Patent ID: 12242798

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

For simplicity and clarity of illustration, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements or steps. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the exemplary embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments generally described herein.

Furthermore, this description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein in any way, but rather as merely describing the implementation of various embodiments as described.

In some cases, the embodiments of the systems and methods described herein may be implemented in hardware or software, or a combination of both. In some cases, embodiments may be implemented in computer programs executing on at least one programmable computing device comprising at least one processor, a data storage device (including in some cases volatile and non-volatile memory and/or data storage elements), at least one input device, and at least one output device.

Each program may be implemented in a high level procedural or object oriented programming and/or scripting language to communicate with a computer system. However, the programs can be implemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. In any case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language.

In some embodiments, the systems and methods as described herein may also be implemented as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, configured with a computer program, wherein the storage medium so configured causes a computer to operate in a specific and predefined manner to perform at least some of the functions described herein.

Some embodiments described herein relate systems and methods for annotating electronic files which allow users to create, store, and/or retrieve one or more annotations for one or more electronic files. For example, the user may insert user-customized annotations at one or more particular locations on a web page. The inserted annotations are then stored and may be made available for subsequent retrieval and display, in some cases by the same user, in some cases by other users.

In some cases these embodiments may permit a user to create self-authored user-generated help text, notes or other comments that can be made available when the user (or another user) subsequently revisits the web page. This may be particularly helpful in distributed environments where users may not be physically located at the same location and may not have the opportunity to easily ask each other for help, for example eLearning environments and other distributed environments. For example, a user may be able to “take-notes” on a particular webpage during orientation or a training session for the tools or controls provided on that webpage. These notes can then accessible to the user for review at a later time, such as when the user subsequently views that webpage to use some of those controls.

Furthermore, some embodiments described here may permit users to share annotations that are created by one or more users. For example, in an eLearning system a user (e.g. a learner) may have the option to select or retrieve annotations created other users, such as other fellow learners in the same virtual course (e.g. classmates), instructors, or administrative staff.

From the perspective of particular users (e.g. staff or instructors in an eLearning system), some embodiments described herein may allow them to address frequently asked questions and/or other topics of discussion by “pushing” annotations out to the users at appropriate locations in particular web pages. For example, if an instructor is receiving a number of questions with respect to a particular topic on a web page, the instructor may wish to create an annotation with an answer to that question, and then have the annotations be presented to the users who are viewing the topic on the web page. Similarly, technical staff (e.g. IT staff) may push out annotations to address technical questions that users may have, such as the use of particular controls on a web page.

In some embodiments, users may leave tips or hints in the form of annotations that may be displayed to another user who might have difficulty understanding some content on the web page. In some cases, the annotations may only be displayed to a user when the user had unsuccessfully attempted to respond to a particular question on the web page, for example when the user is taking a quiz.

Referring now toFIG.1, illustrated therein is an educational system10for providing electronic learning or eLearning adapted for annotation of electronic files according to some embodiments. While some embodiments described herein are generally directed to eLearning systems, it should be understood that in other embodiments the systems and the methods described herein may be implemented outside of an eLearning environment.

Using the system10, one or more users12,14may communicate with an educational service provider30to participate in, create, and/or consume electronic learning services, including courses. In some cases, the educational service provider30may be part of, or associated with, a traditional “bricks and mortar” educational institution (e.g. a grade school, university or college), another entity that provides educational services (e.g. an online university, a company that specializes in offering training courses, or an organization that has a training department), or the educational service provider30may be an independent service provider (e.g. for providing individual electronic learning).

It should also be understood that a course may not be limited to formal courses offered by formal educational institutions. The course may include any form of learning instruction offered by an entity of any type. For example, the course may be a training seminar at a company for a group of employees or a professional certification program with a number of intended participants (e.g. PMP, CMA, etc.).

In some embodiments, one or more educational groups can be defined that includes one or more of the users12,14. For example, as shown inFIG.1, the users12,14may be grouped together in an educational group16representative of a particular course (e.g. History101, French254), with a first user12or “instructor” being responsible for providing the course (e.g. organizing lectures, preparing assignments, creating educational content etc.), while the other users14or “learners” are consumers of the course content (e.g. users14are enrolled in the course).

