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Claims  |
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What is claimed is:
1. A method of operating an agent based instruction system for interactive
instruction of a student over a plurality of instructional sessions, said
method comprising:
(a) presenting interactive instruction to said student by executing one or
more materials on a computer accessed by said student for a current
instructional session;
(b) monitoring said interactive instruction of said student during said
current instructional session;
(c) storing information responsive to said monitoring of said student
during said current instructional session for use during subsequent
instructional sessions;
(d) outputting information on said computer to guide said student in said
interactive instruction, said output information responsive to said
monitoring of said student during said current instructional session and
to said stored information responsive to said monitoring of said student
during previous instructional sessions;
(e) controlling said one or more materials, said controlling responsive to
said monitoring of said student during said current instructional session
and to said stored information responsive to said monitoring of said
student during previous instructional sessions, and wherein said one or
more instructional materials are responsive to said controlling;
whereby said system acts as a virtual tutor adapted to said student, said
virtual tutor guiding said interactive instruction of said student, and
said interactive instruction presented by said system is individualized to
said student.
2. The method according to claim 1 wherein said step of monitoring further
comprises monitoring pedagogic characteristics of said interactive
instruction of said student by said one or more materials, and said step
of controlling further comprises controlling said one or more materials in
order to present interactive instruction with said pedagogic
characteristics.
3. The method according to claim 2 wherein said pedagogic characteristics
are selected from the group comprising time pacing of interactive
instruction, new concept seeding rate, density of examples, and
discrimination difficulty.
4. The method according to claim 1 wherein said step of monitoring further
comprises monitoring according to an instructional context and an
instructional format adopted by each of said one or more materials.
5. The method according to claim 1 further comprising before said step of
controlling and said step of outputting a further step of generating at
least one action responsive to said monitoring of said student during said
current instructional session and to said stored information responsive to
said monitoring of said student during previous instructional sessions,
and wherein said step of controlling is responsive to said generated
action(s) and wherein said step of outputting is responsive to said
generated action(s).
6. The method according to claim 5 wherein said of generating step
generates action(s) according to one or more tables of rules.
7. The method according to claim 5 wherein said of generating step
generates action(s) according to one or more methods selected from the
group of expert systems, neural networks, Bayesian belief networks, and
statistical pattern recognition.
8. The method according to claim 1 further comprising prior to said step of
outputting a step of inputting at least one request of said student for
guidance in said interactive instruction, and wherein said output
information is further responsive to said input requests.
9. The method according to claim 1 wherein said computer accessed by said
student is one computer of a plurality of computers interconnected by a
network, and wherein said student can access any of said plurality of
computers for an instructional session.
10. The method according to claim 1 wherein said one or more materials is a
plurality of materials.
11. The method according to claim 1 wherein said one or more students is a
plurality of students.
12. The method according to claim 1 wherein said step of monitoring further
comprises monitoring pedagogic information describing the pedagogic
characteristics of said student in a manner independent of the subject
matters of said one or more materials.
13. The method according to claim 1 wherein said step of monitoring further
comprises monitoring progress and performance information describing the
progress and performance of said student in said interactive instruction
presented by each of said one or more materials.
14. The method according to claim 1 wherein said step of storing further
comprises storing said information responsive to said monitoring in one of
one or more student data objects, each student data object of said one or
more student data objects being uniquely associated with exactly one
student of said one or more students.
15. A computer readable medium comprising instructions for performing a
method of operating an agent based instruction system for interactive
instruction of a student over a plurality of instructional sessions, said
method comprising:
(a) presenting interactive instruction to said student by executing one or
more materials on a computer accessed by said student for a current
instructional session;
(b) monitoring said interactive instruction of said student during said
current instructional session;
(c) storing information responsive to said monitoring of said student
during said current instructional session for use during subsequent
instructional sessions; and
(d) outputting information on said computer to guide said student in said
interactive instruction, said output information responsive to said
monitoring of said student during said current instructional session and
to said stored information responsive to said monitoring of said student
during previous instructional sessions;
whereby said system acts as a virtual tutor adapted to said student, said
virtual tutor guiding said interactive instruction of said student.
16. The method according to claim 15 wherein said step of monitoring
further comprises monitoring pedagogic information describing the
pedagogic characteristics of said student, wherein said selected display
behavior comprises one or more personae, and wherein said selected visual
display is further responsive to said pedagogic information;
whereby said one or more personae present a lifelike appearance
individualized to said student's cognitive style.
