
information may be automatically entered based on previously
submitted forms. Information transferred from a registration server
may also be used to fill in some form fields. When a student has
reviewed entered information, a form may be submitted for
processing by activating a button or other interface element.
FIG. 36 is a block diagram illustrating interaction between a
payment server and a payment validation server. After a student has
entered necessary information into a payment form and submitted the
form (Block 300), some information, such as, but not limited to,
amount of purchase, credit card number, name on credit card, check
number, bank routing number, or billing address, may be transmitted
to a payment validation server (Block 310). A payment validation
server may be maintained as part of the present invention, or
payment validation servers may be maintained by one or more third
parties, such as, but not limited to, CyberCash, Inc.
A payment validation server processes transmitted information,
contacts a bank or other institution issuing the credit card or
other payment form, and verifies that a payment of the amount
requested is authorized. If payment of the requested amount is
authorized, authorization information, including, but not limited
to, a confirmation number, may be transmitted to a payment server.
If payment of the specified amount is not authorized, other
information, such as a declination code, may be transmitted to a
payment server. If payment is not authorized, a payment error
message similar to Block 320 may be displayed. FIG. 37 is a sample
of a payment information page. A student may print or otherwise
record information displayed on a payment information page for his
or her records. A payment information page can include a thank you,
confirmation, or other message (Block 410). A payment information
page may also include information such as, but not limited to,
confirmation or declination information; goods, services, and
classes purchased; and total price charged (Block 420). In
addition, a payment information page may include a button or other
interface element which a user can activate to continue processing.
The exact behavior of this interface element may be determined by
the referring system through the URL or other data element which is
illustrated in FIG. 34.
FIG. 38 is a block diagram illustrating post-order processing. As
previously stated, a payment information page may also contain a
button or other interface element which, when activated, causes a
web page to be displayed or performs other processing steps.
Activating the button or interface element may also cause some
authorization/declination information to be transferred to a
college, university, or other institution's accounting department
for processing (Block 530).
Open Web Environment
The present invention may be used as an open platform environment,
where anyone with access to the Internet may register as an
instructor to create, administer, and make available a course to
anyone else with Internet access. Thus, by entering a publicly
available website such as www.blackboard.com, a user may register
as an instructor and be provided with an instructor control panel
for creating course as described herein. To create the course, the
user will define course parameters such as a description,
enrollment options, announcements, assessments, course materials,
etc., and provide them in the various web pages as described above.
The user can then let others know about the availability of the
course online, and a potential student may access the publicly
available web site to enroll in the course. In this manner, anyone
can create a virtual classroom without the need to be affiliated
with an institution, and disseminate knowledge through the course
as previously unavailable.
While the preferred embodiment and various alternative embodiments
of the invention have been disclosed and described in detail
herein, it may be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing
from the spirit and scope thereof. In addition, titles and
descriptions included in the Figures are included to disclose the
best mode contemplated by the inventor at the time of filing, and
should not be construed as limiting the invention.
* * * * *
References