In some examples, the users12,14may be associated with more than one educational group (e.g. the users14may be enrolled in more than one course, one user may be enrolled in one course and be responsible for teaching another course, and so on).

In some cases, educational sub-groups may also be formed. For example, the users14may be part of educational sub-group18. The sub-group18may be formed in relation to a particular project or assignment (e.g. sub-group18may be a lab group) or based on other criteria. In some embodiments, due to the nature of the electronic learning, the users14in a particular sub-group18need not physically meet, but may collaborate together using various tools provided by the educational service provider30.

In some embodiments, other groups16and sub-groups18could be defined using other contexts. For example, a group could include users14that share common interests (e.g. in a particular sport), that participate in common activities (e.g. members of a choir or a club), and/or have similar attributes (e.g. users that are male, users under twenty-one years of age, etc.).

Communication between the users12,14and the educational service provider30can occur either directly or indirectly using any suitable computing devices. For example, the user12may use a computing device20having one or more client processors, such as a desktop computer that has at least one input device (e.g. a keyboard and a mouse) and at least one output device (e.g. a display screen and speakers).

The computing device20can generally be any suitable device for facilitating communication between the users12,14and the educational service provider30. For example, the computing device20could be a laptop20awirelessly coupled to an access point22(e.g. a wireless router, a cellular communications tower, etc.), a wirelessly enabled personal data assistant (PDA)20bor smart phone, a terminal20c, a tablet computer20d, a game console20eover a wired connection23, and so on.

The computing devices20may be connected to the service provider30via any suitable communications channel. For example, the computing devices20may communicate to the educational service provider30over a local area network (LAN) or intranet, or using an external network (e.g. by using a browser on the computing device20to browse to one or more web pages (electronic files) presented over the Internet28over a data connection27).

In some examples, one or more of the users12,14may be required to authenticate their identities in order to communicate with the educational service provider30. For example, the users12,14may be required to input a login name and/or a password or otherwise identify themselves and gain access to the system10.

In some examples, one or more users (e.g. “guest” users) may be able to access the system10without authentication. Such guest users may be provided with limited access within the system10, such as the ability to review one or more components of the course, for example to decide whether they would like to participate in the course, but without the ability to participate in class discussions, and so on.

In some embodiments, the wireless access points22may connect to the educational service provider30through a data connection25established over the LAN or intranet. Alternatively, the wireless access points22may be in communication with the educational service provider30via the Internet28or another external data communications network. For example, one user14may use a laptop20ato browse to a webpage that displays elements of an electronic learning system (e.g. a course page).

The educational service provider30may include a number of functional components for facilitating the provision of electronic learning services. For example, the educational service provider30generally includes one or more processing devices such as servers32, each having one or more processors. The processors on the servers32will be referred to generally as “remote processors” so as to distinguish them from client processors found in computing devices20,20a-20e.

The remote processors on the servers32are configured to send information (e.g. electronic files such as web pages) to be displayed on the computing devices20in association with the electronic learning system10.

The educational service provider30also generally includes one or more data storage devices34(e.g. memory, etc.) that are in communication with the servers32. The data storage devices34could include relational databases (such as a SQL database), or other suitable data storage devices. The data storage devices34are configured to host data35about the courses offered by the service provider, for example the course frameworks, educational materials to be consumed by the users14, records of assessments done by users14, and so on. As described below, the data storage devices34may also include annotation information to be presented when particular electronic filed are presented to a user.

The data storage devices34may also store authorization criteria that define what actions may be taken by the users12,14. In some embodiments, the authorization criteria may include at least one security profile associated with at least one role. For example, one role could be defined for users who are primarily responsible for developing an educational course, teaching that course, and assessing work product from other users for that course. Users with such a role may have a security profile that allows them to configure various components of the course, post assignments, add assessments, evaluate the performance of other users, and so on.

In some embodiments, some of the authorization criteria may be defined by specific users40(e.g. administrators) who may or may not be part of the educational community16. For example, users40may be permitted to administer and/or define global configuration profiles for the system10, define roles within the system10, set security profiles associated with the roles, and assign the roles to particular users12,14in the system10. In some cases, the users40may use another computing device (e.g. a desktop computer42) to accomplish these tasks.

The data storage devices34may also be configured to store other information, such as personal information about the users12,14of the system10, information about which courses the users14are enrolled in, roles to which the users12,14are assigned, particular interests of the users12,14and so on.

