JP7511888B2 - Online self-study system, self-study management method, and computer program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a technology that allows multiple learners to study independently while making video calls.

For learners to continue studying, self-study at home, that is, home study, is extremely important. Traditionally, securing enough time for home study was left to the learner's own motivation and the support of their family. In particular, when the learner was a child, the family would sometimes have to encourage the learner to study at home, which placed a heavy burden on the family, creating an issue. Also, it was sometimes difficult for learners to maintain their motivation to study at home on their own. Therefore, there is a need for techniques to encourage and sustain motivation in home study.

In this regard, Patent Document 1 discloses a remote control system in which a plurality of student terminals are connected to a teacher terminal via the Internet, and lesson data consisting of text and images, or lesson data with voice added thereto, is exchanged in real time between the teacher terminal and the student terminal. It also discloses that in self-study mode, when a student operates a means for communicating a question, a one-to-one connection is established between the teacher terminal and a specific student terminal, and a question and answer session and individual instruction is conducted with the student. Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration in which study time and study content are input and stored by self-reporting. Patent Document 3 discloses a configuration in which a registration is accepted specifying a scheduled date and time for studying, and an implementation confirmation is accepted to confirm the implementation of the study, and a notification is issued a predetermined time before the scheduled date and time specified in the registration to encourage the student to study.

JP 2001-337589 A JP 2019-159817 A JP 2019-61187 A

However, the configuration of Patent Document 1 is designed for an instructor to teach lessons, and does not stimulate motivation for home study. Furthermore, even in self-study mode, although questions can be asked of the instructor, it does not stimulate motivation in learners who lack motivation. The configuration of Patent Document 2 requires the effort of managing and inputting one's own study time, which is particularly difficult for child learners. With the configuration of Patent Document 3, home study must be done by oneself, making it difficult to maintain motivation. In other words, none of the above documents discloses technology to stimulate and sustain motivation in home study.

One of the objectives of the present invention is to motivate learners in home study and encourage them to continue.

In order to achieve the above object, an online self-study system according to one aspect of the present invention is an online self-study system that interconnects multiple learner terminals and displays images captured on the learner terminals in real time on the other learner terminals, and includes a video call unit that receives images captured on the learner terminals and transmits them to the other learner terminals, a learner information storage unit that stores information about the learner using the learner terminal, a login unit that accepts login processing for the online self-study system from the learner terminal, a display control unit that displays an attendance button on the screen of the learner terminal in response to the login processing and an exit button on the screen in response to pressing the attendance button, a self-study time calculation unit that calculates the time from when the attendance button is pressed to when the exit button is pressed as the self-study time, and a self-study information display unit that accumulates the self-study time for each learner over a predetermined period and displays the accumulated self-study time in association with the learner on at least a management terminal different from the learner terminal.

The learner information storage unit may store at least the learner's identification information and the learner's facial authentication data in association with each other, and the login unit may perform the login process for the learner by comparing a facial image captured by an imaging unit provided in the learner terminal with the learner's facial authentication data.

The learner information storage unit may store the learner's self-study schedule, and when the attendance button is pressed during a time period when self-study is scheduled in the self-study schedule, an attendance record indicating that the learner attended the self-study session may be stored in the learner information storage unit.

The learner information storage unit stores the identification information of the learner in association with contact information for a contact person other than the learner, and may further include a communication processing unit that notifies the contact person when at least one of the login process, pressing of the attendance button, and pressing of the leave button is performed.

The display control unit may be further connected to an instructor terminal that displays the image captured by the learner terminal in real time, and the display control unit may display a reaction button on the learner terminal for inputting the learner's reaction, and when the reaction button is pressed, a display corresponding to the input may be displayed at least in the display area of the image captured by the learner terminal on the instructor terminal.

The learner terminal may be further connected to an instructor terminal that displays the video captured by the learner terminal in real time, and the display control unit may display a question button on the learner terminal and, when the question button is pressed, display a confirmation button on the instructor terminal, and the video calling unit may, when the confirmation button is pressed, initiate a private call in which audio and video are transmitted between the learner terminal and the instructor terminal, and at least the audio is not played on the other learner terminals.

