Abstract:
A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium has a program stored therein for causing a computer to execute a discussion support method, and the method includes calculating a correlation between an opinion of a student and a plurality of agendas for each opinion of the student; forming one or more groups of the students associated with one or more of the agendas, respectively, based on the correlations of the opinions and the agendas; and transmitting the one or more of the agendas to terminals of the students in the respective groups associated with the respective agendas.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of the prior Japanese Priority Application No. 2013-157881 filed on Jul. 30, 2013, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
       FIELD 
       [0002]    The disclosures herein generally relate to a discussion support program, a discussion support apparatus and a discussion support method. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    In recent years, education using electronic terminals such as tablet terminals has become popular. As an aspect of the education using electronic terminals, electronic terminals are used for making a discussion by a group of students. 
         [0004]    As an aspect of the discussion using electronic terminals, a teacher gives a problem to students to have the students input their opinions about the problem into the electronic terminals. Then, the teacher displays the opinions of the students on a screen to have a discussion. 
       RELATED-ART DOCUMENTS  
     Patent Documents 
       [0005]    [Patent Document  1 ] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2009-8729 
         [0006]    In the aspect described above, there are cases where the teacher selects an appropriate agenda based on the displayed opinions, and selects students having related opinions with each other to make them discuss the agenda deeply. 
         [0007]    However, the teacher needs a long time to summarize related opinions of the students to give an appropriate agenda. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    According to an at least one embodiment of the present invention, a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium has a program stored therein for causing a computer to execute a discussion support method, and the method includes calculating a correlation between an opinion of a student and a plurality of agendas for each opinion of the student; forming one or more groups of the students associated with one or more of the agendas, respectively, based on the correlations of the opinions and the agendas; and transmitting the one or more of the agendas to terminals of the students in the respective groups associated with the respective agendas. 
         [0009]    The object and advantages of the embodiment will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view illustrating an example of a configuration of a discussion support system; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a schematic view illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a teacher terminal; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a schematic view illustrating an example of a student DB; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a schematic view illustrating an example of a problem DB; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a schematic view illustrating an example of an opinion DB; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a schematic view illustrating an example of an agenda table; 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is a schematic view illustrating an example of a synonym DB; 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is a schematic view illustrating an example of a consensus work table; 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  is a schematic view illustrating an example of a discussion DB; 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  is a schematic view illustrating an example of a representative opinion work table; 
           [0020]      FIG. 11  is a schematic view illustrating functions of a teacher terminal; 
           [0021]      FIG. 12  is a flowchart illustrating operations of a teacher terminal; 
           [0022]      FIG. 13  is a flowchart illustrating a process of consensus calculation; 
           [0023]      FIG. 14  is a schematic view illustrating an example of a problem selection screen displayed on a teacher terminal; 
           [0024]      FIG. 15  is a schematic view illustrating an example of a problem screen displayed on a student terminal; 
           [0025]      FIG. 16  is a schematic view illustrating an example of an opinion display screen displayed on a teacher terminal; 
           [0026]      FIG. 17  is a first schematic view illustrating an example of an opinion display screen displayed on a teacher terminal after grouping; 
           [0027]      FIG. 18  is a schematic view illustrating a first example of a discussion screen displayed on a student terminal; 
           [0028]      FIG. 19  is a schematic view illustrating a second example of a discussion screen displayed on a student terminal; 
           [0029]      FIG. 20  is a second schematic view illustrating an example of an opinion display screen displayed on a teacher terminal after grouping; 
           [0030]      FIG. 21  is a third schematic view illustrating an example of an opinion display screen displayed on a teacher terminal after grouping; and 
           [0031]      FIG. 22  is a schematic view illustrating an example of a discussion result display screen displayed on a teacher terminal. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       [0032]    In the following, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.  FIG. 1  is a schematic view illustrating an example of a configuration of a discussion support system  100  in the present embodiment. 
         [0033]    The discussion support system  100  includes a discussion support server  200  and multiple electronic terminals  300 . The discussion support server  200  and the multiple electronic terminals  300  are connected with each other via a network. 
         [0034]    In the discussion support system  100 , for example, each student inputs an opinion about a given problem on the electronic terminal  300 , and students having related opinions are grouped together to have discussions on agendas given to the groups. 
         [0035]    When the discussion support system  100  is used in a class, the discussion support server  200  is used as a terminal for a teacher, and the electronic terminals  300  are used as terminals for students. Therefore, the discussion support server  200  is called the “teacher terminal  200 , and the electronic terminals  300  are called the “student terminals”  300  in the following description. 
         [0036]    The teacher terminal  200  and the student terminals  300  may be tablet terminals. Alternatively, the teacher terminal  200  may be, for example, a desktop or notebook computer, and the student terminals  300  may be tablet terminals. 
         [0037]    The teacher terminal  200  includes a student DB  210 , a problem DB  211 , an opinion DB  212 , a synonym DB  213 , and a discussion DB  214 . The teacher terminal  200  also includes an agenda table  215 , a consensus work table  216 , and a representative opinion work table  217 . The teacher terminal  200  also has a teacher terminal program  220  installed. The teacher terminal program  220  includes a discussion support program. 