The servers32and data storage devices34may also provide other electronic learning management tools (e.g. allowing users to add and drop courses, communicate with other users using chat software, etc.), and/or may be in communication with one or more other vendors that provide the tools.

In some embodiments, the system10may also have one or more backup servers31that may duplicate some or all of the data35stored on the data storage devices34. The backup servers31may be desirable for disaster recovery (e.g. to prevent undesired data loss in the event of an event such as a fire, flooding, or theft).

In some embodiments, the backup servers31may be directly connected to the educational service provider30and located within the system10at a different physical location. For example, the backup servers31could be located at a remote storage location at a distance from the service provider30.

Generally, servers32and data storage devices34store electronic files that are to be provided to the computing devices20for consumption by the users14. In an eLearning environment example, the electronic files may be web pages that contain learning material such as course content, quizzes, discussion boards or any other content that facilitate the eLearning process. In other examples the electronic files may be other types of files or have other types of content.

Referring now toFIG.2, illustrated therein is an exemplary embodiment of client-server interactions between the servers32and the computing devices20in the eLearning system10. For ease of illustration, the servers32from the system10ofFIG.1are represented by a single server52and the client computing devices20-20efrom the system ofFIG.1are represented by a single client computer50, although it will be understood that multiple servers52and client computers50may be used.

As shown, the server52has access to web pages54and annotation files56, which may be stored for example in the data storage device34. To access a web page located on the server52, the client computer50transmits a request58and context information60to the server52as shown. The request58may include information that is at least partially necessary to identify the particular web pages54that the client computer50is requesting. For example, the request58may include URL information of the web page.

The context information60generally contains information about the circumstances surrounding or associated with the request58. For example, context information60may include information about previous activity associated with the client computer50, an account identifier associated with one of the users12,14who is making the request58using the client computer50, or other information. Generally, when the context information60is combined with the request58, the server52can identify the particular web page55that client computer50is requesting.

In some examples the context information60may also include information pertaining to the display of web pages on the client computer50. For example, if there are multiple web pages54that are being requested by the client computer50, the context information60may include instructions relating to how each particular web page should be displayed in relation to other web pages.

In some embodiments, the context information60may be stored in a file (e.g. a cookie) associated with a web browser application on the client computer50. In some examples, the client computer50may provide the context information60to the server52without receiving a specific request therefor from the server52. In effect, the client computer50can voluntarily supply the context information60.

In other examples, the client computer50may initially only send the request58; the server52may then request the context information60and the client computer50may subsequently provide the context information60in response.

In some cases, the context information60may not be required to identify a specific web page that the client50is requesting. For example, if a guest user is requesting a root or a home page of an eLearning website, then it may not necessary to provide the context60to identify the particular web page of interest.

Upon receipt of the request58and the context information60, the server52attempts to fill the request58by locating the particular web page55that the client50requested. In some cases, the web page55is located based on the URL information and the context information60. In addition, in some instances the server52may dynamically modify or format the web page55based on the context information60, or based on other information known to the server52.

The web page55is then transmitted to the client50. The server52may also determine whether there are any annotation data that are associated with the web page55and the context information60. In the example shown, annotation data57is associated with the given web page55and context information60and the annotation data57is provided to the client50. In some embodiments, the annotation data57may have been previously generated by the same user or other users.

The annotation data57may be selected from one or more annotation files56stored in the data storage device34. The annotation data57generally includes data associated with annotations and anchors on the particular web page55. For example, the web page55may be a web page70that includes annotations as shown inFIG.3and described below.

Referring now toFIG.3, illustrated therein is an exemplary web page70that may be provided by the server52in response to a request58. For example, the web page70may correspond to the web page55shown inFIG.2.

The web page70may include control tools72, text content74, image content76, video content78, and other elements.

The control tools72may allow the user to interact with the particular web page70or more generally with the server52, and could include for example radio buttons, check boxes, buttons, drop down lists, and so on. In some cases, these control tools72may be added to the electronic document based on the context information60. In some cases, similar control tools72may also be added to other web pages.

The text content74, image content76, video content78may include course specific content, such as study materials for a user, or other suitable content.