17. A method of operating an agent based instruction system for interactive
instruction of a student over a plurality of instructional sessions, said
method comprising:
(a) presenting interactive instruction to said student by executing one or
more materials on a computer accessed by said student for a current
instructional session;
(b) monitoring said interactive instruction of said student during said
current instructional session;
(c) storing information responsive to said monitoring of said student
during said current instructional session for use during subsequent
instructional sessions; and
(d) outputting information on said computer to guide said student in said
interactive instruction, said output information responsive to said
monitoring of said student during said current instructional session and
to said stored information responsive to said monitoring of said student
during previous instructional sessions;
wherein said output information further comprises an utterance, and wherein
the step of outputting further comprises a step of selecting said
utterance from one or more candidate utterances, and a further step of
outputting said utterance as text or speech;
whereby said system acts as a virtual tutor adapted to said student, said
virtual tutor guiding said interactive instruction of said student.
18. The method according to claim 17 wherein said step of selecting further
comprises selecting said one or more candidate utterance from one or more
tables of utterances.
19. The method according to claim 18 wherein said one or more table of
utterances comprise at least 1,000 utterances.
20. The method according to claim 17 wherein said one or more candidate
utterances comprises at least 10 utterances.
21. A method of operating an agent based instruction system for interactive
instruction of a student over a plurality of instructional sessions, said
method comprising:
(a) presenting interactive instruction to said student by executing one or
more materials on a computer accessed by said student for a current
instructional session;
(b) monitoring said interactive instruction of said student during said
current instructional session;
(c) storing information responsive to said monitoring of said student
during said current instructional session for use during subsequent
instructional sessions; and
(d) outputting information on said computer to guide said student in said
interactive instruction, said output information responsive to said
monitoring of said student during said current instructional session and
to said stored information responsive to said monitoring of said student
during previous instructional sessions;
wherein said responsive output information further comprises a display
behavior, and wherein the step of outputting further comprises a step of
selecting said display behavior from one or more candidate display
behaviors, and a further step of outputting said display behavior;
whereby said system acts as a virtual tutor adapted to said student, said
virtual tutor guiding said interactive instruction of said student.
22. The method according to claim 21 wherein said step of selecting further
comprises selecting one or more candidate display behaviors from one or
more tables of display behaviors.
23. The method according to claim 22 wherein said one or more tables of
display behaviors comprise at least 1,000 display behaviors.
24. The method according to claim 21 wherein said one or more candidate
display behaviors comprises at least 10 display behaviors.
25. The method according to claim 21 wherein said step of outputting said
selected display behavior comprises outputting one or more modalities
selected from the group consisting of text, voice, audio, animation,
video, and preformatted animated sequences.
26. The method according to claim 21 wherein said selected display behavior
comprises one or more persona.
27. A method of operating an agent based instruction system for interactive
instruction of a student over a plurality of instructional sessions, said
method comprising:
(a) presenting interactive instruction to said student by executing one or
more materials on a computer accessed by said student for a current
instructional session;
(b) monitoring said interactive instruction of said student during said
current instructional session;
(c) storing information responsive to said monitoring of said student
during said current instructional session for use during subsequent
instructional sessions; and
(d) outputting information on said computer to guide said student in said
interactive instruction, said output information responsive to said
monitoring of said student during said current instructional session and
to said stored information responsive to said monitoring of said student
during previous instructional sessions;
wherein said one or more materials further comprise a material engine and
one or more materials data, and wherein said step of presenting
interactive instruction by executing one or more materials further
comprises executing said materials engine which references said one or
more materials data;
whereby said system acts as a virtual tutor adapted to said student, said
virtual tutor guiding said interactive instruction of said student.
28. The method according to claim 27 wherein said materials data further
comprise notations, and wherein said step of monitoring further comprises
said materials engine referencing said notations in order to generate
monitoring information.
