Abstract:
A system for use in a lecture environment in which a lecturer delivers a lecture to students. The lecturer can broadcast questions to the students to test their understanding of the subject matter of the lecture, and the students&#39; answers to those question are made available to the lecturer in real time. This makes it possible for the lecturer to adapt the lecture to the students&#39; level of understanding of the subject matter of the lecture.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The invention relates to apparatus for use in instruction, and more particularly relates to apparatus for use in a lecture environment in which a lecturer delivers instruction to a plurality of students. In its most immediate sense, the invention relates to apparatus for use in a lecture hall in which a lecturer delivers a lecture to a group of students, in which visual information is displayed to the students during the lecture, and in which the performance of the students is conveyed to the lecturer in real time. 
         [0002]    A lecture class such as is given at a medical school may contain students of widely varying abilities and backgrounds. Some students may grasp the subject matter immediately, while others may consistently have difficulty understanding the concepts being taught. This range of abilities and backgrounds can pose a problem for the lecturer, especially in a large class. This is because it is difficult for the lecturer to ascertain how well the class is absorbing the subject matter of the lecture. While the lecturer may (by e.g. close examination of a particular student&#39;s behavior and demeanor) be able to guess whether that student is following the lecture, it is much more difficult for the lecturer to assess whether the class as a whole is doing so. As a result, it is difficult for the lecturer to pace the lecture appropriately. If the lecturer proceeds too rapidly, many or even most of the students will be unable to follow the lecture; if the lecturer proceeds too slowly, most of the students will be bored and the lecture will last too long. 
         [0003]    Additionally, there are times when understanding of a particular concept is essential to proceeding further in a course of study. At such times, a lecturer needs to know whether the class as a whole understands this concept. And, even if the lecturer believes that the class is having difficulty understanding that concept, in a conventional lecture class the only options available to the lecturer are to repeat and rephrase what has been said before and to re-display visual information that was displayed already. 
         [0004]    One object of the invention is to provide apparatus for use in a lecture environment in which a lecturer delivers instruction to a class made up of plurality of students, such delivery including presenting visual information to the students, which apparatus makes it easier for the lecturer to determine in real time how well the class understands the instruction. 
         [0005]    Another object is to provide such apparatus that gives the lecturer the option of presenting different visual information to the students, depending on how well they understand the instruction being given. 
         [0006]    A further object is to provide such apparatus that can record the performance of students in such a lecture environment in a database. 
         [0007]    In accordance with the invention, apparatus for use in a lecture environment is provided. In this lecture environment, a lecturer delivers instruction to a plurality of students and presents visual information to the students. The apparatus has at least one display for displaying the visual information to the students and a computer system connected to the display, the computer system being programmed to supply visual information to the display. The apparatus also has a computer network operatively connected to the computer system and a like plurality of student response devices that are each connectable to the computer network. Each student response device is associated with a corresponding one of the students in such a manner that the student response devices and students are in one-to-one correspondence. Furthermore, each student response device is operative to receive questions from the lecturer via the computer system and the computer network and to send responses from the corresponding student to the lecturer via the computer system and the computer network. 
         [0008]    A lecturer controller is connected to the computer network and operated by the lecturer. The lecturer controller is operative to cause the computer system to supply visual information to the display, to broadcast questions to the students via the computer system and the computer network, to receive answers from each of the students via the computer system and the computer network, and to display received answers to the lecturer. 
         [0009]    Thus, while delivering a lecture, the lecturer can broadcast questions to the students using the lecture controller. The questions are received by the student response devices. The students answer the questions on their student response devices and the answers are received and displayed on the lecturer controller. This allows the lecturer to assess whether the class as a whole understands the lecture up to that point. 
         [0010]    There can be one display (e.g. a large screen) that is viewed by all the students simultaneously. Alternatively, or additionally, each of the student response devices may be a portable device with a screen (such as tablet computers or smartphones) that is wirelessly connected to the computer system, each of the screens serving as an individual display for one student. 