         [0038]    Also, the student terminal  300  has a student terminal program  310  installed. The student terminal program  310  is a program to have the student terminal  300  execute a process, which will be described later, in the discussion support system  100 . 
         [0039]      FIG. 2  is a schematic view illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the teacher terminal  200  in the present embodiment. The teacher terminal  200  includes a display and operation unit  21 , a drive unit  22 , an auxiliary storage unit  23 , a memory unit  24 , a processing unit  25 , and an interface unit  26 , which are mutually connected by a bus B. 
         [0040]    The display and operation unit  21  may be a touch panel, which is used for inputting various signals and displaying various information. 
         [0041]    The interface unit  26  includes a modem and a LAN (Local Area Network) card that are used for connecting with a network. 
         [0042]    The teacher terminal program  220  is at least a part of various programs that control the teacher terminal  200 . The teacher terminal program  220  is provided, for example, by distributing a recording medium  27 , or by downloading from a network. As the recording medium  27  that records the teacher terminal program  220 , various types of recording media can be used including recording media that record information optically, electrically or magnetically such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk, and an optical magnetic disk, and semiconductor memories that record information electrically such as a ROM and a flash memory. 
         [0043]    Also, when the recording medium  27  that stores the teacher terminal program  220  is set in the drive unit  22 , the teacher terminal program  220  is installed on the auxiliary storage unit  23  via the drive unit  22  from the recording medium  27 . The teacher terminal program  220  downloaded from a network is installed on the auxiliary storage unit  23  via the interface unit  26 . 
         [0044]    The auxiliary storage unit  23  stores the installed teacher terminal program  220 , and also stores required files, data, and the like. The memory unit  24  reads and stores the teacher terminal program  220  from the auxiliary storage unit  23  when activating a computer. And the processing unit  25  implements various processes, which will be described later, following the teacher terminal program  220  stored in the memory unit  24 . 
         [0045]    Note that the teacher terminal  200  may be, for example, a desktop or notebook computer in the present embodiment. In this case, the teacher terminal  200  includes an input unit including a keyboard and a mouse, and an output unit including a display, instead of the display and operation unit  21 . 
         [0046]    The hardware configuration of the student terminal  300  is the same as that of the teacher terminal  200 , and its description is omitted. 
         [0047]    In the following, DBs and tables stored in the teacher terminal  200  will be described with reference to  FIGS. 3-10 . The DBs and tables are stored, for example, in predetermined storage areas of the auxiliary storage unit  23  or the memory unit  24  in the teacher terminal  200 . 
         [0048]      FIG. 3  is a schematic view illustrating an example of the student DB  210 . The student DB  210  is registered beforehand, for example, by a teacher who operates the teacher terminal  200 . The student DB  210  stores the IP address of a student terminal  300  associated with a student identifier (student ID) and a student name for each of the student terminals  300 . The IP address is information that identifies a student terminal  300 . 
         [0049]      FIG. 4  is a schematic view illustrating an example of the problem DB  211 . The problem DB  211  is registered beforehand, for example, by a teacher who operates the teacher terminal  200 . In the problem DB  211 , a problem ID is associated with problem content, and a time limit for answering each problem. 
         [0050]    A problem selected in the problem DB  211  on the teacher terminal  200  is transmitted to the student terminals  300 . Note that a problem in the present embodiment is, for example, text data representing problem content. 
         [0051]      FIG. 5  is a schematic view illustrating an example of the opinion DB. 
         [0052]    The opinion DB  212  is a database generated for each problem ID, and an example in  FIG. 5  is the opinion DB  212  that corresponds to problem ID 0001. In the opinion DB  212 , an opinion about a problem input by a student on a student terminal  300  is associated and stored with the student ID of the student who inputs the opinion. Note that an opinion in the present embodiment is, for example, text data representing the content of an opinion. 
         [0053]      FIG. 6  is a schematic view illustrating an example of the agenda table  215 . The agenda table  215  is registered beforehand, for example, by a teacher who operates the teacher terminal  200 . The agenda table  215  stores agendas given to groups after grouping of students has been done by a method as will be described later. Note that an agenda is text data that represents the content of an agenda. 
         [0054]    In the agenda table  215 , a problem ID is associated with agenda IDs, agendas, and characteristic keywords. Note that an agenda is text data that represents the content of an agenda. Each agenda ID is associated with multiple characteristic keywords. A characteristic keyword is a keyword that relates to the content of an agenda, which is set beforehand in accordance with the agenda. 
         [0055]    In the example in  FIG. 6 , three agendas, or agenda IDs 00011, 00012, and 00013 are provided for problem ID 0001, and three characteristic keywords are set for each of the agendas. 
         [0056]      FIG. 7  is a schematic view illustrating an example of a synonym DB. The synonym DB  213  is a database of words where a word is associated with another word that has a different form, but has a similar meaning, which may be alternatively used. The synonym DB  210  may be registered beforehand, for example, by a teacher who operates the teacher terminal  200 . 
         [0057]      FIG. 8  is a schematic view illustrating an example of the consensus work table  216 . The consensus work table  216  is used for grouping students based on opinions of the students about a problem. In the consensus work table  216 , a student ID is associated with degrees of consensus between agendas and the opinion of the student about the agendas, and a group ID that identifies the group of the student. The consensus work table  216  will be described in detail later. 
