Patent Document ID: 4541056
Application ID: 06513367

Base Claim:
1. In a computer-based system, a topic-interpreting method for delivering instructional material from a database divided into segments to be accessed for display of said material on a screen of a computer-access terminal, said segments being grouped according to topics, said method comprising the steps of providing an announce routine for placing said terminal in a command mode for at least a predtermined set of commands, said routine displaying to a student both an announcement that a new topic is about to begin and a notice that the student has an opportunity to select for execution a command from among commands of said predetermined set, said set including at least one address-generic transfer command for transferring program execution to a different location in said database, and calling said routine at predetermined topic locations in said material.

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Claim 3:
3. The topic-interpreting method in accordance with claim 1 in which said calling step includes the step of placing in said database announce flags at said predetermined locations, testing each topic for an announce flag, and automatically calling said announce routine when such a flag is detected.