The web page70also includes a user-generated annotation indicator90. The indicator90may be interacted with (e.g. by having a pointing device pointing at it or by clicking on it) to allow the user to add, modify, or review annotation information associated with the indicator90. For example, as shown, an annotation object92is displayed when the indicator is interacted with. The annotation object92allows the user to input annotation information94associated with the indicator90. The annotation information94can then be saved for future reference (e.g. in the data storage device34). The annotation information94may be of various formats, and for example could include text, images, videos, links, and so on.

In some embodiments, the annotation object92may include various sharing options96to permit dissemination of the annotation information94to other users of the system10. For example, the annotation information94may be shared with other classmates, a specified group of users (e.g. friends), instructors, administrators, to a discussion board, and so on.

When the annotation information94is shared, the annotation information94may be provided to another user. For example, when a second user requests the same web page70, that user may be provided with a visual cue (e.g. a community annotation indicator100) indicative of the existence of shared annotation information94. In another example, the recipient may be alerted of the shared information via a form of electronic communication, such as a popup message, an email, and so on.

In some embodiments, the annotation indicator90is associated with an anchor91. The anchor91is defined by the user and is indicative of the location of an annotation object92on the web page70. For example, the user12or14may select a point on the web page to add the indicator90. That is, the user may define an anchor91for the location of the annotation indicator90.

Generally, the anchor91may be defined by the user when the user selects a specific location on the web page70to add annotation information thereto. In some embodiments, the anchor91may be associated with a location on the web page70. For example, the anchor91may also be associated with a raster coordinate in the web page.

In some embodiments, the anchor91may be associated with various content objects on the web page such as a text box, a control button, an image, a video frame, an iFrame, etc. In such cases, the anchor is associated with that content object such that the associated annotation is provided each time the content object. That is, if the content object (and the anchor) is provided as part of one or more other webpages, the annotation associated with the content object will also be provided. The association between the anchor91and a content object could be based on user input or be automated, for example based upon the proximity of the annotation object92to the anchor91. In some embodiments,

Generally, it may be desirable to associate the anchor91with one or more of the content objects so that the location of annotations in subsequent renderings the web pages tend to be more uniform. That is, if the annotation is semantically associated with a content object, then it may be desirable for the annotation to display near that content object regardless of the location in the page on which the content object is rendered.

Furthermore, associating the anchor91with control objects may allow the annotation information associated therewith to be made available on each web page that the control objet is displayed on. For example, if the same control objects72with the annotation information are also displayed on other web pages, associating an anchor91with that control object72would permit the annotation information94associated therewith to be made available to other web pages displaying the same control object72(without having to recreate the user-generated annotation information94) for each web page.

It should be noted that the annotation indicator90and annotation object92are generally defined by the user using the client computer50. For example, the annotation indicator90and annotation object92may be generated by the user on a web page without any user-generated annotations. That is, the annotation indicator90and the annotation object92are not initially defined by the server52, although in some embodiments they may be stored in the data storage device34by the server52after being defined. In this manner the annotation indicator90and annotation objects92can be contrasted to pre-generated annotation information (e.g. as usually provided as part of a help file) which is normally generated by a server or defined in advance and provided as part of a web page or software application, for example.

In some embodiments, after being defined the user-generated annotation information94and the anchor91are provided to the server52such that they may be stored and made available when the web page70is subsequently requested. In some embodiments, the user-generated annotation information94is stored locally on the client computer50. For example, a browser plug-in application may be used to store and retrieve such locally stored annotation information94on the client computer50.

In other embodiments the annotation information94is stored on the server52such that this information may be made available to that user (or another user) regardless of which particular computing device20is used to access the web page70.

Also illustrated inFIG.3is a help indicator78. The user may interact with the help indicator78(e.g. by having a pointing device pointing at it or by clicking on it) to display additional help information82, as shown in a help object80having help information82.

In contrast to the annotation object90, the help object80is generally pre-generated. That is, the help information82is normally authored at an earlier time, for example by a programmer of the control tools72. The location of the help object80is normally also predetermined.

In the embodiment shown, the help object80may allow the user to edit the existing help information82. In other embodiments, the help text box may allow the user to add to (but not remove) the existing information82. If the help information82is edited, in some embodiments the edited information may be stored so that it can be subsequently made available on the web page70.

The help object80may also include various sharing options84to permit dissemination of the user edited information83to others. These sharing options84may be similar to the sharing options96provided in the annotation object90.