         [0011]    Advantageously, and in accordance with the preferred embodiment, the lecturer controller has a touch screen displaying available choices for visual information that can be presented to the students (whether on a single display or on the screens of individually-operated portable devices). Further advantageously, and likewise in accordance with the preferred embodiment, these available choices are displayed in a tree structure. This makes it easy for the lecturer to vary the visual information presented to the students depending upon their answers to questions broadcast to them (or alternatively based on pre-lecture testing). Thus, for example, the lecturer can prepare appropriate questions in advance and can also prepare visual information that can be displayed in case individual concepts are not understood. Then, at an appropriate point in the lecture, the lecturer will broadcast a question directed to a particular concept. By reviewing the answers displayed on the lecturer controller, the lecturer can assess whether the class understands that concept. If so, the lecturer can proceed to more advanced concepts and can display visual information appropriate to those. If not, the lecturer can display and explain alternate visual information and can broadcast one or more other questions to determine where misunderstandings exist and to address those misunderstandings. In other words, the preferred embodiment of the invention allows the lecturer to adapt the lecture to correspond with the class&#39;s understanding (or lack of understanding) of the subject matter taught in the lecture. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    The invention will be better understood with reference to the following illustrative and non-limiting drawings, in which: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram schematically illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  schematically illustrates how visual information and questions for broadcast to a class can be organized for use with the preferred embodiment of the invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  schematically illustrates the display of a lecturer controller suitable for use in the preferred embodiment of the invention; and 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  schematically illustrates a database used in a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0017]    The following detailed description proceeds using an example in which medical students are attending a radiology lecture. However, it will be understood that the invention is not restricted to students, nor to lectures on medical subjects. 
         [0018]    A preferred embodiment of the invention is installed in a lecture hall  2 . The lecture hall  2  accommodates a plurality of students (not shown), each of whom has a student response device  206 , which may be a port able device with a screen  206 S (such as a tablet computer, smartphone, etc.). Advantageously but not necessarily, each of the student response devices  206  is “locked down”, i.e. is programmed to prevent a student user from using it otherwise than necessary to operate the herein-described preferred embodiments of the invention. 
         [0019]    A display  4  (which may be e.g. a large monitor) may be provided for displaying visual information to the students, but the screens  206 S may be used to carry out this function either in addition to, or instead of, the display  4 . 
         [0020]    A network  6  connects the student response devices  206  and the display  4  to a computer system  203 . Advantageously, the network  6  is a locked-down wireless network that is sufficiently fast to deliver visual information at almost instantaneous rates and is isolated to minimize the likelihood of intrusion or hacking, but it is alternatively possible to use a wired network instead. The computer system  203  may (but need not) contain a plurality of high-speed servers with an active load-balancing system. 
         [0021]    A lecturer controller  208  is connected to the computer system  203  via the network  6 . The lecturer controller  208  allows the lecturer (not shown) to cause predetermined visual information to be displayed on the display  4  and/or the screens  206 S. The lecturer controller  208  also allows questions to be broadcast to the students and allows the lecturer to see the students&#39; answers (see below). 
         [0022]    When the lecturer prepares a lecture, the preparation will include preparation of visual information for display to the students on the display  4  and/or the screens  206 S. In  FIG. 2 , such information is shown to be in the form of data slides  109 , but the information need not be in the form of a slide (as that term is used in e.g. a PowerPoint presentation). The visual information may alternatively be in the form of a video, an animation, or any other information that can be displayed visually (with or without accompanying audio). 
         [0023]    The lecturer will also include questions (e.g. question  103 , the questions shown in box  106 , the questions shown in box  112 ) in the preparation. In many instances, the questions will be in the form of visual information but this is not required; the questions could for example be broadcast in the form of texts. Advantageously but not necessarily, the organization and sequence of the data slides  109  and the questions (e.g. question  103 , the questions shown in box  106 , the questions shown in box  112 ) can be represented by a tree diagram  100  such as is shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0024]    While the lecturer delivers a lecture, visual information (slides  109  and questions such as  103  etc.) will be presented to the class via the display  4  and/or the screens  206 S. At appropriate points, the lecturer will cause questions (e.g. question  103 ) to be broadcast to the students, usually in the form of visual information displayed on the display  4  and/or the screens  206 S. If the students&#39; answers indicate that the class understands the material that has been presented, more advanced data slides  109  will then be presented to the class.  FIG. 2  shows this as moving horizontally to the right, as along a trunk of a tree. 