In order to achieve the above object, a self-study management method according to another aspect of the present invention is a method for managing self-study using an online self-study system that connects multiple learner terminals to each other and displays images captured by the learner terminals on the other learner terminals in real time, the online self-study system having a learner information storage unit that stores information about the learner using the learner terminal, and includes a video call step of receiving images captured by the learner terminal and transmitting them to the other learner terminals, a login step of accepting a login process to the online self-study system from the learner terminal, a display control step of displaying an attendance button on the screen of the learner terminal in response to the login process and displaying an exit button on the screen in response to pressing the attendance button, a self-study time calculation step of calculating the time from pressing the attendance button to pressing the exit button as the self-study time, and a self-study information display step of accumulating the self-study time for each learner over a predetermined period and displaying the self-study time in association with the learner on at least a management terminal different from the learner terminal.

In order to achieve the above object, a computer program according to another aspect of the present invention is a computer program for controlling an online self-study system that interconnects multiple learner terminals and displays images captured on the learner terminals on the other learner terminals in real time, the online self-study system having a learner information storage unit that stores information about the learner using the learner terminal, and causes the computer to execute a video call command to receive images captured on the learner terminal and transmit them to the other learner terminals, a login command to accept a login process for the online self-study system from the learner terminal, a display control command to display an attendance button on the screen of the learner terminal in response to the login process and an exit button on the screen in response to pressing the attendance button, a self-study time calculation command to calculate the time from when the attendance button is pressed to when the exit button is pressed as the self-study time, and a self-study information display command to accumulate the self-study time for each learner over a predetermined period and display the accumulated self-study time in association with the learner on at least a management terminal different from the learner terminal.

The computer program can be provided by storing it on various data-readable recording media, or by downloading it via a network such as the Internet.

The present invention can motivate students to continue studying at home.

1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration and functions of an online self-learning system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows an example of a data table stored in an online self-study system according to an embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is an example of a learner information table, and (b) is an example of an attendance table that stores the attendance of learners for each self-study time period. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a data table stored in an online self-study system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is an example of an individual record table in which the history of the self-study time of an individual learner is stored. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a learner's terminal in an online self-study system according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a schematic diagram showing an example of a screen for performing attendance processing after login processing, and (b) is a schematic diagram showing an example of a screen displayed during self-study. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on an instructor terminal in an online self-study system according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a schematic diagram showing how a reaction icon is displayed in response to an input from the learner terminal, and (b) is a schematic diagram showing how the question button is pressed on the learner terminal. 1A is a sequence diagram showing an example of an attendance process among the processes executed in the online self-study system according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a sequence diagram showing an example of an absence process. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a private call process among the processes executed in the online self-study system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Online Self-Learning System Hereinafter, an online self-learning system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The online self-study system of this embodiment connects multiple learners via real-time video calls during self-study via their learner terminals, and manages the planned self-study time and the actual amount of self-study time for each learner.

The online self-study system is intended to be used by multiple learners and parents, as well as instructors and administrators.
A learner is a person who uses an online self-study system to self-study, and may be an adult or a child.
The guardian is the learner's guardian.
The instructor is a person who supervises the learner's self-study online, and is, for example, a lecturer at a school or a cram school.
The administrator is a person who manages the learning records of the learners and the teaching records of the instructors, and continuously follows up on the learning of the learners. The administrator may be the same person as the instructor.

1, the learner, instructor, manager, and guardian each use a learner terminal 10, instructor terminal 20, management terminal 30, and guardian terminal 40, and use these to exchange data with the online self-study device 1. The configuration of each terminal will be described later, and may be realized, for example, by a smart device or personal computer capable of data communication.
The online self-learning device 1 may be configured as an online self-learning system by a plurality of devices connected to each other via a network. In addition, some or all of the devices constituting the online self-learning system may be realized by a server or a cloud computer.

The learner terminal 10 is a terminal used by a learner for self-study, and is used, for example, at home or in a study room. A plurality of learner terminals 10a, 10b, and 10c are simultaneously connected to the online self-study device 1. The number of learner terminals 10 is arbitrary, and for example, the number of learner terminals 10 equal to the number of students belonging to one or more classes in a school or a cram school may log in to this online self-study system simultaneously. The learner terminal 10a includes an imaging unit 11a that captures an image of a learner studying in front of the learner terminal 10a, a sound collection unit 12a that collects the voice of the learner, a display unit 13a that displays images and the like acquired by other learner terminals 10b and 10c, and an input unit 14a that allows the learner to process attendance and input responses and the like.
The learner terminal 10 is activated during the learner's self-study, and displays images acquired by other learner terminals 10 in real time.