         [0058]      FIG. 9  is a schematic view illustrating an example of the discussion DB  214 . The discussion DB  214  is a database that is generated for each group after grouping has been done for the students, and an agenda has been assigned to each of the groups. 
         [0059]    In the discussion DB  214 , a problem ID is associated with an agenda ID, a group ID, a database identification information (DB ID), and the content of the discussion information. The content of the discussion information is text data that represents the contents of opinions of students in the same group, which have been input on the student terminals  300 . The student terminals  300  in the same group can refer to the contents of the discussion information in the discussion DB  214 . 
         [0060]      FIG. 10  is a schematic view illustrating an example of the representative opinion work table  217 . In the representative opinion work table  217 , a group ID is associated with a group opinion (representative opinion) and members of the group. 
         [0061]    In the representative opinion work table  217 , a representative opinion of a group is stored that is obtained as a result of a discussion. Also, members of a group are represented by student IDs. 
         [0062]    Next, functions of the teacher terminal  200  will be described according to the present embodiment with reference to  FIG. 11 . A process executed by each unit described below is implemented by executing the teacher terminal program  220 .  FIG. 11  is a schematic view illustrating functions of the teacher terminal  200 . 
         [0063]    The teacher terminal  200  includes an input reception unit  230 , a screen generation unit  231 , a DB update unit  232 , an agenda obtainment unit  233 , a consensus calculation unit  234 , and a grouping unit  235 . The teacher terminal  200  also includes a discussion DB generation unit  236 , a representative opinion reception unit  237 , a representative opinion storage unit  238 , and a display control unit  239 . 
         [0064]    The input reception unit  230  receives input of information on the teacher terminal  200 . The screen generation unit  231  generates screen data to be displayed on the display and operation unit  21  of the student terminal  300 . The DB update unit  232  updates each of the databases when a process proceeds. 
         [0065]    The agenda obtainment unit  233  obtains an agenda that is associated with a problem from the agenda table  215 . The consensus calculation unit  234  calculates consensus between an agenda obtained by the agenda obtainment unit  233  and an opinion of a student as a value that represents a correlation between the agenda obtained by the agenda obtainment unit  233  and the opinion of the student. The consensus calculation unit  234  will be described in detail later. The grouping unit  235  executes grouping by associating a student with agenda information, based on the correlation between the agenda obtained by the agenda obtainment unit  233  and the opinion of the student. Specifically, the grouping unit  235  executes grouping by associating a student with an agenda, based on the consensus calculated as the value representing the correlation. The grouping unit  235  executes grouping by assigning a group ID to a student ID. 
         [0066]    The discussion DB generation unit  236  generates the discussion DB  214  for each group formed after the grouping. The discussion DB generation unit  236  generates the discussion DB  214  for each group, for example, in a predetermined storage area of the auxiliary storage unit  23  or the memory unit  24 . 
         [0067]    The representative opinion reception unit  237  receives representative opinions from the groups that are transmitted from the student terminals  300 . The representative opinion storage unit  238  stores the representative opinions of the groups in the representative opinion work table  217 . The display control unit  239  controls displaying on the display and operation unit  21 . 
         [0068]    In the following, the consensus calculation unit  234  will be further described. The consensus calculation unit  234  includes a data reference unit  241 , a keyword obtainment unit  242 , and a score calculation unit  243 . 
         [0069]    The data reference unit  241  refers to the databases and the tables used by a consensus calculation process. The keyword obtainment unit  242  obtains, for example, characteristic keywords stored in the agenda table  215  and synonyms stored in the synonym DB  213 . The score calculation unit  243  calculates a score that represents consensus between an agenda and the opinion of a student using the keywords obtained by the keyword obtainment unit  242 . 
         [0070]    The process of the consensus calculation unit  234  will be described in detail later. 
         [0071]    Next, operations of the teacher terminal  200  will be described according to the present embodiment with reference to  FIG. 12 .  FIG. 12  is a flowchart illustrating operations of the teacher terminal  200 . 
         [0072]    In the teacher terminal  200 , the display control unit  239  refers to the problem DB  211  to generate a problem selection screen, and has the display and operation unit  21  display the screen (Step S 1201 ). Next, the teacher terminal  200  determines whether the input reception unit  230  has received a problem ID and a transmission request for a problem (Step S 1202 ). At Step S 1202 , if a problem ID and a transmission request have not been received, the teacher terminal  200  waits for a reception of a problem ID and a transmission request. 
         [0073]    At Step S 1202 , in response to receiving a problem ID and a transmission request, the screen generation unit  231  obtains the problem content that corresponds to the problem ID received from the problem DB  211 , generates problem screen data, and transmits the problem screen data to all the student terminals  300  (Step S 1203 ). Next, the teacher terminal  200  obtains a time limit for answering that corresponds to the problem ID received from the problem DB  211  (Step S 1204 ). 
         [0074]    Next, the teacher terminal  200  determines whether the input reception unit  230  receives the content of an opinion about the problem from a student terminal  300  (Step S 1205 ). At Step S 1205 , if not having received the content of an opinion, the teacher terminal  200  goes forward to Step S 1207 , which will be described later. 
