JP2009139667A - Remote lecture system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce an operation load when a teacher nominates a student in a multiperson participation type and bidirectional remote lecture. <P>SOLUTION: A remote lecture system includes: student terminals used by each of the students attending a lecture; a lecturer terminal connected with the student terminals via a communication network and used by a lecturer; and a nomination order calculation processing section selecting, in accordance with a prescribed procedure, one nominated student identifier out of student identifiers identifying each of the plurality of student terminals when a prescribed input operation is performed to the lecturer terminal. In a prescribed area of a display device of the lecturer terminal, information for identifying the student corresponding to the student terminal identified by the nominated student identifier is displayed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote lecture system using a communication network.

  Conventionally, teleconference-type remote lectures have been performed in which students gather in a lecture room and connect to a remote lecturer using a relay system installed in the lecture room.

  Remote lectures in which students connect to a relay network using individual terminals from their homes, etc., instead of gathering many students in the lecture room due to the widening of the network and the low price of personal computers used as client terminals. Remote lectures) are becoming possible.

  In a remote lecture of a large number of participants (seminar format) using such a system, the lecturer's voice, video, electronic whiteboard information, etc. are distributed to the student terminals via the lecture server. During the lecture, the lecturer performs lecture progress operations such as screen switching and speaker selection from the lecturer terminal as necessary.

The following are examples of prior art documents related to distance learning.
JP 2002-117153 A JP 2002-333820 A JP 2007-102344 A JP 11-338339 A

  In seminar-style remote lectures, the instructor nominates students and asks for answers. Seminar-style distance lectures have the advantage of being able to confirm the student's level of understanding through these two-way communications.

  However, in the distance lecture, there may be situations where the instructor has no direct contact with the student, cannot grasp the individual information of the student, and it is difficult to know the attendance status of the participating student. Due to such circumstances, there is a possibility that a scene where the instructor is at a loss in determining which student is appropriate to nominate may occur.

  In particular, when a seminar-type remote lecture is performed in an individual remote lecture connected using a terminal for each student, there are cases where the number of participants may increase. In such a case, since the display area of video and lecture materials occupies most of the normal lecture screen, it is difficult to grasp the list of participants. This can make it more difficult for the instructor to determine which student is appropriate to nominate.

  In such a remote lecture system, it is a burden for the lecturer to perform operations such as screen switching necessary for the progress of the lecture while determining which student to designate. Such a load is desired to be small for the smooth progress of the lecture.

  In addition, depending on the system, in order for the instructor to designate a student, an operation for selecting the corresponding student from a list of participating students and an operation for enabling speech are required. That is, in order to nominate one student, a plurality of input operations may be required, and this complexity is also a burden on the instructor.

  From the above, the inventors of the present application have come up with the idea that the load on the instructor can be greatly reduced if the operation when the instructor nominates the student in the remote lecture system can be simplified.

  In remote lectures of multi-participation type (seminar format), a technique is desired that reduces the operational load when the instructor nominates students during the lecture.

  A distance lecture system according to the present invention is connected to a plurality of student terminals used by a plurality of students who take a lecture, a plurality of student terminals via a communication network, and a lecturer terminal used by a lecturer and a lecturer terminal. One designated student according to a predetermined procedure based on information registered in advance for each of the plurality of student terminals from among the student identifiers that specify each of the plurality of student terminals when a predetermined input operation is performed. A nomination order calculation processing unit for selecting an identifier. Information for specifying a student corresponding to the student terminal specified by the designated student identifier is displayed in a predetermined area of the display device of the instructor terminal.

  According to the present invention, in a remote lecture of a multi-participant type (seminar format), a technique is provided that can reduce an operation load when a lecturer nominates a student during a lecture.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a remote lecture system according to the present embodiment. A lecture server 1, a database 3, a lecturer terminal 5, and a plurality of student terminals 6 are connected to the network 12. The instructor terminal 5 and the student terminal 6 are realized by installing predetermined software on a personal computer, a portable terminal, a browser function-equipped device, a dedicated device, or the like.

  A nomination order setting 11 is registered in the lecture server 1. The lecture server 1 further registers an operation log 2 that records the entry / exit time and the time of participation in the remote lecture for each participant registered as a student in the remote lecture system. The database 3 stores lecture related information 4 including student information 7 and lecture information 8. The student information 7 includes a profile including a name for each student, a lecture attendance record, a result log, and the like. The student terminal 6 acquires the student situation 9 from the input device.

  The instructor terminal 5 includes a nomination order calculation processing unit 10 which is a functional block realized by a program executed by the CPU. The nomination order calculation processing unit 10 reads the nomination order setting 11 stored in the lecture server 11. The nomination order setting 11 is a computer program having a function of determining and displaying the order in which the students are nominated according to a predetermined algorithm. What information is used for nomination, each priority of information used for nomination ( Weighting coefficient), a procedure for updating the nomination order after nomination, and a method for displaying the nomination order list. When the instructor individually sets the nomination order, the nomination order individual setting 11a is input from the input device included in the instructor terminal 5.

