Technical field

The present disclosure relates to a method, a server for providing an interactive environment for a learning process, a computer program product and a computer readable storage medium. More specifically, the disclosure relates to a method, a server for providing an interactive environment for a learning process, a computer program product and a computer readable storage medium as defined in the introductory parts of the independent claims.

Background art

In the digitalized world today, more and more services are provided digitally. Digitalization makes more and more information available to everyone on for example computers, pads and smartphones.

Today, many schools and universities provide online access to schedules and information regarding for example grades; often through a web portal. There are also online classrooms such as google classroom and Microsoft classroom. These online services handle different documents for teachers and students, organize these and enable communication between the users that are online in the virtual "classroom".

Lately interactive environments for the learning process where the interactive environment is accessible by a student or parent and a teacher has been introduced to make the learning process more efficient and easier to organize.

Since schools and the learning process are such an important aspect of our society, it is important to make the process as efficient as possible.

Summary

It is an object of the present disclosure to mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies and disadvantages in the prior art and solve at least the above mentioned problem. According to a first aspect there is provided a method, performed in at least one server, for storing content and providing an interactive environment for a learning process, the interactive environment being accessible by at least a first user, the method comprising: sending, to a first electronic device, content based on identification information of the first user, wherein the content is associated with the learning process for the first user; wherein the content comprises a lesson schedule with lessons specifying each subject according to a curriculum associated with the first user; receiving, from the first electronic device, a request for information regarding a specific subject; determining, based on the request for information, the identification information of the first user, and the curriculum associated with the first user, what information regarding the specific subject is relevant information for the first user; determining a specific digital education material associated with the determined relevant information; sending the subject specific information to the first electronic device; and sending at least a link to the specific digital education material to the first electronic device.

An advantage is that the content provided for the user is specific for the authenticated user and thus personalized. Furthermore, the lesson schedule and associated digital education material provided to the user is associated to a curriculum associated with the user.

A further advantage is that the user can request information regarding a specific subject and receive information and digital education material that is based on the curriculum. In other words, a student can request information regarding a specific subject and know that the information she/he receives is the information specified in a curriculum for the subject. The user can further also attend the education by viewing the digital education material and fulfill that educational part of the curriculum. The subject specific information according to a curriculum is also relevant for a parent using the method to see what information her/his child is supposed to work on. The parent may also view the digital education material to get a better understanding of the education of his/her child. For a teacher it is a good tool to use too, for example, plan lessons and use as a platform for linking digital education material to subject specific information of the lesson schedule and the curriculum. The present disclosure thus provides for an environment that makes information regarding the learning process and education material easily available for all parts in the process, such as teachers, students, parents and principals.

A still further advantage is that an interactive environment for the learning process is provided which is secure, due to the authentication procedure.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises opening the specific digital education material on the first electronic device to enable viewing of the specific digital education material on a display of the first electronic device. A user may thus check a personal educational schedule at any time and also view the educational material on an electronic device.

According to some embodiments, the specific digital education material is a live video or audio stream of education. An advantage of that is that a person may check the personal schedule and at the time of a lesson directly attend the lesson via a link in the schedule. The schedule is thus a central point from where the user may find information every important aspect of the education, including the educational material itself.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises receiving and storing the complete specific digital education material associated with the determined relevant information from the at least one server at the electronic device. The user may then advantageously take part of a lesson or view the lesson material at any time also without a network connection at a later point in time.

According to some embodiments, the specific digital education material is comprised in a group consisting of: a video material, an audio file, an image file, a word processing document, a portable document format file, a spread sheet document file and a presentation. Any digital education material may thus be linked to specific lesson or subject

According to some embodiments, the method comprises sending a confirmation to the server if the first user has viewed the specific digital education material. In that way it is noted that a user has attended a lesson by viewing the material associated with the lesson in question, which is especially important to know in remote education.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises checking the identity of the student by using a camera of the first electronic device and facial recognition when the first user views the specific digital education material. In that way it is determined if a student really attended the lesson, and not only opened the material, by e.g. letting it play in the background. It could by image recognition also be determined if the eyes of the student was viewing the education material or not during the lesson. A threshold of eyes-on-material for earning attendance of a lesson could be set.