         [0075]    At Step S 1205 , if having received the content of an opinion, the teacher terminal  200  stores the received content of the opinion in the opinion DB  212  by the DB update unit  232  (Step S 1206 ). Note that the content of an opinion is text data input at a student terminal  300 . Next, the teacher terminal  200  determines whether the time limit for answering obtained at Step S 1204  has passed (Step S 1207 ). 
         [0076]    At Step S 1207 , if the time limit for answering has not passed, the teacher terminal  200  goes back to Step S 1205 . 
         [0077]    At Step S 1207 , if the time limit for answering has passed, the agenda obtainment unit  233  refers to the agenda table  215 , and obtains agendas corresponding to the received problem ID (Step S 1208 ). Specifically, the agenda obtainment unit  233  obtains multiple agendas associated with the problem ID in the agenda table  215 . 
         [0078]    Next, the teacher terminal  200  has the consensus calculation unit  234  calculate consensus between the obtained agendas and the contents of opinions stored in the opinion DB  212  (Step S 1209 ). Specifically, the consensus calculation unit  234  calculates consensus between the multiple agendas and the contents of the opinions for each student. Next, the teacher terminal  200  executes grouping of student IDs based on the consensus obtained by the grouping unit  235  (Step S 1210 ). Specifically, the grouping unit  235  forms a group of student IDs that have the highest consensus for the same agenda. Note that the capacity size limit of a group is set by a teacher beforehand in the present embodiment. The calculation of consensus and the grouping process will be described in detail later. 
         [0079]    Next, the teacher terminal  200  has the discussion DB generation unit  236  generate the discussion DB  214  for each of the formed groups, and transmits a DB ID associated with the group ID to student terminals  300  in the same group (Step S 1211 ). 
         [0080]    Next, the teacher terminal  200  has the screen generation unit  231  generate discussion screen data in which the agenda associated with the group of the student terminals  300  and the opinions of the students in the same group are displayed, and transmits it to the student terminals  300 . (Step S 1212 ). In the present embodiment, when the discussion screen is displayed on the student terminal  300 , the student terminal  300  accesses the discussion DB  214  associated with the group ID allocated to itself. 
         [0081]    Next, the teacher terminal  200  determines whether a string is input on the discussion screen on the student terminal  300  (Step S 1213 ). At Step S 1213 , if a string is not input, the teacher terminal  200  goes forward to Step S 1215 , which will be described later. 
         [0082]    At Step S 1213 , if a string is input, the teacher terminal  200  stores the input string in the associated discussion DB  214 , and transmits the input string to the student terminals  300  in the same group that access the discussion DB  214 . (Step S 1214 ). 
         [0083]    Next, the teacher terminal  200  determines whether the representative opinion reception unit  237  has received a representative opinion from one of the groups (Step S 1215 ). At Step S 1215 , if not receiving a representative opinion, the teacher terminal  200  goes back to Step S 1213 . 
         [0084]    At Step S 1215 , if receiving a representative opinion, the representative opinion storage unit  238  stores the received representative opinion in the representative opinion work table  217  (Step S 1216 ). Next, the teacher terminal  200  determines whether representative opinions of all groups have been received (Step S 1217 ). At Step S 1217 , if representative opinions of all groups have not been received, the teacher terminal  200  goes back to Step S 1213 . 
         [0085]    At Step S 1217 , if representative opinions of all groups have been received, the display control unit  239  has the display and operation unit  21  display a discussion result display button for displaying a result of a discussion of the groups (Step S 1218 ). Next, the teacher terminal  200  determines whether a request for displaying the discussion result is received at the input reception unit  230  (Step S 1219 ). Specifically, the teacher terminal  200  determines whether the discussion result display button is operated (pushed or touched). 
         [0086]    At Step S 1219 , if a request for displaying the discussion result is not received, the teacher terminal  200  waits for a reception of a request for displaying the discussion result. At Step S 1219 , if a request for displaying the discussion result is received, the display control unit  239  obtains representative opinions of the groups from the representative opinion work table  217 , and displays them on the display and operation unit  21  (Step S 1220 ). 
         [0087]    Next, a consensus calculation process will be described with reference to  FIG. 13  that is executed by the consensus calculation unit  234  at Step S 1209  in  FIG. 12 .  FIG. 13  is a flowchart illustrating the process of consensus calculation. 
         [0088]    Following Step S 1208  in  FIG. 12 , the teacher terminal  200  has the data reference unit  241  of the consensus calculation unit  234  refer to the opinion DB  212  to obtain student IDs for storing them in the consensus work table  216  (Step S 1301 ). 
         [0089]    Next, the data reference unit  241  refers to the agenda table  215  to obtain agenda IDs of respective agendas obtained at Step S 1208 , and stores them in the consensus work table  216  (Step S 1302 ). 
         [0090]    Next, the data reference unit  241  obtains a student ID stored in the consensus work table  216  (Step S 1303 ), and obtains opinions associated with the obtained student ID from the opinion DB  212  (Step S 1304 ). Note that a student ID stored first in the consensus work table  216  may be obtained at Step S 1303 . 