  Information of students who use this remote lecture system is registered in the database 3 as student information 7 in advance. When a remote lecture is started by an input operation from the instructor terminal 5 or by a signal from another remote device, the instructor terminal 5 is connected to the lecture server 1 via the network 12, and a connection for the lecture is secured. Is done. A student (a plurality of students in the case of a multi-participant lecture) connects to the lecture server 1 from the student terminal 6 via the network 12 and accesses the lecture.

  The operation log 2 of the lecture server 1 records entry and exit of the lecturer and student, that is, connection and disconnection of a communication session for the lecturer terminal 5 and the student terminal 6 to access the lecture. When the lecture starts, the lecture server 1 accesses the lecture related information 4 in the database 3. The student terminal 6 acquires the student status 9 from information obtained from a device connected to the own device or an input operation on the input device. The nomination order calculation processing unit 10 of the instructor terminal 5 acquires information required for calculating the nomination order in the nomination order setting 11 from the operation log 2, the lecture related information 4, and the student information 9. Such information flow is shown by the arrows in FIG.

  FIG. 2 shows a lecture screen 1 displayed by a display device of a terminal of a remote lecture participant (lecturer and student). The area of the participant list 23 on the lecture screen 21 is registered in the student information 7 corresponding to the name of the lecturer and the student participating in the lecture (the student terminal 6 connected to the lecture server 1 for the lecture). Each student name) or user ID is acquired from the student information 7 and the lecture information 8 and displayed. The video generated by the lecturer by operating the lecturer terminal 5 is displayed in the video display area 24. Materials displayed by the instructor operating the instructor terminal 5 are displayed on the electronic white board 25 and the sub-screen 26. Operation icons are displayed on the operation unit 22 on the display screen, and a lecture operation is performed by operating the operation icons with the input device of the instructor terminal 5 or the student terminal 6.

  While the lecture is in progress, the voice and video input from the lecturer terminal 5 are distributed to each student terminal 6 while the student is not permitted to speak. The audio of each student is not distributed to the other student terminals 6.

  During the distance lecture, the lecturer nominates the student by voice communication, text communication, etc. through the lecture server 1 for the purpose of viewing the student's reaction so that it can be performed even in an actual lecture. When the instructor wants to nominate a student according to his / her own intention, the nomination order individual setting 11a indicating the order in which the instructor terminal 5 is designated is set by performing an operation of specifying the student terminal on the input device. In this case, when an input operation for nominating a student is performed, the student terminals are designated in the order set in the nomination order individual setting 11a in response to the operation, and voice communication between the student terminal 6 and the instructor terminal 5 is started. Is done.

  The remote lecture system according to the present embodiment has a function of automatically selecting and nominating one student from students participating in the lecture. FIG. 3 is a data flow when this automatic nomination function is used, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining this function.

  At the start of the lecture, the nomination order calculation processing unit 10 of the lecturer terminal 1 reads the nomination order setting 2 (step S1). The nomination order setting 2 includes selection of nomination information, which is information used for nomination, priority (weighting coefficient), a procedure for updating the nomination order after nomination for a certain student, and a nomination order list display method. The nomination order calculation processing unit 10 further requests the lecture server 1 for necessary nomination information according to the nomination order setting. The lecture server 1 collects the nomination information requested from the operation log 2 and the database 3 and sends it back to the lecturer terminal 5 (step S2).

  The nomination information includes student information 9 collected on the student terminal 6 and received via the lecture server 1 in addition to information stored on the lecture server 1 side such as student information 7, lecture information 8 and operation log 2. It is. The student situation 9 was photographed by the camera of the student terminal 6, the terminal operation time when each student operated the student terminal 6, the terminal non-operation time indicating the time from the most recent operation of the student terminal 6 to the present time. It consists of a student's video, information obtained by image recognition of the video (such as a student's hand), and speech request information generated by operating the student terminal 6 when the student wishes to speak.

  The nomination order calculation processing unit 10 digitizes and weights the student information received regarding the students participating in the lecture in accordance with the nomination order setting 2 and sets it as the nomination order determining element (steps S3 and S4). The nomination order calculation processing unit 10 generates a nomination order list in which the student list is arranged from the nomination order determination element and stores the nomination order list in the nomination processing unit 30 (step S5). When the instructor presses the nomination icon 32 on the operation unit 31, the nomination processing unit 30 automatically selects the students in order from the top of the nomination order list and shifts the selected student terminal 6 to the speech state (step) S6). After the nomination, the nomination order list is updated according to the nomination order setting (step S7). With such an operation, the instructor can nominate the student and prompt him / her to speak without having to perform an input operation for selecting one of the students.

When the instructor nominates a student, the remote lecture system executes the following two processes.
(1) A student terminal is automatically selected in response to pressing of the nomination icon 32.
(2) Allow the designated student to speak. That is, the instructor terminal 5 and the designated student terminal 6 are connected so that voice communication is possible.
These two processes are desirably performed automatically and continuously when the instructor presses the nomination icon 32. By such processing, the instructor can start voice communication with any student by always performing the same one-button input operation when requesting the student's speech.

