Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Background of the Invention
This invention relates -~o audio visual teaching
systems and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus
for utilizing televisions for interactive testing
purposes.
Audio visual teaching or testing systems in the prior
art have generally fallen into two distinct categories.
The first category includes simple motion picture or
videotape programs offering instruction for the benefit of
students and permitting students to experience, through
the medium of video projection, a wide variety of subject
matter. The second general class of prior art audio
visual ~eaching equipment utilizes still projection or
motion video projection of events leading to a question
which must be answered by the student. Such equipment
mayj for example, be computer controlled such that, when a
student has made his choice, the equipment notifies the
student as to whether his choice was correct or incorrect
and often arranges the teaching set to conform wi~h the
student's learning progress. Both of these forms of audio
visual equipment have serious limitations. The simple
video projections, although it may be engrossing to the
student, permits no interaction whatsoever, so that it is
impossible to determine a student's retention utilizing
the equipment or to have the student in~eract with the
equipment. Since interaction requires a degree of
involvement of the students in a learning process, simple
video projection is only partially successful for
educational purposes.
The second form o~ audio visual teaching equipment
permits a certain degree of interaction. The limitation
in this case, however, is the fact that, when a student
makes an incorrect choice, the equipment notifies him that
this choice is incorrect and either repeats the previous
question or permits him to proceed to new questions. This
type of interaction is similar to the effect on the child
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or telling the child, for example, that it is unsafe to
enter a busy street. The child may accept this statement,
but the mere sta~ement can never have the effect that
seeing the accident occur in the busy street can have.
Thus, although there is a certain degree of feedback in
such equipment, the feedback is a simple positive or
negative response, and does not reinforce the student's
learning through experience. A further form of audio
visual equipment is disclosed in my prior patent, No.
4,170,832, issued October 16, 1979, relating to an
interactive teaching machine having integral means for
presenting a plurality of programs. ~n response to the
scenario presented in the prerecorded video information, a
student may select any one of the alternatives by
manipulating the device to access a program stored in the
machine.
The pr~sent invention provides a method and apparatus
for implementing an interactive teaching technique via a
household television set and a television broadcast
station(s). Thus the inventive aspects described and
claimed in my previous patent can be made available to a
broad range of students withou~ requiring that each
student have a specially adapted video machine.
Summary of the Invention
The present invention alleviates difficulties in the
prior art apparatus for audio visual teaching ~y utilizing
the engrossing medium of television presentation to not
only present alternative choices to the user, but to allow
the user, by selection of a particular station, to view
the li~ely consequences of his choice. The only equipment
a user need have is a television. A broadcast station or
stations 11 broadcasts film sequences followed by an
indication of possible alternatives. The selection of
alternatives by the user is affected by the selection of
the appropriate channel 21, 23, 25, 27, 29. Each channel
corresponds to a possible alternative and broadcasts video
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information corresponding to the likely outcome of the
associated alternative selected by the user. The video
information broadcast on each channel 21, 23, 25, 27, 29
is tim~ed to correlate wlth the presentation of the
educational scenario.
It may be helpful to a complete understanding of the
invention to cite an example~ If the equipment of this
invention were utilized in training medical users, the
initial or introductory motion video sequence could depict
an emergency room in a hospital with an entering
patient. During this introductory sequence, an indication
sequence presenting certain diagnostic tests are
administered on the patient and the user is apprised,
through the video sequence of the outcome of the
diagnostic tests. At the completion of the initial
sequence, plural choices of actions, such as the
administration of plural different medications, can be
presented on the television for the user. The video
projection then pauses and the user selects the channel
21, 23, 25, 27, 29 corresponding to the medication which
he deems appropriate for treating the patient~ After he
has made his selection, the video program on the selected
channel presents the likely consequences of that
selectionO If, for example, the medication which the user
selects is seriously incorrect7 a consequence sequence on
the channel associated with that incorrect selection could
depict the patient convulsing and dying. If, on the other
hand, the medication has no effect on the patient's
condition, the scene which would be depicted would show
neither improvement nor degradation in the patient's
condition. If the user selected a medication which
assisted the patient, the selected scene would show such
improvement.
The invention has application in almost every field of
learning, it having been found that the television medium
is engrossing and readily available to the user, holds his
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awareness longer than almost any form of instruction, is
available in almost every home, and can reinforce the
user's learning by allowing him to experience, through
motion video sequences, the consequences of his choices.
The advantages of this invention are best understood
through the following detailed description which
references the drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a block diagram of a system incorporating
the present invention, wherein a plurality of channels are
broadcast by a single transmission station; and
Figure 2 is a block diagram of a transmission system
incorporating the present invention, wherein transmission
is accomplished by a plurality of broadcast stations.