         [0091]    Next, the data reference unit  241  obtains an agenda ID stored in the consensus work table  216  (Step S 1305 ). The data reference unit  241  may obtain an agenda ID stored first in the consensus work table  216 . Next, the keyword obtainment unit  242  refers to the obtained agenda table  215  to obtain characteristic keywords associated with the obtained agenda ID (Step S 1306 ). 
         [0092]    Moreover, the keyword obtainment unit  242  refers to the synonym DB  213  to obtain synonyms of the obtained characteristic keywords from the synonym DB  213  (Step S 1307 ). In the following description, synonyms obtained from the synonym DB  213  by the keyword obtainment unit  242  are called similar keywords. 
         [0093]    Next, the score calculation unit  243  determines whether an obtained opinion includes a word equivalent to one of the characteristic keywords and similar keywords obtained from the agenda ID, and based on the determination result, calculates a consensus between the opinion and the agenda associated with the agenda ID, as a score (Step S 1308 ). Step S 1308  will be described in detail later. 
         [0094]    Next, the consensus calculation unit  234  determines whether the consensus has been calculated for every opinion of the student obtained at Step S 1301  and every agenda (Step S 1309 ). At Step S 1309 , if the consensus has not been calculated for every agenda, the consensus calculation unit  234  obtains a next agenda ID from the consensus work table  216  (Step S 1310 ), and goes back to Step S 1306 . 
         [0095]    At Step S 1309 , if the consensus has been calculated for every agenda, the consensus calculation unit  234  determines whether the consensus has been calculated for every student (Step S 1311 ). At Step S 1311 , if the consensus has not been calculated for every student, the consensus calculation unit  234  obtains a next student ID from the consensus work table  216  (Step S 1312 ), and goes back to Step S 1304 . 
         [0096]    At Step S 1311 , if the consensus has been calculated for every student, the teacher terminal  200  ends the consensus calculation process, and goes forward to Step S 1210  in  FIG. 12 . 
         [0097]    In the following, the consensus calculation process will be concretely described according to the present embodiment with reference to  FIGS. 6-8 . In the following description, an example is illustrated where a problem having problem ID 0001 is selected on the teacher terminal  200 . 
         [0098]    First, in the consensus calculation unit  234 , the data reference unit  241  obtains student IDs of all students from the opinion DB  212 , and stores them in fields for the student ID in the consensus work table  216 . The student IDs stored in the opinion DB  212  illustrated in  FIG. 5  are 12301 to 12308. Therefore, the data reference unit  241  stores student IDs 12301-12308 in the fields for the student ID in the consensus work table  216  (see  FIG. 8 ). 
         [0099]    Next, the data reference unit  241  obtains agenda IDs from the agenda table  215 . The data reference unit  241  obtains agenda IDs associated with problem ID 0001. In the agenda table  215  illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the agenda IDs associated with problem ID 0001 are 00011, 00012, and 00013. Therefore, the data reference unit  241  obtains agenda IDs 00011, 00012, and 00013 as illustrated in  FIG. 8 , and stores them in the fields for the agenda ID in the consensus work table  216 . 
         [0100]    Next, the data reference unit  241  obtains student ID 12301 as the student ID stored first in the consensus work table  216 , and obtains an opinion associated with student ID 12301 from the opinion DB  212 . 
         [0101]    Next, the data reference unit  241  obtains agenda ID 00011 as the agenda ID stored first in the consensus work table  216 , and obtains characteristic keywords associated with agenda ID 00011 from the agenda table  215 . 
         [0102]    The characteristic keywords associated with agenda ID 00011 are “money”, “happiness”, and “economics”. Note that points are assigned beforehand to characteristic keywords that are used in a process executed by the score calculation unit  243 , which will be described later. For example, “money” is assigned three points, “happiness” is assigned two points, and “economics” is assigned one point. 
         [0103]    Next, the keyword obtainment unit  242  obtains similar keywords of the three keywords from the synonym DB  213 . For example, similar keywords of “money” are “cash” and “income”, and similar keywords of “happiness” are “bliss” and “satisfaction” (see  FIG. 7 ). 
         [0104]    Next, the score calculation unit  243  calculates a consensus between an agenda and an opinion of a student. First, the score calculation unit  243  obtains the opinion of student ID 12301 stored in the consensus work table  216 , from the opinion DB  212 . Then, the score calculation unit  243  determines whether a word equivalent to the characteristic keyword “money” or one of the similar keywords of “money” exists in the obtained opinion. 
         [0105]    The opinion of student ID 12301 is “I&#39;m concerned about adverse effects on the mother” (see  FIG. 5 ). Therefore, a word equivalent to the characteristic keyword “money” or one of the similar keywords of “money” does not exist in the opinion of student ID 12301. Similarly, a word equivalent to the characteristic keyword “happiness”, which is associated with agenda ID 00011, or one of the similar keywords of “happiness” does not exist in the opinion of student ID 12301. It is the same for the characteristic keyword “economics”, which is associated with agenda ID 00011, or one of the similar keywords of “economics”. 
         [0106]    Therefore, the score of the consensus between the opinion of student ID 12301 and agenda ID 00011 is zero point. 
         [0107]    Next, the consensus calculation unit  234  obtains a characteristic keyword associated with agenda ID 00012 from the agenda table  215 . 