Also shown inFIG.3is a community annotation indicator100. The community annotation indicator100is similar to the annotation indicator90in that it provides a visual cue of the existence of additional information. The community annotation indicator100(when interacted with) may display additional community annotation information104, for example using in a community annotation object102. In some embodiments, this annotation object102may also be shared using the sharing option106.

In some embodiments, the community annotation information104may include various information provided by other users of the system10, and which may be customizable based on user preferences. For example, a user may provide preference information as to whose annotations should be displayed first, or if a particular users annotations should be displayed at all. For example the user may choose to display annotations for instructors first, followed by annotations from trusted friends, followed by classmates in the same class, followed by other members of the general eLearning community.

In some embodiments, the display of the community annotation information104could be customized based on reputation, grades, level of permission, and other suitable factors.

In some embodiments, the community annotation information104from members of various groups could be displayed using various colors or other patterns associated with each group so as to visually distinguish each group from the next.

In some circumstances, one of the users12,14may wish to “push” certain information out to users who view the web page70. For example, instructors may wish to address frequently asked questions and/or other topics of discussion by disseminating the information about that topic using instructor annotations located at relevant points on the web page70. Illustrated inFIG.3is an important annotation indicator110(shown generally with an exclamation mark) with an important annotation object112displaying instructor-provided annotation information114. This information may also be shared with other users using the sharing option116.

In some embodiments, broadcasting or pushing of annotation information may not be limited to instructors. For instance, in some embodiments a super-user with access to super-user account identifiers (e.g. technical or administrative staff) may push annotation information out to one or more users.

In some embodiments, the same or similar features used to create a user-generated annotation may be used by a super-user to broadcast their user-generated annotation as important information110. For example, if the user12is a super-user (e.g. through an account identifier provided in the context information58sent by the client computer50to the server52) the web page70may provide an option to push that super-user's generated annotation information, for example, as part of the sharing options96.

In other embodiments, annotations associated with the same content objects may be amalgamated so as to reduce the number of indicators that are displayed on a given web page. For example, if there are many different user annotation objects, community annotation objects and important annotation objects associated with one or more objects, one or more of these objects may be amalgamated with other annotation objects to reduce the number of overall objects or indicators displayed on the page.

Referring now toFIG.4, illustrated therein is another embodiment of an exemplary client-server interaction between the client50and the server32. As shown, modified annotation data120and context60aare transmitted to the server52for storage. The modified annotation data120may include information that may be needed to reproduce the annotations generated by the user. This may include, for example, user-generated annotation information94and the anchor91. In cases where the user edits information in the help object80or a community object92, such data may also be provided to the server52.

In some embodiments, the modified annotation data120may also include annotation data57that was transmitted along with the web page55to the client computer50. In some other embodiments, the modified annotation data120may include just the annotations implemented by the user on the given web page70.

In some embodiments, the modified annotation data120may also include annotation metadata associated with the annotations generated by the user. For example, modified annotation metadata120may include an account identifier associated with the user that provided the user generated annotation. In another example, the modified annotation metadata may include general information about the web page70where the annotations were added, such as a course, topic, or content relating to the web page70. The annotation metadata may be used to enable sharing and discovery purposes.

In some embodiments, the modified annotation data120may also include sharing options96selected by the user12,14. In some embodiments, the annotation data120may also include an account identifier associated with the one or more users12,14that provided the particular annotations.

In some embodiments, the context60awould generally include a URL address and other information that may be needed to uniquely identify the web page that the modified annotation data120corresponds to. This may, for example, include URL information, account identifier information, and other information similar to that of context information60described above.

Upon receipt of the annotation data120and the context60a, the server52may store the modified annotation data120as part of annotation files56. It should be noted that the modified annotation data120is stored in annotation files56that are separate from the web page54or the electronic files.

Furthermore, if the annotations are to be provided to other account identifiers (i.e. users), then corresponding annotation files may be modified such that the annotations are provided to the intended recipients when the recipients subsequently requests that web page70.

Similarly, when the web page70is requested by the client computer50, the web page70is provided to the client computer50along with the modified annotation data120such that the user is given access to the relevant annotations associated with the web page70. That is, if there are any user-generated annotations, an annotation indicator may be displayed on the web page70based on the anchor associated therewith, and an annotation object containing the user-generated annotation object may then be displayed when the annotation indicator is interacted with. Similarly, the community annotations, help annotations, and important annotations as applicable may also be displayed.