According to some embodiments the schedule send a notification to the first electronic device to remind the user of a lesson that is either remote via video or a normal lesson at an educational facility. The reminder could be set on or off by the user, the user being a student or a parent. According to some embodiments, the method comprises: sending an alert to the electronic device if the user has not viewed the specific digital education material before a predetermined time and therby is out of phase with the curriculum. The user may e.g. be given a time period before the un-attendance is reported by the system as an indication that then user is out of phase with the schedule.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises sending a request to a second user device associated with a second user notifying the second user of the request for information by the first electronic device; receiving input, from the second user, regarding relevant specific digital education material associated with the determined relevant information. A teacher may thereby communicate directly via the lesson schedule with a specific student regarding something that is specific for that student. The teacher may also provide information regarding that lesson, relevant information or specific digital education material to all students having the specific lesson.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises receiving a personal message from the second user intended for the first user, the personal message the method comprises information regarding the subject specific information or the specific digital education material. The personal message is a text message, pre-recorded audio message, a prerecorded video message, a live video call or a live audio call. In that way the second user may send personalized information to a student, e.g. about some part of the education that is tailored for that student and his/her specific need.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises comparing information regarding what subject specific information has been handled during lessons with the curriculum associated with the first user; and determining whether the first user is in phase with the curriculum; further basing the determination of the subject specific information or the specific digital education material on the determination whether the first user is in phase with the curriculum. An automated way of determining if the student is in phase is thus achieved.

According to some embodiments, the second user is a teacher.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises: receiving a lesson plan from the teacher regarding at least one lesson of a subject; and receiving a specific digital education material associated with the lesson; updating stored subject specific information based on the lesson plan and linking the specific digital education material. The teacher may thus edit the schedule and the education material associated with the lessons.

According to some embodiments, the first user is a student.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises receiving an interactive digital test from the teacher regarding a specific subject; and updating stored subject specific information by associating the interactive digital test. A test may thereby be provided to the students of a class and the test may be taken remotely.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises providing the interactive digital test for one or a plurality of specific subjects to the first electronic device, receiving answers to each test from the first electronic device entered by the student. The user may thereby take tests remotely without the need to go to the school or education facility.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises continuously checking the identity of the student during the test by using a camera of the first electronic device and facial recognition. Thereby it can be determined that the correct person took the test.

According to some embodiments, the first user is a parent. The subject specific information according to a curriculum and the associated digital education material is often relevant for a parent to see what information her/his child is supposed to work on. For a teacher it is a good tool to use to, for example, plan lessons. The present disclosure thus provides for an environment that makes information regarding the learning process easily available for all parts in the process such as teachers, students, parents and principals.

According to a second aspect there is provided a server for providing an interactive environment for a learning process, the interactive environment being accessible by at least one user, the server comprising: a communication interface; processing circuitry configured to cause the server to execute the method steps of the first aspect.

According to a third aspect there is provided a computer program product comprising instructions adapted to carry out the method of the first aspect.

According to a fourth aspect there is provided a computer readable storage medium comprising a computer program product according to the first aspect.

Effects and features of the second through fourth aspects are to a large extent analogous to those described above in connection with the first aspect. Embodiments mentioned in relation to the first aspect are largely compatible with the the second through fourth aspects.

The present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description given below. The detailed description and specific examples disclose preferred embodiments of the disclosure by way of illustration only. Those skilled in the art understand from guidance in the detailed description that changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the disclosure.

Hence, it is to be understood that the herein disclosed disclosure is not limited to the particular component parts of the device described or steps of the methods described since such device and method may vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting. It should be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claim, the articles "a", "an", "the", and "said" are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements unless the context explicitly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a unit" or "the unit" may include several devices, and the like. Furthermore, the words "comprising", "including", "containing" and similar wordings does not exclude other elements or steps.