         [0108]    The characteristic keywords associated with agenda ID 00012 are “life”, “birth”, and “parent and child”. Here, “life” is assigned three points, “birth” is assigned two points, and “parent and child” is assigned one point. 
         [0109]    Next, the keyword obtainment unit  242  obtains similar keywords of the three keywords from the synonym DB  213 . For example, similar keywords of “life” are “human life” and “la vie”, and similar keywords of “birth” are “giving life” and “parentage” (see  FIG. 7 ). 
         [0110]    Next, the score calculation unit  243  determines whether a word equivalent to the characteristic keyword “life” or one of the similar keywords of “life” exists in the obtained opinion. A corresponding word does not exist in the opinion of student ID 12301. 
         [0111]    The score calculation unit  243  executes similar determinations for the characteristic keyword “birth” and its similar keywords, and for the characteristic keyword “parent and child” and its similar keywords. A corresponding word does not exist in the opinion of student ID 12301. 
         [0112]    Next, the consensus calculation unit  234  obtains a characteristic keyword associated with agenda ID 00013 from the agenda table  215 . 
         [0113]    The characteristic keywords associated with agenda ID 00013 are “the mother”, “effect”, and “respect”. “the mother” is assigned three points, “effect” is assigned two points, and “respect” is assigned one point. 
         [0114]    Next, the keyword obtainment unit  242  obtains similar keywords of the three keywords from the synonym DB  213 . For example, similar keywords of “the mother” are “body of mother” and “body of maternity and after”, and similar keywords of “effect” are “operation” and “reaction” (see  FIG. 7 ). 
         [0115]    Next, the score calculation unit  243  determines whether a word equivalent to the characteristic keyword “the mother” or one of the similar keywords of “the mother” exists in the obtained opinion. A corresponding word exists in the opinion of student ID 12301. Therefore, the score calculation unit  243  sets three points assigned to the characteristic keyword “the mother” as the score of the consensus between the opinion of student ID 12301 and the agenda having agenda ID 00013. 
         [0116]    Next, the score calculation unit  243  determines whether a word equivalent to the characteristic keyword “effect” or one of the similar keywords of “effect” exists in the obtained opinion. A corresponding word exists in the opinion of student ID 12301. Therefore, the score calculation unit  243  adds two points assigned to the characteristic keyword “effect” to the score of the consensus between the opinion of student ID 12301 and the agenda having agenda ID 00013, which makes the score five points. 
         [0117]    Next, the score calculation unit  243  determines whether a word equivalent to the characteristic keyword “respect” or one of the similar keywords of “respect” exists in the obtained opinion. A corresponding word does not exist in the opinion of student ID 12301. Therefore, the score calculation unit  243  leaves the score unchanged at five. 
         [0118]    Thus, the score is set to five for the consensus between the opinion of student ID 12301 and the agenda having agenda ID 00013. 
         [0119]    As described above, a consensus is calculated by comparing a word included in an opinion of a student with a characteristic keyword relating to an agenda and synonyms of the characteristic keyword, or similar keywords. Therefore, an agenda having the content fit to an opinion of a student can be selected using the consensus. 
         [0120]    Note that although a consensus is calculated using a characteristic keyword and its similar keywords in the present embodiment, it is not limited to that. A consensus may be calculated, for example, based on comparison between a word included in an opinion of a student and characteristic keywords. 
         [0121]    The consensus calculation unit  234  executes the above consensus calculation process for all student IDs and associated opinions. 
         [0122]    Next, grouping will be concretely described with reference to  FIG. 8  that is executed by the grouping unit  235  according to the present embodiment. 
         [0123]    The grouping unit  235  forms a group of student IDs that have the highest scores of the consensus for the same agenda. 
         [0124]    For example, in the example in  FIG. 8 , the opinion of the student having student ID 12301 has the highest score of the consensus with agenda ID 00013. Therefore, the grouping unit  235  forms a group with group ID 000131 that includes students whose opinions have the highest scores of the consensus with agenda ID 00013. 
         [0125]    Next, the grouping unit  235  refers to the opinion of the student having the student ID 12302 and its consensus with the agenda IDs. An agenda ID that has the highest score of the consensus with the opinion of the student having the student ID 12302 is agenda ID 00011. Therefore, the grouping unit  235  forms a group with group ID 000111 that includes students whose opinions have the highest scores of the consensus with agenda ID 00011. 
         [0126]    Next, the grouping unit  235  refers to the opinion of the student having student ID 12303 and its consensus with the agenda IDs. The opinion of the student having student ID 12303 has the same score of the consensus, or zero, with all agenda IDs. Therefore, the grouping unit  235  reserves student ID 12303 for grouping. 
         [0127]    Next, the grouping unit  235  refers to the opinion of the student having student ID 12304 and its consensus with the agenda IDs. An agenda ID that has the highest score of the consensus with the opinion of the student having student ID 12304 is agenda ID 00011. Therefore, the grouping unit  235  assigns group ID 000111 to the student having student ID 12304. 
         [0128]    As described above, the grouping unit  235  assigns a group ID to each student ID. Note that the capacity of a group is set by the teacher terminal  200  in the present embodiment. Therefore, for example, if the number of members in the group ID 000131 reaches three, the grouping unit  235  assigns a new group ID for a student ID having the highest score of the consensus with agenda ID 00013. Also, the grouping unit  235  may assign the group ID of a group having the least number of members to a student ID that has been reserved for grouping. 
         [0129]    In the example in  FIG. 8 , a group having the least number of members is a group having group ID 000131. Therefore, in the example in  FIG. 8 , group ID 000131 is assigned to student IDs 12303 and 12308 that have been reserved for grouping due to the same score of consensus for all agendas. 
         [0130]    Alternatively, the grouping unit  235  may assign the group ID of a group having the number of members less than the capacity of a group, to a student ID that has been reserved for grouping. 
         [0131]    In the example in  FIG. 8 , groups having the number of members less than the capacity of a group, which is three, are the group having group ID 000131 and the group having group ID 000121. Therefore, the grouping unit  235  may assign group IDs 000131 and 000121 to the grouping-reserved student IDs 12303 and 12308, respectively. 
         [0132]    Next, operations of the teacher terminal  200  will be further described using examples of screens displayed on the teacher terminal  200  and the student terminal  300  according to the present embodiment. 
         [0133]      FIG. 14  is a schematic view illustrating an example of a problem selection screen displayed on the teacher terminal  200 . In the problem selection screen  141  illustrated in  FIG. 14 , problem IDs and contents of problems are displayed with selection boxes. When a selection box associated with a problem ID is selected and a problem transmission button  142  is operated on the problem selection screen  141 , the teacher terminal  200  transmits the problem having the problem ID associated with the selection box to the student terminals  300 . 
         [0134]      FIG. 15  is a schematic view illustrating an example of a problem screen displayed on the student terminal  300 . When a problem is selected, the teacher terminal  200  generates problem screen data and transmits it to the student terminal  300  to have the student terminal  300  display it as a problem screen  151 . In the problem screen  151 , an opinion column  152 , in which an opinion of a student is entered, and a transmission button  153  for transmitting the opinion to the teacher terminal  200  are displayed. In the problem screen  151 , when an opinion of a student is entered and the transmission button for  153  is operated, the entered opinion is transmitted to the teacher terminal  200 . 
         [0135]      FIG. 16  is a schematic view illustrating an example of an opinion display screen  161  displayed on the teacher terminal  200 . The teacher terminal  200  may have the display and operation unit  21  display the opinion display screen  161  illustrated in  FIG. 16 , for example, after having received opinions about the problem from all student terminals  300 . 
         [0136]    In the opinion display screen  161 , opinions of students are displayed in a matrix format. In the opinion display screen  161 , a group capacity input column  162  for entering the group capacity, and a group generation button  163  for giving a command to start grouping are also displayed. 
         [0137]    For example, when the time limit for answering a problem has passed, and the group generation button  163  is operated, the teacher terminal  200  may have the consensus calculation unit  234  execute the consensus calculation process, to have the grouping unit  235  execute the grouping process. 
         [0138]      FIG. 17  is a first schematic view illustrating an example of an opinion display screen  171  displayed on the teacher terminal  200  after grouping. When the grouping process is completed by the grouping unit  235 , the opinion display screen  171  illustrated in  FIG. 17  is displayed at the teacher terminal  200 . In the opinion display screen  171 , for example, opinions of students are displayed so that the opinions of the students can be identified that are in the same group. Specifically, AA having student ID 12301, CC having student ID 12303, and HH having student ID 12308 are in the same group. Therefore, in the opinion display screen  171 , the same color may be used for displaying areas  172 ,  173 , and  174  where opinions of AA, CC, and HH are displayed, respectively. In the opinion display screen  171 , a group discussion start button  175  is also displayed that is used for requesting to start discussions in the groups. When the group discussion start button  175  is operated, the teacher terminal  200  has discussions start in the groups. 
         [0139]    Specifically, when the group discussion start button  175  is operated, the teacher terminal  200  has the discussion DB generation unit  236  generate a discussion DB  214  for each of the groups. Then, the teacher terminal  200  transmits DB IDs of the discussion DBs  214  of the respective groups to the student terminals  300  of the groups. The teacher terminal  200  further generates discussion screen data including an agenda associated with each of the groups, and transmits it to the corresponding student terminals  300 . 
         [0140]    In the following, generation of a discussion DB  214  will be described according to the present embodiment with reference to  FIG. 9 . The discussion DB generation unit  236  refers to the consensus work table  216  to obtain a group ID and an agenda ID having the highest score of the consensus among agenda IDs associated with the group ID. Then, the discussion DB generation unit  236  associates the problem ID with the obtained agenda ID and group ID. Further, the discussion DB generation unit  236  generates a DB ID and a storage area to store the content of the discussion, and associates them with the group ID. 
         [0141]    The example in  FIG. 9  illustrates the discussion DB  214  of group ID 000111. In the consensus work table  216 , group ID 000111 is one of IDs generated for groups as a result of grouping of students using highest scores of consensus for agenda ID 00011. Therefore, the discussion DB generation unit  236  associates agenda ID 00011 with group ID 000111. Also, the discussion DB generation unit  236  assigns 1 as the DB ID, and associates the group ID with DB ID 1. 
         [0142]    The storage area associated with DB ID 1 is used for storing the content of the discussion input on the student terminals  300  of the students having group ID 000111 assigned. 
         [0143]      FIG. 18  is a schematic view illustrating a first example of a discussion screen  181  displayed on a student terminal  300 . When receiving the discussion screen data and the DB ID of a discussion DB  214 , the student terminal  300  displays the discussion screen  181  illustrated in  FIG. 18 . 
         [0144]    The discussion screen  181  in  FIG. 18  illustrates an example of the discussion screen of a group having group ID 000111. On the discussion screen  181 , an area  182  for displaying the opinions of students in a group, and a discussion column  183  for entering the content of a discussion are displayed. In the discussion column  183 , the agenda  184  and the content of the discussion  185  entered by the students of the group having the agenda  184  assigned are displayed. In addition, a representative opinion transmission button  186  is displayed on the discussion screen  181  that is used for making a transmission request to transmit the representative opinion of the group to the teacher terminal  200  as the result of the discussion. 
         [0145]      FIG. 18  is an example of the discussion screen for group ID 000111. Students in group ID 000111 are BB having student ID 12302, DD having student ID 12304, and GG having student ID 12307. 
         [0146]    Therefore, opinions of BB, DD and GG are displayed in the area  182 . Also, the agenda  184  associated with group ID 000111 is displayed in the discussion column  183 . The agenda ID of the agenda  184  is agenda ID 00011 that is associated with group ID 000111. 
         [0147]    The discussion screen  181  is displayed on each of the student terminals  300  of the students in group ID 000111. Then, on the discussion screen  181  on each of the student terminals  300 , an opinion of the student entered into the discussion column  183  is stored in the discussion DB  214  as content of the discussion. The content of the discussion stored in the discussion DB  214  is displayed in the discussion column  183  on each of the student terminals  300 . Also, the teacher terminal  200  updates the content of the discussion displayed in the discussion column  183  on the discussion screen  181  on each of the student terminals  300  every time new content of the discussion is stored in the discussion DB  214 . 
         [0148]    As described above, students can make a group discussion without leaving their seats by viewing the content of the discussion entered at the student terminals  300  in the same group, displayed on the student terminals  300  according to the present embodiment. 
         [0149]      FIG. 19  is a schematic view illustrating a second example of a discussion screen  181 A displayed on a student terminal  300 .  FIG. 19  illustrates an example where a representative opinion is selected in the content of the discussion displayed in the discussion column  183  in the discussion screen  181 A. 
         [0150]    In the discussion screen  181 A illustrated in  FIG. 19 , a part of the text  187  is selected in the content of the discussion displayed in the discussion column  183  as the representative opinion of the group. When a part of the text  187  is selected in the discussion column  183  and the representative opinion the transmission button  186  is operated, the representative opinion of the group is transmitted from the student terminal  300  to the teacher terminal  200 . Note that an arbitrary one of the student terminals  300  in the group may be used for transmitting the representative opinion. For example, a student may be determined as the leader in a group to transmit the representative opinion from the student terminal  300  of the leader. 
         [0151]      FIG. 20  is a second schematic view illustrating an example of an opinion display screen  171 A displayed on the teacher terminal  300  after grouping. The opinion display screen  171  transitions into the opinion display screen  171 A illustrated in  FIG. 20  when the group discussion start button  175  is operated on the teacher terminal  200 . 
         [0152]    On the opinion display screen  171 A, the group discussion start button  175  is not displayed, instead, time  176  that has passed since the start of the group discussion and a reception state  177  of the representative opinions from the groups is displayed. 
         [0153]      FIG. 21  is a third schematic view illustrating an example of an opinion display screen  171 B displayed on the teacher terminal  200  after grouping. The opinion display screen  171 A transitions into the opinion display screen  171 B illustrated in  FIG. 21  when the teacher terminal  200  receives the representative opinions from all groups. 
         [0154]    On the opinion display screen  171 B, time  176  that has passed since the start of the group discussion, a reception state  177  of the representative opinions from the groups are displayed, and a group discussion result display button  178  are displayed. The reception state  177  displayed on the opinion display screen  171 B indicates that all representative opinions have been received. When the group discussion result display button  178  is operated on the opinion display screen  171 B, the teacher terminal  200  displays the representative opinions of the groups. 
         [0155]      FIG. 22  is a schematic view illustrating an example of a discussion result display screen  221  displayed on the teacher terminal  200 . The opinion display screen  171 B transitions into the discussion result display screen  221  illustrated in  FIG. 22  when the group discussion result display button  178  is operated on the teacher terminal  200 . 
         [0156]    On the discussion result display screen  221 , the group ID of a group is associated with the members, agenda, and representative opinion of the group to be displayed. 
         [0157]    As described above, according to the present embodiment, opinions of students about a common problem are gathered to form groups of students having opinions related to each other, and to have the students in each group discuss an agenda that has a meaning close to the opinions of the group. Namely, based on the score of consensus between the opinions of students and predetermined agendas, the teacher terminal  200  can execute grouping in accordance with the agendas, which makes it possible for students to have a deep discussion efficiently. 
         [0158]    All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention. Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.