Detailed Description
1S As shown in Figure 1, transmission station 11 may
broadcast a signal to a plurality of mediums which may be
displayed at televisions 13, 15, 17J and 19. In the
embodiment illustrated in Figure 1, station 11 broadcasts
on five separate channels. For example, the transmission
to television 15 comprises a separate transmission on each
of channels 21, 23, 25, 27, and 29. Video information
depicting the scenario to be tested upon may be
transmitted on one or more of stations 219 23, 25, 27, or
29. If only one station depicts that scenario, a user at
television 15 would initially tune the television to that
station. At the completion of the testing scenario,
(i.e., completion of the introductory and indication
sequences) the video in~ormation would depict a plurality
of alternatives to a user, such as a student. Each
alternative would correspond to a separate television
channel~ ~y selecting the channel corresponding to the
desired alternative, the user would indicate his choice.
For example, the testing scenario might be presented
on channel 25. Upon completion of that scenario the
possible alternatives might be indicated by tuning the
television to channel 21, 23, 27, or 29. Af~er a brief
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delay to allow the user to make his choice, the video
information could be transmitted on channels 21, 23, 27l
and 29, corresponding to the likely consequences of the
choices associated with those channels.
The video information associated with channels 21, 23,
27, and 29 would therefore be synchronized with the video
information transmitted on channel 25 in order to allow
the depiction of the likely consequence to occur a short
period after the conclusion of the testing scenario on
channel 25. The length of the delay between the
conclusion of the testing scenario and the beginning of
the consequence scenario on each channel is a matter of
design choice and may be eliminated or selected in view of
the complexity of the scenario presented and the
sophistication of the users likely to utilize the
system. Channel synchronization may be accomplished by
any of a number of commercially available processors such
as the programmable digital processor, PDP-11 produced by
Digital Equipment Corporation.
It should also be recognized that a testing scenario
may be presented on more than one channel. Indeed, it is
anticipated that a common testing scenario may be
broadcast on each channel in order to eliminate the need
for resetting the television channel select switch after
each choice.
The connection between transmission station 11 and
television 15 is accomplished by a plurality of wires each
accommodating an individual channel. Connection 31 is a
single wire depiction of each o~ those separate
connections between station 11 and television 15.
As an alternative to the hardwired connections between
station 11 and television 15, radio frequency signals on a
plurality of discreet channels may be broadcast by station
11 and received at the television used by the user. As
shown in Figure 1, signals from station 11 may be
broadcast in a plurality of channels at television
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frequencies and received at television 13. The signals
from station 11 to antenna 31, via connection 33, may
include a plurality of discreet signals, each of which is
broadcast at a separate television frequencyO A user at
S television 13 will receive those signals via receive
antenna 35 and connection 37. Presentation of the testing
scenario and presentation of the possible alternatives
will proceed as described in connection with television
15.
As a further alternative to the embodiments previously
described, the signals from station 11 may be broadcast by
microwave transmission antenna 39 via connection 41. As
with the embodiments previously described, the signals
broadcast by microwave transmission station 39 may include
a plurality of discreet signals, each of which corresponds
to a separate television channel. Microwave receive
station 43 ma~ be adapted to receive the signal ~rom
station 11 and convert that signal into a plurality of
discreet television channels which are communicated to and
may be selected by users at televisions 17 and 19.
In the embodiment illustrated at Figure 1, a single
television broadcast station 11 is adapted to broadcast on
a plurality of discreet ~elevision channels. The
embodiment illustrated at Figure 2 depicts a construction
~5 wherein a separate broadcast station transmits the video
information contained in each discreet channel.
The embodiment illustrated in Figure 2 includes
television transmit stations 49, 51, 53, 55, and 57.
Those stations transmit a signal which is received at
television 59 via transmission antennas 61, 63, 65, 67,
and 69, respectively. For convenience, the signals
transmitted from transmission antennas 61, 63, 65, 67, and
69 are represented by a single signal path 71 directed to
televisions 59 and 73 via receive antenna 75. The
multichannel signal received at antenna 75 is communicated
to televisions 59 and 73 via connections 77 and 79,
respectively.
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As with the embodiment illustrated at Figure 1,
transmission of the consequence scenario should be
correlated to transmission of the teaching scenario. As
also described in connection with Figure 1, each of the
channels may transmit the teaching scenario.
It should be noted that regardless of the ~ransmission
scheme selected, the user at the television station will
perceive the testing and consequence scenarios ln the same
fashion.
As will be recognized by one skilled in the art,
various modifications o~ the transmission scheme may be
implemented without departing ~rom the scope of the
present invention which is described in the appended
claims.