         [0025]    If the students&#39; answers indicate that the class has a superior understanding of the lecture, the lecturer may skip visual information that would ordinarily be displayed. On  FIG. 2 , this would correspond to an oblique downward and rightward movement, as towards the tip of a smaller branch of a tree. However, if the students&#39; answers indicate that the class does not understand the lecture, the lecturer may proceed to a supplemental question or to supplemental data slides, with the objective of bringing the class to an understanding of the material that was not understood before. On  FIG. 2 , this would correspond to an oblique leftward and upward movement, as toward the trunk end of a larger branch of a tree. This process can be continued as required. As long as the class understands the lecture, the lecture will proceed linearly and the sequence of the visual information displayed will correspond to a horizontal rightward motion along the tree structure  100  (i.e. will proceed sequentially as a conventionally-presented lecture does). However, if the class ceases to understand this material, the lecturer will branch as necessary to visual information and questions that are designed to remedy this, so that the sequence of the visual information displayed will correspond to an oblique upward and leftward motion along the tree structure  100 . (In a conventionally-presented lecture, the lecturer&#39;s only option would be to go back to visual information that had been previously presented.) Once the students&#39; answers to the questions indicate that the class understands the material in the lecture, the lecturer can present more advanced material (and more advanced questions), corresponding either to a rightward motion, to a downward motion, or to a motion that is both downward and rightward along the tree structure. 
         [0026]    Advantageously but not necessarily, the lecturer controller has a touch screen  209 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the touch screen  209  advantageously displays the tree structure  100  with the currently-displayed visual information (in this example, this is a question  303 ) highlighted (see icon  309 ), the currently-broadcast question (in this example, question  303 ), and the answer history  306  of the class&#39;s answers in the currently-presented lecture. This enables the lecturer to decide whether the class is ready to proceed to more advanced subject matter or whether the class must remain at the existing level. Once the lecturer has made this decision, he or she will touch the appropriate icon on the tree structure  100  to cause that visual information to be displayed on the display  4  and/or the screens  206 S. 
         [0027]    As stated above, it is possible for the lecturer to always begin the lecture at a particular starting point and to vary the lecture after that point in accordance with the students&#39; answers to questions broadcast during the lecture. However, it is alternatively possible for the lecturer to prepare a more comprehensive tree structure  100  and to begin the lecture at a point that is determined by pre-lecture testing of the students. 
         [0028]    Advantageously but not necessarily, a database  500  (see  FIG. 4 ) can reside on the computer system  203 . The database  500  is used to output one or more recommended next instructional slides for display to the class based upon the class&#39;s answers to a currently-broadcast question (and, optionally, upon the class&#39;s answers to questions broadcast earlier in the lecture). 
         [0029]    For each lecture, the database  500  contains inter alia examination questions  510 , correct and incorrect answers  520  to the examination questions  510 , and statistics  530  correlating correct and incorrect answers to the examination questions  510  with students&#39; demonstrated understanding of the subject matter. When a lecture is first given, the database  500  will be empty. However, as a particular lecture is given to progressively more students in more classes, the answers given by the students will form patterns. These patterns will in turn identify (with increasing accuracy as the size of the database  500  grows) subject matter that students will likely find troublesome. Thus, after some time, the database  500  will be sufficiently large that the students&#39; answers to a particular question will indicate that certain subject matter should be taught next. Accordingly, the computer  203  will suggest one or more instructional slides that should next be displayed on the display  4  or on the screens  206 S, and will indicate those slides by highlighting the corresponding icons on the touch screen  209 . 
         [0030]    Although a preferred embodiment has been described above, the scope of the invention is determined only by the following claims: