An apparatus of the present invention includes a viewer response system comprising a host site and at least one remote site interconnected by a satellite channel for host-to-remote video, an X.25 communications channel for message exchanges establishing a virtual circuit between each remote and the host site, and a dial-up public phone network channel that allows the host site to dial a remote site in response to a person at the remote site wanting to speak on the system to another person at the host site. A touch screen monitor at the host site allows the other person to sequence through electronic notecards that function as presentation cue cards. Questions can be formatted on remote site monitors and keypad terminals for each person at each remote site to allow real-time responses to be entered. A computer supporting the host site computes and displays remote site status and person's responses.

Monitoring and limiting data distribution is accomplished when a request for transportation of distribution data is received. Upon receiving the request, an attempt is made to identify a data distributor (105-108). If the data distributor (105-108) is identified, the request is routed to the distributor, such that the distributor may route the requested data to a requesting unit (116). Each transportation of data to a user is monitored and compiled into data use information by a monitoring apparatus (103). This information is routed to a data owner (109), who, upon reviewing the information, may provide instructions for future data transmissions.

An interactive learning system has an interactive control unit that displays competition or quiz questions in multiple-choice or other format. Students using the system enter answer choices on a wireless keypad. A base station connected to the interactive control unit receives answer choices from and communicates with the wireless keypads. The interactive control unit keeps track of the scores for all users, and scores of different groups of users (i.e., classes). A receiver connected to the interactive control unit receives content for competitions by satellite broadcast. The competitions are then stored for later use. The system can conduct competitions from those that have been stored or broadcast, or from those that can be created by individual teachers. Previously broadcast and stored competitions can be played simultaneously by a plurality of remote locations, in a "live competition" setting. At the conclusion of the simultaneous competition (or after any previously broadcast and stored competition has concluded), the interactive control unit can connect to the central broadcast facility via modem to transmit scores from classes at the remote location. Then, the central broadcast facility transmits rankings of all participating remote locations for display at each remote location.

A rapidly responsive, computer-based education system is described wherein a large central computer which is adapted to store and execute educational software and to provide a high speed data output stream of multiplexed data frames, communicates with a plurality of remotely located, keyboard actuated display terminals. Communications are accomplished in the forward channel via a satellite link with reverse channel communications being via one or more dedicated telephone lines. The forward channel satellite link is able to accept data at multi megabit rates and to service tens of thousands of user terminals per satellite transponder. The reverse channel telephone line, while only able to accept data rates in the kilobit per second range, accommodates outputs from hundreds of user operated terminals because of the low data rates generated by user operated terminals.

A remote lecturing system includes a first storage for storing contents of at least one lecture of a lecturer, a second storage for storing questions and corresponding answers related to each lecture stored in the first storage, a reproducing part for retrieving from the first storage the contents of an arbitrary lecture which is requested in response to an external request from a terminal station which is operated by a student at an arbitrary time and for transferring the retrieved contents to the first terminal station, and an answer obtaining part for retrieving from the second storage an answer which corresponds to a question from the terminal station. The answer obtaining part interrupts the transfer of the contents of the arbitrary lecture from the reproducing part to the terminal station when the question is raised from the terminal station.