29. A method of operating an agent based instruction system for interactive
instruction of one or more students over a plurality of instructional
sessions, said method comprising:
(a) presenting interactive instruction to one of said students by executing
one or more materials on a computer accessed by said student for a current
instructional session;
(b) monitoring said interactive instruction of said student during said
current instructional session;
(c) storing information responsive to said monitoring of said student
during said current instructional session for use during subsequent
instructional sessions;
(d) determining an affect responsive to said monitoring of said student
during said current instructional session and to said stored information
responsive to said monitoring of said student during previous
instructional sessions; and
(e) outputting information on said computer to guide said student in said
interactive instruction, said output information responsive to said
affect, to said monitoring of said student during said current
instructional session, and to said stored information responsive to said
monitoring of said student during previous instructional sessions, said
output information comprising a visual display;
whereby said visual display is responsive to said affect and to said
interactive instruction in a life-like manner.
30. The method according to claim 29 wherein said step of monitoring
further comprises monitoring pedagogic characteristics of said student,
and wherein the step of determining an affect determines an affect further
responsive to said pedagogic characteristics;
whereby said visual display is responsive in a life-like manner
individualized to said student's cognitive style.
31. The method according to claim 29 wherein said output information
further comprises an utterance, and wherein the step of outputting further
comprises a step of selecting said utterance from one or more tables of
utterances in a manner responsive to said monitoring and to said stored
information, and a further step of outputting said utterance as text or
speech;
whereby said utterance and said visual display are responsive in a
life-like manner.
32. The method according to claim 29 wherein said step of outputting
further comprises selecting said visual display from one or more tables of
visual displays in a manner responsive to said affect, to said monitoring,
and to said stored information.
33. The method according to claim 29 wherein said selected display behavior
comprises one or more persona.
34. An agent based instruction system for interactive instruction of one or
more students, said system comprising:
(a) one or more computers having interactive input/output devices and
interconnected by a network;
(b) one or more materials executable on said one or more computers, each
said material for presenting interactive instruction to said one or more
students and for generating monitoring information that monitors said
interactive instruction; and
(c) one or more agents executable on said one or more computers, each said
agent associated with exactly one of said students and each said student
associated with exactly one of said agents, each said agent comprising
(i) action processing for controlling said one or more materials to
instruct said associated student, said controlling being responsive to
said monitoring information that monitors said interactive instruction of
said associated student, and
(ii) behavior processing for outputting information to guide said
associated student, said outputting being responsive to said monitoring
information that monitors said interactive instruction of said associated
student;
whereby said system acts as a virtual tutor to each of said students and
said interactive instruction of each of said students is individualized to
each student.
35. The system according to claim 34 further comprising executive software
for interfacing said one or more materials and said one or more agents to
said one or more computers and to said network.
36. The system according to claim 34 wherein said network is configured to
permit any one of said students to access any one of said one or more
materials from any one of said computers.
37. The system according to claim 34 wherein said network is configured to
permit one or more of said computers to be located in one or more
locations.
38. The system according to claim 37 wherein one or more of said locations
are residences of one or more of said students.
39. The system according to claim 37 wherein one or more of said materials
presents homework to one or more of said students.
40. The system according to claim 34 wherein said network is further
configured to be a packet switched network.
41. The system according to claim 34 wherein said agent action processing
is further responsive to a request for guidance from said associated
student, and wherein said agent behavior processing is further responsive
to said request for guidance.
42. The system according to claim 41 wherein said agent behavior processing
further comprises (i) utterance generation processing for selecting an
utterance and an affect responsive to said monitoring information or to
said request for guidance, and (ii) visual display generation for
selecting a visual display responsive to said utterance and said affect.
43. The system according to claim 42 wherein said agent behavior processing
selects said utterance and said visual display to represent a persona,
said selection being from a table of available personas and according to
the preferences of said associated student.
44. The system according to claim 34 wherein said materials further
comprise instructional materials executable on said computers for
interactive instruction of said students, and tools executable on said
computers for assistance of said students in said interactive instruction.
45. The system according to claim 44 wherein said instructional materials
further comprise instructional materials appropriate to primary or
secondary education.
46. The system according to claim 44 wherein said tools further comprise
one or more tools selected from the group comprising a calculator, a
dictionary, a thesaurus, an atlas, an encyclopedia, and a network search
tool.
47. The system according to claim 44 wherein said tools further comprise a
starfish tool for displaying and selecting relationships.