Brief descriptions of the drawings

The above objects, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure, will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following illustrative and non-limiting detailed description of example embodiments of the present disclosure, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a flow chart of the method according to the present disclosure.

Figure 2 shows a schematic view of an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed description

The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred example embodiments of the disclosure are shown. The disclosure may, however, be embodied in other forms and should not be construed as limited to the herein disclosed embodiments. The disclosed embodiments are provided to fully convey the scope of the disclosure to the skilled person.

With reference to Figure 1, the first aspect of this disclosure shows a method, performed in at least one server 1, for storing content and providing an interactive environment for a learning process. The interactive environment is accessible by at least a first user. The method comprising at least the following. Sending SB, to a first electronic device 2, content based on identification information of the first user, wherein the content is associated with the learning process for the first user. The content comprises a lesson schedule with lessons specifying each subject according to a curriculum associated with the first user. The method is then receiving S4, from the first electronic device 2, a request for information regarding a specific subject. Based on the request for information, the identification information of the first user, and the curriculum associated with the first a determination S5 of what information regarding the specific subject is relevant information for the first user is made. A specific digital education material associated with the determined relevant information is determined S6 and the subject. The specific information is then sent S7 to the first electronic device. Further, at least a link to the specific digital education material is also sent S8 to the first electronic device 2.

The user is thereby provided with personalized specific content for the authenticated user. The lesson schedule and associated digital education material provided to the user is associated to a curriculum associated with the user. The user can request information regarding a specific subject and receive information and digital education material that is based on the curriculum. In case the user is a student, the student can request information regarding a specific subject and know that the information received is the information specified in a curriculum for the subject. The user can then if appropriate or desired attend the education by viewing the digital education material and fulfill that educational part of the curriculum. The subject specific information according to a curriculum may also relevant for a parent using the method to see what information the student is supposed to work on. The parent may view the digital education material to get a better understanding of the education of his/her child. Teachers may use the disclosed method to plan lessons and may also use it as a platform for linking digital education material to subject specific information of the lesson schedule and the curriculum. The teacher may use the disclosed method to conduct remote education for a student or an entire class of students. A single teacher may then hold classes for a much larger number of students at the same time.

The present disclosure thus provides for an environment that makes information regarding the learning process and education material easily available for all parts in the process; such as teachers, students, parents and principals. The interactive environment for the learning process is thus secure and also personalized to each student or its parent.

The sending S3 step may be preceded by receiving SI, from the electronic device, an authentication request, wherein the authentication request comprising identification information of a user, and then authenticating S2 the user. It is thereby established that only the intended user receives information via the environment.

The specific digital education material may be opened S10 on the first electronic device to enable viewing of the specific digital education material on a display of the first electronic device 2. A personal educational schedule at any time and educational material may thereby be viewed remotely by the student and/or parent. A student may thereby take lessons externally.

The specific digital education material may also be a live video or audio stream of education enabling the possibility to run education remotely directly accessible for each student via the interactive environment. The student thus has all education gathered in the lesson schedule provided by the environment and can take part in live education classes via a link in the lesson schedule. As the content is personalized for the student this allows for a more diverse education than is possible when a class of 20-40 students need to be gathered in a classroom. With the disclosed method the lesson schedule may be more individualized.

The complete specific digital education material associated with the determined relevant information from the at least one server may be received and stored S9 at the electronic device on a memory 13. The specific digital education material may be any digital education material e.g. a video material, an audio file, an image file, a word processing document, a portable document format file, a spread sheet document file or a presentation.

The electronic device 2 may send a confirmation to the server if the first user has viewed the specific digital education material. It is thus noted if a user has attended a lesson by viewing the material associated with the lesson in question, which is especially important to know in remote education. The interactive education environment thereby keeps track of attendance of classes and determines if the student is in phase with the education.