  In the speaking state, the student terminal 6 and the lecturer terminal 5 of the designated student are connected so that two-way voice communication is possible. The voice input from the student terminal 6 of the designated student and the voice input from the lecturer terminal 5 are also distributed to the student terminal 6 of the student who participates in the lecture and is not designated. Such voice communication connection is established in one action by pressing the nomination icon 32 by the lecturer.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the update operation in the designated order when the situation changes. The nomination order calculation processing unit 10 is used for nomination order calculation processing such as entering or leaving a lecture (that is, connecting or disconnecting a lecture session established between the student terminal 6 and the lecture server 1), raising a student's hand, or the like. Monitor changes in information. If there is a change, the received change information (information indicating which student has entered, withdrawn or raised hand) is received, the nomination order determining element is calculated, and the nomination order list is updated.

  In a conventional distance lecture, when a student wishes to speak, the instructor allows him / her to speak by voluntarily raising his hand, etc., or the lecturer selects a student from the participant list. This made it possible for students to speak to instructors. In remote lectures, participants cannot see each other, and the lecturer cannot overlook the students, making it difficult to operate smoothly in two-way communication. In particular, when the instructor nominates a student, it is often difficult to select a nomination target because there is no direct acquaintance and the individual situation of the student cannot be grasped. In addition, an operation that requires several steps as a procedure is required in order to put the designated student into the speaking state.

  In the remote lecture system according to the present embodiment, a database, operation log, student grades, results of pre-questionnaires, etc., lecture attendance records, and status of students during lectures are collected and assigned to teachers according to certain standards. By providing the order in advance, it is possible to perform the nomination with a single simple operation.

  In the above description, “lecture” can be replaced with words representing an educational form, such as classes, education, seminars, and the like.

A modification of the present embodiment is shown below.
As shown in FIG. 6, a nomination order calculation processing unit 10a having a function of collecting each information and a function corresponding to the nomination order calculation processing unit 10 of FIG. 1 may exist in the lecture server 1a.
As shown in FIG. 7, the database 3 may exist on the lecture server 1.
As shown in FIG. 8, the operation log information 2 may exist on a log server 13 different from the lecture server 1 connected to the network 12.
As shown in FIG. 9, a large-scale system can be configured by a plurality of lecture servers, databases, and log servers. Lecture-related information, name order settings, and operation logs are stored outside the lecture server, enabling system expansion by adding lecture servers.

The configuration of the remote lecture system is shown. Shows the screen displayed on the remote lecture participant's terminal. The flow of data when the automatic nomination function is used is shown. Indicates the operation of the automatic nomination function. The update operation in order of nomination is shown. An example of the configuration of the remote lecture system is shown. An example of the configuration of the remote lecture system is shown. An example of the configuration of the remote lecture system is shown. An example of the configuration of the remote lecture system is shown.

Explanation of symbols

1 lecturer terminal 2 operation log 3 database 4 lecture related information 5 lecturer terminal 6 student terminal 7 student information 8 lecture information 9 student situation 10 nomination order calculation processing unit 11 nomination order setting 11a nomination order individual setting 12 network 21 lecture screen 22 operation unit 23 Participant List 24 Video Display 25 Electronic White Board 26 Sub Screen 30 Nomination Processing Unit 31 Operation Unit 32 Nomination Icon

Claims (7)

Multiple student terminals used by multiple students taking lectures,
An instructor terminal connected to the plurality of student terminals via a communication network and used by the instructor;
When a predetermined input operation is performed on the instructor terminal, a predetermined identifier is selected based on information registered in advance with respect to each of the plurality of student terminals from among student identifiers that specify each of the plurality of student terminals. A nomination order calculation processing unit for selecting one nominated student identifier according to the procedure,
A remote lecture system in which information for specifying a student corresponding to a student terminal specified by the nominated student identifier is displayed in a predetermined area of the display device of the instructor terminal. The distance lecture system according to claim 1,
The designated order calculation processing unit starts voice communication between the instructor terminal and the student terminal specified by the nominated student identifier when the designated student identifier is designated. The distance lecture system according to claim 1 or 2,
The predetermined input operation does not include an operation for specifying any of the plurality of students. The distance learning system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The nomination order calculation processing unit automatically generates and stores a nomination order list indicating the nomination order for the plurality of students,
The nominated student identifier designates the nominated student identifier one by one in accordance with the order of the stored nomination order list in response to the predetermined input operation. A distance learning system according to claim 4, wherein
The said nomination order calculation process part updates the said nomination order list according to the fluctuation | variation, when the participant who has participated in the lecture of the said lecturer among these students changes. The distance learning system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The display device of the instructor terminal displays a list of participants participating in the lecture conducted by the instructor among the plurality of students, and the nominated student identifier is the participant displayed in the list. A remote lecture system that is specified from among the student terminal identifiers that identify the student terminals. The distance learning system according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
And a database for recording student information indicating grades or attendance histories of the plurality of students in the remote lecture system,
The nomination order calculation processing unit designates the nominated student identifier based on the student information.

Images