48. The system according to claim 34 further comprising one or more
schedule/calendar tools executable on said computers, each said
schedule/calendar tool associated with exactly one of said plurality of
students and each said student associated with exactly one of said
schedule/calendar tools, each said schedule/calendar tools for outputting
to said associated student information relating to scheduled activities of
said associated student, and for providing to said agent of said
associated student information relating to scheduled activities of said
associated student.
49. The system according to claim 48 further comprising data areas for each
of said students characterizing scheduled activities according to deadline
date and priority, and wherein said schedule/calendar tool further limits
said associated student to interactive instruction according to said data
areas characterizing said scheduled activities.
50. The system according to claim 34 further comprising one or more
communication tools executable on said computers for providing forms of
interactive group instruction to a group of said students, and for
generating monitoring information that monitors said group instruction of
each student in said group.
51. The system according to claim 50 where said forms of group instruction
are selected from the group consisting of exchange of messages, group work
on a shared material, and group participation in educational contests.
52. The system according to claim 34 wherein one or more of said materials
further comprises materials engine software and materials data, and
wherein said materials engine process said materials data to present said
interactive instruction.
53. The system according to claim 52 wherein each of said materials data
further comprises:
(a) a plurality of display objects for presentation;
(b) sequencing logic for controlling the order of said presentation of said
plurality of display objects; and
(c) notations for causing generation of said monitoring information.
54. The system according to claim 34 wherein one or more of said materials
comprises a program having data and instructions.
55. The system according to claim 34 wherein one or more of said materials
comprises a program having data and instructions.
56. The system according to claim 55 wherein said data in said pedagogic
information data areas does not depend on the subject matter of said one
or more materials.
57. The system according to claim 55 wherein said agent action processing
updates said pedagogic information data areas associated with said agent's
associated student, said updating being responsive to said monitoring
information, whereby said associated agent adapts to said student.
58. The system according to claim 55 further comprising progress and
performance data areas for each student, said progress and performance
data areas comprising data describing progress and performance of each
said student in said interactive instruction, and wherein said agent
action processing and said agent behavior processing are further
responsive to said progress and performance information data areas.
59. The system according to claim 58 wherein said agent action processing
updates said progress and performance data areas associated with said
associated student of said agent, said updating responsive to said
monitoring information;
whereby said associated agent adapts to said student.
60. The system according to claim 34 wherein one or more of said materials
presents said interactive instruction according to an education paradigm,
and wherein said monitoring information further comprises pedagogic
information classified according to said education paradigm of said
materials.
61. The system according to claim 60 further comprising control parameters
for each material that have an educational paradigm, wherein each material
presents said interactive instruction according to values of said control
parameters, and wherein said agent action processing assigns said values
of said control parameters;
whereby said agent action processing controls said materials.
62. The system according to claim 59 wherein said educational paradigm is
selected from the group consisting of interactive tutorial, fluency
exercise, paired association exercise, discrimination formation exercise,
and simulation exercise.
63. The system according to claim 59 wherein said educational paradigm is
standardized according to an instructional context and an instructional
format.
64. The system according to claim 62 wherein said instructional context is
selected from the group consisting of prerequisite test, prerequisite
review, pretest, new material introduction, new material discrimination,
new material review, fluency exercise practice, review practice, and unit
mastery test.
65. The system according to claim 63 wherein said instructional format is
selected from the group consisting of multiple choice, unprompted
fill-in-the-blank, fill-in-the-blank selected from a list, paired
associates by letter, paired associates by dragging, paired associates by
matching, computation, simulation to identify parts of figures or text,
and simulation game.
66. The system according to claim 34 wherein said agent action processing
generates at least one action responsive to said monitoring information.
67. The system according to claim 66 wherein said agent action processing
further comprises software using one or more techniques selected from the
group of expert systems, neural networks, Bayesian belief networks, and
statistical pattern recognition.
68. The system according to claim 66 further comprising a plurality of
tables of rules, and wherein said agent action processing software further
comprises software referencing said plurality of tables of rules in order
to control said one or more materials and to generate said action(s).
69. The system according to claim 68 wherein said plurality of tables of
rules comprises a policy filter table, a decision weight table, and a
selection criteria table, and wherein said agent action processing
references said policy filter table for determining one or more candidate
actions, references said decision weight table for ranking said one or
more candidate actions, and references said selection criteria table for
selecting said action(s) from said ranked candidate actions.
70. The system according to claim 66 wherein said agent behavior processing
is responsive to said action(s) in order to output information responsive
to said monitoring information.
71. The system according to claim 70 further comprising a plurality of
tables of possible outputs, and wherein said agent behavior processing
software references said tables of possible outputs.
72. The system according to claim 71 wherein said one or more tables of
possible outputs further comprise an utterance template table and a
display behavior table, and wherein said agent behavior processing
references said utterance template table for selecting an utterance and an
affect according to said action(s), and references said display behavior
table for selecting a visual display according to said action(s), said
utterance, and said affect.
73. The system according to claim 70 wherein said agent behavior processing
outputs information in a plurality of output modalities.
74. The system according to claim 70 wherein said output modalities are one
or more output modalities selected from the group consisting of text,
graphics, speech, audio, animation, video, and preformatted animated
sequences.
75. The system according to claim 34 further comprising one or more student
data objects, each of said student data objects associated with exactly
one student, and wherein each agent stores information reflecting said
monitoring information of said one student associated with said agent in
said one student data object associated with said associated student.
76. The system according to claim 75 wherein said student data object
associated with one student further comprises:
(a) pedagogic information describing a pedagogic model of said one student;
and
(b) progress and performance information for describing the progress and
performance of said student in said materials.
77. The system according to claim 76 wherein said agent associated with
each student further comprises agent software and said student data object
associated with said student, and wherein said agent software references
and updates said associated student data object.
78. The system according to claim 34 wherein one or more of said computers
are configured as server systems, wherein said server systems store said
one or more materials and one or more agents, and wherein said one or more
computers downloads said materials and said one or more agents from said
one or more server systems across said computer network.
79. The system according to claim 78 further comprising databases of
pedagogic information and materials progress and performance information
for said one or more students, and wherein said databases are stored on
said server systems.
80. The system according to claim 79 further comprising reporting software
for generating reports from said databases of pedagogic information and
materials progress and performance information for said one or more
students.
81. The system according to claim 34 further comprising one or more system
managers executable on said one or more computers, wherein said
interactive input/output devices include a computer display at each of
said one or more computers, and wherein said system manager executing on
one computer partitions said display of said one computer into one or more
display areas.
82. The system according to claim 81 wherein said one or more display areas
are selected from the group comprising an agent area for agent
interactivity, a materials area for materials interactivity, and a system
area in which said system manager displays selection icons for available
system tools and facilities.
83. The system according to claim 82 wherein said one or more materials and
said one or more agents provide facilities always available to said one or
more students and said materials area and said agent area comprise
sub-areas whose selection activates one of said always available
facilities.
84. The system according to claim 82 wherein said one or more display areas
change in size from time to time.
85. The system according to claim 34 wherein one or more teachers directs
instruction of one or more of said students, said system further
comprising:
(a) one or more teacher materials executable on said one or more computers,
each said teacher material for presenting interactive instruction to
teachers in the use of said system and in the use of materials directed to
said students and for generating monitoring information that monitors said
interactive instruction; and
(b) one or more teacher agents executable on said one or more computers,
each said teacher agent associated with exactly one of said teachers and
each said teacher associated with exactly one of said agents, each said
agent comprising
(i) action processing for controlling said one or more materials to
instruct said associated teacher, said controlling being responsive to
said monitoring information that monitors said interactive instruction of
said associated teacher, and
(ii) behavior processing for outputting information to guide said
associated teacher, said outputting being responsive to said monitoring
information that monitors said interactive instruction of said associated
teacher.
86. An agent based instruction system for interactive instruction of one or
more students, said system comprising:
(a) one or more computers having interactive input/output devices and
interconnected by a network;
(b) one or more materials executable on said one or more computers, each
said material for presenting interactive instruction to said one or more
students and for generating monitoring information that monitors said
interactive instruction; and
(c) one or more agents executable on said one or more computers, each said
agent associated with exactly one of said students and each said student
associated with exactly one or said agents, each said agent comprising
(i) utterance generation processing for selecting an affect and an
utterance to guide said one associated student, said selecting of said
affect and said utterance being responsive to said monitoring information
that monitors said interactive instruction of said one associated student,
and
(ii) visual display generation for selecting a visual display to guide said
one associated student, said selecting of said visual display being
responsive to said affect, to said utterance, and to said monitoring
information that monitors said interactive instruction of said associated
student, and
(iii) output processing for outputting to said associated student said
selected utterance and said selected visual display;
whereby said selected visual display and said selected utterance are
responsive to said affect and to said interactive instruction in a
life-like manner.
87. The system according to claim 86 wherein said monitoring information
further comprises pedagogic information describing the pedagogic
characteristics of said associated student, and wherein utterance
generation processing selects an affect further responsive to said
pedagogic information;
whereby said selected visual display and said selected utterance are
further responsive in a manner individualized to a cognitive style of said
associated student.
88. The system according to claim 86 wherein said utterance generation
processing selects said affect and said utterance from one or more tables
of utterances.
89. The system according to claim 86 wherein said visual display processing
selects said visual display from one or more tables of visual displays.
90. The system according to claim 86 wherein said selected visual display
comprises one or more persona.
91. The system according to claim 86 further comprising action processing
for generating at least one action and for controlling said one or more
materials to instruct said associated student, said generating and said
controlling being responsive to said monitoring information that monitors
said interactive instruction of said associated student, and wherein said
utterance generation processing and said visual display selection
processing are further responsive to said action(s).
92. A method of operating an agent based instruction system for instruction
of a plurality of students, said method comprising:
(a) executing one or more materials on a computer for presenting
interactive instruction to one student of said plurality of students, said
computer being one computer of a plurality of computers interconnected by
a network, each computer of said plurality having interactive input/output
devices;
(b) generating monitoring information that monitors said interactive
instruction presented to said student; and
(c) outputting information on said computer to guide said student in said
interactive instruction, said outputting information responsive to said
monitoring information of said interaction instruction of said student;
(d) controlling said one or more materials to instruct said student, said
controlling being responsive to said information monitoring the
interactive instruction of said student;
(e) selecting an utterance and an affect from one or more utterance tables
in a manner responsive to said controlling step; and
(f) selecting a visual display from one or more tables of display behaviors
in a manner responsive to said utterance, said affect, and said
controlling step;
whereby said interactive instruction is individualized to each student of
said plurality of students and said system acts as a virtual tutor adapted
to said student, said virtual tutor guiding said interactive instruction
of said student.
93. A method of operating an agent based instruction system for instruction
of a plurality of students, said method comprising:
(a) executing one or more materials on a computer for presenting
interactive instruction to one student of said plurality of students, said
computer being one computer of a plurality of computers interconnected by
a network, each computer of said plurality having interactive input/output
devices;
(b) generating monitoring information that monitors said interactive
instruction presented to said student; and
(c) controlling said one or more materials to instruct said student, said
controlling being responsive to said information monitoring the
interactive instruction of said student and in accordance with one or more
tables of rules;
wherein said one or more tables of rules further comprise a policy filter
table, a decision weight table, and a selection criteria table, and
wherein said controlling step controls said one or more materials
according to one or more determined controlling actions, and wherein said
controlling step references said policy filter table for determining one
or more candidate controlling actions, references said decision weight
table for ranking said one or more candidate controlling actions, and
references said selection criteria table for selecting one or more
controlling actions from said ranked candidate controlling actions;
whereby said interactive instruction is individualized to each student of
said plurality of students.
94. A method of operating an agent based instruction system for instruction
of a plurality of students, said method comprising:
(a) a step for executing one or more materials on a computer for presenting
interactive instruction to each student, said computer being one computer
of a plurality of computers interconnected by a network, each computer of
said plurality having interactive input/output devices;
(b) a step for generating monitoring information that monitors said
interactive instruction presented to each student of said plurality of
students;
(c) a step for controlling said one or more materials to instruct each
student, said controlling being responsive to said information monitoring
the interactive instruction of each student; and
(d) a step of outputting information to each student in order to guide each
student in said interactive instruction, said outputting step responsive
to said information monitoring the interactive instruction of each student
and responsive to said controlling step;
whereby said interactive instruction is individualized to each student of
said plurality of students and acts as a virtual tutor individualized to
each student.
95. The method according to claim 94 further comprising after said loading
step a further step of maintaining a model of said one student, said
maintaining responsive to said monitoring information of said student, and
wherein the step for outputting and the step of controlling are further
responsive to said model of said student, whereby said outputting step and
said controlling step adapt to said student thereby individualizing said
interactive instruction of said student.
96. The method according to claim 94 wherein said step for controlling
further comprises controlling according to one or more methods selected
from the group consisting of expert systems, neural networks, Bayesian
belief networks, and statistical pattern recognition.
97. The method according to claim 94 wherein the step for executing further
comprises executing one or more of said one or more materials according to
an educational paradigm, and wherein said monitoring information further
comprises pedagogic information classified according to said educational
paradigm adopted by said one or more materials.
98. The method according to claim 94 wherein said educational paradigm is
standardized according to an instructional context and an instructional
format.
99. The method according to claim 94 further comprising after said
generating step a further step of updating one student model of a
plurality of student models, each student of said plurality of students
being associated with exactly one student model, said updating being
responsive to the information monitoring the interactive instruction of
said student, and wherein the step for controlling said one or more
materials to instruct each student is further responsive to said student
model of said student;
whereby said one or more materials are individualized to said student.
100. The method according to claim 99 wherein said step of updating further
comprises updating pedagogic information in said student model, said
pedagogic information describes pedagogic characteristics of said student
of said plurality of students in a manner independent of the subject
matters of said one or more materials.
101. The method according to claim 99 wherein said step of updating further
comprises updating progress and performance information in said student
model, wherein said progress and performance information describes the
progress and performance of said student in said interactive instruction
presented by each of said one or more materials.
102. The method according to claim 94 further comprising prior to said
controlling step (i) a step of executing one scheduler/calendar tool of a
plurality of scheduler/calendar tools, each student of said plurality of
students being associated with exactly one scheduler/calendar tool, said
one scheduler/calendar tool providing said student with information
relating to scheduled activities of said student, and (ii) a step of
generating monitoring information that monitors said scheduled activities
of said student.
103. The method according to claim 102 wherein the step of executing
executes one or more materials that relate to said scheduled activities of
said student.
104. An agent based instruction system for instruction of a plurality of
students, said system comprising:
(a) means for presenting interactive instruction to each student by one or
more materials;
(b) means for generating monitoring information that monitors said
interactive instruction presented to each student;
(c) means for controlling said one or more materials to instruct each
student, said controlling being responsive to said information monitoring
the interactive instruction of each student; and
(d) means for outputting information to each student in order to guide each
student in said interactive instruction, said means for outputting being
responsive to said information monitoring the interactive instruction of
each student and responsive to said means for controlling;
whereby said interactive instruction is individualized to each student and
said acts as a virtual tutor individualized to each student.
105. The system according to claim 104 further comprising one or more
schedule/calendar tools executable on said computers, each said
schedule/calendar tool associated with exactly one of said plurality of
students and each said student associated with exactly one of said tools,
each said schedule/calendar tool for outputting to said associated student
information relating to scheduled activities of said associated student.
106. The system according to claim 105 further comprising data areas for
each of said students characterizing scheduled activities according to
deadline date and priority, and wherein said schedule/calendar tool
further limits said associated student to interactive instruction
according to said data areas characterizing said scheduled activities.
107. The system according to claim 104 further comprising pedagogic
information data areas for each student, said pedagogic information data
areas comprising data for a pedagogic model of said student.
108. The system according to claim 104 further comprising progress and
performance data areas for each student, said progress and performance
data areas comprising data describing progress and performance of each
said student in said interactive instruction.
109. The system according to claim 104 wherein one or more of said
materials presents said interactive instruction according to an education
paradigm, and wherein said monitoring information further comprises
pedagogic information classified according to said education paradigm of
said materials.
110. The system according to claim 109 further comprising control
parameters for each material that have an educational paradigm, wherein
each material presents said interactive instruction according to values of
said control parameters.
111. The system according to claim 104 further comprising a plurality of
tables of rules which are referenced in order to control said one or more
materials.
112. The method according to claim 104 wherein said means for controlling
controls said one or more materials according to one or more methods
selected from the group consisting of expert systems, neural networks,
Bayesian belief networks and statistical pattern recognition.
113. The system according to claim 104 further comprising one or more
student data objects, each of said student data objects associated with
exactly one student, each student data object storing monitoring
information of said one student associated with said object.
114. The system according to claim 113 wherein said student data object
associated with one student further comprises:
(a) pedagogic information describing a pedagogic model of said one student;
and
(b) progress and performance informati | | |