To that end the electronic device 2 may check the identity of the student by using a camera (not shown) and facial recognition software when the first user views the specific digital education material.

The first electronic device 2 may then send an alert to the user if the user has not viewed the specific digital education material before a predetermined time and therby is out of phase with the curriculum.

A request may further be sent Sll to a second user device 3 associated with a second user, e.g. a teacher, notifying the second user of the request for information by the first electronic device; receiving input, from the second user, regarding relevant specific digital education material associated with the determined relevant information. The first electronic device may receive S12 a personal message from the second user intended for the first user, the personal message comprising the information regarding the subject specific information or the specific digital education material. The personal message is a text message, pre-recorded audio message, a prerecorded video message, a live video call or a live audio call.

The environment further compares S13 information regarding what subject specific information has been handled during lessons with the curriculum associated with the first user; and determining whether the first user is in phase with the curriculum; further basing the determination of the subject specific information or the specific digital education material on the determination whether the first user is in phase with the curriculum.

The environment may receive S7-2 a lesson plan from the teacher regarding at least one lesson of a subject and receiving S8-2 a specific digital education material associated with the lesson. The stored subject specific information based on the lesson plan and specific digital education material may thereby be updated S9-2 on the server 1 and pushed to the electronic device 2 of the student.

The server 1 may further receive S14 an interactive digital test from the teacher regarding a specific subject and the stored subject specific information may be updated S15 by associating the interactive digital test. The electronic device 2 of the student may then be provided S16 with the interactive digital test for one or a plurality of specific subjects to the first electronic device. The student takes the test, provides answers on the first electronic device and send then to the server 1. The electronic device 2 may continuously check S18 the identity of the student during the test by using a camera of the first electronic device and facial recognition to make sure that the correct student takes the test. The server may continuously sends requests to the first electronic device for identification of the first user via facial recognition. The facial recognition may be made on the first electronic device or at the server. The server thus receives either an identification result or an image for checking the identification at the server.

The second aspect of this disclosure shows a server 1 for providing an interactive environment for a learning process, the interactive environment being accessible by at least one user, the server comprising: a communication interface 11 and processing circuitry 12 configured to cause the server 1 to execute the method steps of the first aspect.

The third aspect of this disclosure shows a computer program product comprising instructions adapted to carry out the method of the first aspect. The computer program is installed on the server as a server version. Further, the computer program may also be installed as a client version on the first electronic device and on the second electronic device in limited client version. All steps of the disclosed method is thereby via the computer program made executable at the device intended to execute each method step of the disclosure.

The fourth aspect of this disclosure shows a computer readable storage medium comprising a computer program product according to the first aspect.

With reference to Figure 2, the server 1 of the second aspect that is used in method according to the first aspect is shown. The student uses the first electronic device 2 may be a smart, phone, laptop, stationary computer or any other electronic device with network connection, a display, a camera, a microphone, a memory and processing capability for viewing the schedule and digital material of the disclosed method. The second electronic device 3 used by the teacher is also a smart, phone, laptop, stationary computer or any other electronic device with network connection, a display, a camera, a microphone, a memory and processing capability for creating and viewing the schedule and record or view digital material of the disclosed method. All of the devices are connected to a network 5. The network is preferably the Internet but it may also be a closed network, a virtual private network provided over the Internet or any network where the users of the environment may connect to the server. The person skilled in the art realizes that the present disclosure is not limited to the preferred embodiments described above. The person skilled in the art further realizes that modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the appended claims. For example, the server may be a cloud service run on a virtual server and the communication between the devices may be over a wired network or over a wireless network, where the wireless network may be any type with bandwidth enough for performing the disclosed method, as e.g. WiFi. It is further understood that the first electronic device 2 of the student in Figure 2 is provided as an illustration of the method and that the environment naturally may have a vast number of students as users where each student is using an electronic device like the first electronic device described in connection to Figure 2 and in the aspects of the disclosure. Additionally, variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by the skilled person in practicing the claimed disclosure, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.