In some embodiments, the contents82,94,104,114of the annotation objects may not be automatically provided with the web page70. For example, in some embodiments the contents82,94,104,114of the annotation objects may be provided upon request, which could be triggered by interaction with the annotation indicators80,90,100,110.

Referring now toFIG.5, illustrated therein is a computer-implemented annotation method150according to some embodiments. The method150may be executed by a computing device, such as the computing devices20-20eor the client computer50. The instructions to execute these steps on the processors of the computing devices may be in the form web pages or web requests.

At step152, a request for an electronic file is sent to a remote processor. The electronic file may in some embodiments be a web page, such as the web page70as described herein above. The request may be similar to request58and the remote processor may be a processor on a server, such as the server52.

At step154, the electronic file is received from the remote processor.

At step156, at least one new annotation is defined, for example by a user. The annotation may include annotation information such as annotation information84,94,104,114as described above. It may also include an anchor such as the anchor91. It may also include instructions on reproducing various annotation indicators and the annotation objects.

At step158, at least one anchor associated with the at least one annotion is defined. The anchor is indicative of a location for the annotation. In some embodiments, the anchor may be a raster location on the web page and associated with the web page. In some embodiments, the anchor may be a content object, which may be on the web page.

At step160, the at least one annotation and the at least one anchor associated therewith are stored in an annotation file that is separate from the electronic file. For example, the annotation may be stored locally in a file accessible a browser-extension plugin. In another example, the annotation (in some cases along with instructions for storing the annotation information) may be transmitted to the remote processor for storage at a remote data storage device.

At step162, a second request for at least one electronic file having the anchor is sent to the remote processor. For example, the second request may be for the same electronic file provided in step154. In another example, the second request may be for a different electronic file that has the same anchor (e.g. the content object associated with the anchor). This step may be executed in another session or at a subsequent time to the first request.

At step164, the at least one electronic file requested for in step162is received from the remote processor in response to the second request.

At step166, the at least one annotation associated with the anchor, which was stored in step160is retrieved. In some embodiments, where the annotation is stored remotely on the remote server, then the annotation may be received along with the electronic file and this step may involve locating the annotation in the received electronic file. In some embodiments where the annotations are stored locally in an annotation file, then this step may involve locating the relevant annotation associated with the electronic file.

At step168, the electronic file, the anchor and the at least one annotation associated therewith are displayed. This may involve displaying the annotation indicator and when it is interacted with, displaying the annotation object and the annotation information.

Referring now toFIG.6, illustrated therein is a computer-implemented annotation method200according to some other embodiments. The method200may be executed by server50to facilitate annotation of electronic files.

The method begins at step202where a first request for an electronic file is received from a client processor. The electronic file may be a web page as described above and the client processor may be a client processor located in the computing devices20-203or client computer50. The first request may include context information and URL information necessary to identify the appropriate web page.

At step204, the electronic file is transmitted to the client processor.

At step206, the method comprises receiving at least one new annotation for the electronic file. The at least one new annotation may be similar to the annotation data120described herein above or the annotation as described in conjunction with step150.

At step208, at least one anchor associated with the annotation is received. The anchor is indicative of the location of the annotation. The anchor could be a location on the electronic file or a content object in the electronic file. For example, the at least one anchor may be the anchor91described herein above.

At step210, the annotation and the anchor associated therewith is stored in an annotation file that is separate from the electronic file.

At step212, a second request for at least one electronic file having the anchor is received from the client processor. The second request may include information necessary to identify the electronic file and the annotations associated therewith. For example, it may contain URL information about the webpage, relevant context, and an account identifier.

At step214, the at least one annotation associated with the anchor is retrieved from the annotation file.

At step216, the electronic file, the anchor and the at least one annotation associated therewith are sent to the client processor in response to the second request.

It should be understood that the systems and methods according some embodiments may be applied in distributed systems other than the eLearning environment.

In other words, while the above description provides examples of one or more apparatus, methods, or systems, it will be appreciated that other apparatus, methods, or systems may be within the scope of the present description as interpreted by one of skill in the art.