Description

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to computerized monitoring and certification methods. More in detail, the method described below relates to the field of teaching; even more in detail, to the professional training of manual and technical crafts such as, for example, mechanics, installers, installers, electricians, designers, beauticians, cooks, etc.

Prior art

Nowadays many companies that offer training services operate on the market. Almost all are also equipped to provide remote service, via the internet.

Because of the increasingly hectic lifestyle and the need to achieve the appropriate certifications, required by law, to carry out some types of profession, this type of services are increasingly in demand, both by those who seek a job as an employee and by those who want to set up their own company.

Remote study monitoring is a subject of various international patents, such as, for example, the Chinese utility model CN 205 507 889 which describes an intelligent control and monitoring system for an entire campus. Through the acquisition of a large amount of information about each student. The system object of the invention is able to offer all members a highly personalized service that promotes everyone’s learning.

The criticalities observed in the use of online lessons, however, are not overcome either by this utility model or by the other existing inventions.

The quality of the teaching, not being certifiable according to objective criteria, in fact, makes the professionalism of those who have benefited from this type of training questionable and the problem is aggravated by the practical and manual crafts to which the present patent applies.

The traditional lessons, in the classroom, guarantee to a slightly greater, but not total, extent the quality of the student’s learning but very often they are not attended by students who have other commitments, or travel often or live far away from the institute that provides the service.

The object of the present invention is to offer an educational plan customized according to the needs, skills and professional objectives of each student. A second object is to monitor the study, the presence in the classroom and the work done in the laboratory.

A third object is to certify the examination which, being a practical work, can also be carried out with the teacher who assists remotely, while the student is in a specially equipped room.

Description of the invention

According to the present invention, a method is provided for distance teaching and certification of professional training for technical and manual crafts, which effectively solves the problems outlined above.

The method takes place according to the following steps:

(A) first design step, in which a student, records his personal profile on the memory of a dedicated server, through a dedicated web platform, setting his login credentials consisting of a combination of username and password. In this step, advantageously, he responds to a questionnaire, which may be submitted to him online, on the phone, or in person, through which a teaching manager can identify the skills, training objectives and time available to each student signed up. Following the questionnaire or interview, the teaching manager sends the student the educational project including at least:

- indication of the tutor associated with each selected study subject;

- the total hours of lesson for each selected study subject;

- the indications about the carrying out of the lessons that can be, in whole or in part, in the classroom, in the laboratory or through lessons delivered remotely via the internet that may be downloaded from the web platform;

- the work to be performed as a test to certify the learning and skills acquired and the presumed date for taking said test.

The student, accepting the proposed project, receives at the selected address at least one identification device that is univocally associated to him, consisting, purely by way of example, of a magnetic card;

(B) Second step of service provision, in which the student autonomously implements the lesson plan provided at a distance, via the Internet, downloading the didactic material, and/or the lessons in the classroom and/or the lessons in the laboratory from a special web platform. At any time, even when connected via the Internet, each student can request assistance or video assistance in real time from a tutor. The presence of the student in the classroom is advantageously certified by scanning his identification device at at least one column reader, located near the entrance to each classroom. Said column, once the student is recognized, sends to said server the “beginning lesson” data, memorizing the date and time of each student’s scan. If the educational plan provides for lectures in the laboratory, similarly, each student certifies his presence by scanning his identification device at at least one column reader, placed in each laboratory having the operation similar to that of the column reader of the classrooms. Advantageously, each laboratory is provided with at least one screen, at least one audio speaker and at least one microphone for enabling real- time communication between a student in the laboratory and at least one remotely positioned tutor. It is also contemplated that students can meet independently in the laboratory to practice or carry out in-depth studies. Advantageously, each laboratory is also equipped with at least one assistance request button adapted to request video assistance from a tutor. Advantageously, the server, in addition to memorizing the total number of lesson hours received by each student, is also capable of saving the total number of lessons provided, including video-assistance, in the personal profile of each tutor. Advantageously, depending on the study plan, it is possible that in said second step of service provision one or more intermediate tests are provided to verify the student’s preparation on a certain teaching module before moving to the next teaching module. These intermediate tests can be carried out in the classroom or in the laboratory and, if passed, the method continues with a

(C) third examination step, in which the student goes to the laboratory dedicated to the craft for which he was trained and takes a pre-established final test, within a pre- established time limit, to demonstrate his own learning. In this step, the operations of the student are advantageously recorded by a system of cameras which shoots at least one work area. Thanks to the recording of images, the presence of tutors and/or teaching managers in the laboratory is not necessarily required. In fact, they can evaluate the work carried out remotely or at a later time. In case of failure, the examination will be repeated, while, in case of passing, the method continues with a (D) fourth step of release of the certificate, in which the student receives at the pre- established address the certificate certifying his preparation for the performance of the selected craft.

Advantageously, said intermediate tests and/or said final examination may consist in the performance of an individual or group work among a plurality of students.

Given the variety of crafts and professions to which the present method is applicable, the laboratory may be specially and advantageously equipped, as well as with the tools of the craft, also with:

- a container of the teaching material or tools necessary for carrying out the intended activity, equipped with a reader capable of scanning the identification device of a student to authorize the collection of said material;

- at least one smoke sensor, to signal the presence of smoke inside the laboratory and to activate the appropriate alarms;

- at least one emergency button adapted to be pressed by a student to request prompt intervention of emergency vehicles in case of accidents.

Advantageously, following said fourth step of release of the certificate, the dedicated server collects the data related to the lessons followed by the student and to the number of hours taught by each tutor and, crossing them with the data related to outcome of the examination, provides statistical data on the effectiveness of the educational path undertaken. In particular, in the personal profile of each student, the data relative to the total study time will be memorized, divided into autonomous learning, classroom learning and laboratory learning. Advantageously at any stage, each student can provide feedback regarding their satisfaction with the course material and one or more tutors assigned to them. Similarly, in each step of said method, each tutor can provide feedback on one or more students who have been followed by him. Advantageously, said feedback data are examined by at least one teaching manager to improve the service.

Advantageously for the respect of privacy, on said web platform the students will be identified by numeric or alphanumeric codes uniquely associated to each of them.

The specific training courses for the achievement of a professional certificate, included in the method of the present invention, are, by way of non-limiting example, in the fields of: plant engineering; electronics; computer technology; renewable energies; aesthetics; kitchen; health and social disciplines.

The advantages offered by the present invention are clear in the light of the above description and will be even clearer from the accompanying figures and the related detailed description.

Description of the figures

The invention will hereinafter be described in at least one preferred embodiment thereof by way of non-limiting example with the aid of the accompanying figures, in which:

- FIGURE 1 shows the components and categories of people interacting in the method of the present invention. Shown at the top is the server 500, with the user profiles 530 and the tutor profiles 540 saved in the memory 520. The server 500 and the students 100, the tutors 200 and the teaching managers 400 communicate via a dedicated web platform 450.

- FIGURE 2 shows in plan a lesson classroom 310 in which the column reader 385 is shown for scanning the identification device 180 of each student 100 taking part in the lesson.

- FIGURE 3 shows a laboratory 300 in its most complete and accessorized embodiment.

- FIGURE 4 shows the flowchart of the method object of the present invention. Detailed description of the invention

The present invention will now be described purely by way of non-limiting or binding example with the aid of the figures, which illustrate some embodiments relative to the present inventive concept.

With reference to FIG. 4, the flowchart underlying the method object of the invention is shown.

Said method makes use of particular equipment in educational environments which are typical of teaching technical and manual professions such as, for example, cook, beautician, plumber, draftsman, installer, health assistant and many others.

The method begins with a first design step A. The student 100 initially sets his access credentials on a dedicated web platform 450 and saves his own user profile 530 saved to the memory 520 of a dedicated server 500.

Always through said web platform 450, or by phone call or through an interview, the student 100 answers a series of questions aimed at understanding the starting level, the training objectives and the time that the student 100 has available to study.

By analyzing such information, at least one teaching manager 400 develops a training plan personalized on the needs of the student 100 and submits it to him for approval. Said training plan indicates a final date for the examination, the specification of the final test to be taken, the schedule of any intermediate tests, the type of lessons provided (at home, in the classroom 310 or in the laboratory 300), the tutor 200 or the tutors 200 assigned for each subject of study and the number of hours for each subject.

Always through said web platform 450, the student 100 may request a modification of said training plan or accept it, passing to a second step of service provision B.

Upon the acceptance of the training plan, the student 100, moreover, receives at home an identification device 180, consisting of a magnetic card, which he will have to scan every time he goes in the classroom 310 or in the laboratory 300 to allow the server 500 to verify the identity of those who use the lessons and materials of the institute.

In the second step B, the student 100 implements the lesson plan.

For lessons to be followed independently, from home, he can download the educational material from the web platform 450, accessing with his own preset credentials.

For lessons in the classroom 310, the student certifies his presence by scanning the identification device 180 at a column reader 385 placed at the entrance of each classroom.

For lessons in the laboratory 300, the certification of the presence works in a similar way, with the scanning of the identification device 180 at a column reader 301 of the laboratory 300.

Said laboratory 300 is also available for in-depth studies or autonomous exercises of the students 100, alone or in groups, always after scanning the respective identification devices 180.

In its most complete embodiment, the laboratory 300 is provided with:

- a screen 320; audio speakers 340; microphone 350 and assistance request button 360, with which the students 100 can communicate in real time with at least one tutor 200 to whom they have requested a video assistance intervention;

- a smoke detector sensor 380 and an emergency button 361, to prevent any serious damage in case of accidents;

- a container 370 of the teaching material that the students 100 can use to practice after scanning their identification device 180 in a dedicated reader 371 which allows the identification of the student 100 who has stolen or damaged said material;

- a system of cameras 330 which shoot the work area 302 of the laboratory 100 to allow the tutor 200 remotely positioned to see the actions of the students 100 at work and to record the images in the server.

Even for lessons at home, via the Internet, at least one tutor 200 will always be available for video assistance for the students 100 who request it. In said second step of service provision B, one or more intermediate tests B’ may be provided to verify the preparation of the student 100 on a certain teaching module before moving to the next teaching module.

In the case of failure, the student 100 will be prepared again on the same teaching module, before proceeding to the next step.

In said second step B, the dedicated server 500 stores on the personal profile 530 of each student 100 the total number of lesson hours received and on the personal profile 540 of each tutor 200 the total number of lessons taught, including video assistance interventions.

After passing any intermediate tests, the method continues with a third step of examination C, in which the student 100 goes to the laboratory 300 dedicated to the craft for which he was prepared and takes a final pre-established test.

Thanks to the facilities of the laboratories 300, the images of the final test are saved in memory 520 of the dedicated server 500 and can also be examined at a later stage by the tutors 200 and by teaching managers 400 for evaluation.

In case of failure, the examination is repeated and, in case of passing, the method ends with a fourth and final step of release of the certificates D, which are sent to the address provided by the student 100, required by law to certify the professional skills of the student 100.

Upon completion of the method, the dedicated server 500 collects the data relative to the lessons attended by the student 100 and the number of hours taught by each tutor 200, together with any feedback provided during the teaching by both these subjects and, crossing them with the data relative to the outcome of the examination, provides statistical data on the effectiveness of the educational path and the possibilities for improving the service.

Finally, it is clear that modifications, additions or variants may be made to the invention described thus far which are obvious to a man skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of protection that is provided by the appended claims.