The learner's terminal 10 may also play video lessons that the learner views during self-study, and accept input of answers that the learner selects or writes. Note that this online self-study system manages and supports self-study online, and the learner does not necessarily need to perform self-study on the terminal. In other words, the learner may log into the system using the learner's terminal 10, and then perform self-study using paper media such as textbooks, notebooks, or handouts.

The instructor terminal 20 is a terminal that allows an instructor to supervise the self-study of the learners, and is connected to multiple learner terminals 10 during self-study time. The instructor terminal 20 includes an imaging unit 21 that captures images of the instructor, a sound collection unit 22 that collects the instructor's voice, a display unit 23 that displays images and other data acquired by the multiple learner terminals 10, and an input unit 24 through which the instructor makes appropriate inputs.

The management terminal 30 is a terminal used by the administrator to manage the self-study status of learners, etc. The management terminal 30 displays information on each learner's self-study record, etc., that is accumulated in the online self-study device 1.

The parent terminal 40 is a terminal used by parents and receives notifications of students' attendance and absence. The system can send notifications individually to multiple parent terminals 40a, 40b, and 40c.

The online self-study device 1 is a device that supports learners' continuous self-study by connecting multiple learner terminals to each other and displaying images captured on a learner terminal on the other learner terminals in real time, and also manages the learner's self-study results.
This online self-study device 1 is realized by, for example, a server equipped with an arithmetic unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a computer program executed by the CPU, and internal memories such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The online self-study device 1 thus constitutes functional blocks consisting of a login unit 11, a display control unit 12, an attendance processing unit 13, a video calling unit 14, a self-study time calculation unit 15, a self-study information display unit 16, a communication processing unit 17, a learner information storage unit 1A, and an image storage unit 1B.

The login unit 11 is a functional unit that accepts login processing for the online self-study system from the learner terminal 10. The login unit 11 accepts, for example, an ID and a password input from the learner terminal 10. Then, it compares the ID and password with those stored in the learner information storage unit 1A and performs login processing for the learner terminal 10.
The login unit 11 may also perform login processing by collating a face image captured by the imaging unit 11a with face authentication data of the learner stored in the learner information storage unit 1A. This configuration eliminates the need for the learner to input an ID and password. It also ensures that the learner is logging in by himself/herself, and prevents impersonation by others.

The display control unit 12 is a functional unit that displays screens related to online self-study on the display units of the learner terminal 10 and the instructor terminal 20. For example, the display control unit 12 displays, on the display unit 13a of the learner terminal 10, images acquired from other learner terminals 10, images acquired from the instructor terminal 20, an attend button B101, an leave button B102, a response button B103, and a question button B104 (see FIGS. 4(a) and (b)). The display control unit 12 also displays, on the display unit 23 of the instructor terminal 20, images acquired from the learner terminal 10, a response icon G202, a classroom transfer button G203, a question icon G204, a confirmation button G205, and the like (see FIGS. 5(a) and (b)). The operations associated with pressing each button will be described later.

The attendance/exit processing unit 13 is a functional unit that accepts pressing of the attendance button B101 and the absence button B102, and accepts attendance processing and absence processing of the learner terminal 10. This configuration is convenient because it eliminates the need for the instructor to separately confirm attendance.

With a configuration in which login processing, attendance processing, and leaving processing are performed independently, when the self-study screen G102 is closed and self-study is continued, the self-study time can be accurately timed even if the user is logged out of the online self-study system. A case in which the self-study screen G102 is closed and self-study is continued would be, for example, when the user transitions from the self-study screen G102 to another screen, such as a screen displaying a lesson video. With this configuration, the self-study time is timed by actively performing the attendance processing and leaving processing, so the self-study time can be reliably timed.

In addition, instead of the above-mentioned configuration, the attendance processing unit 13 may perform attendance processing in response to login processing by the login unit 11, and may perform leaving processing in response to logout processing. With this configuration, self-study time is counted by logging in, so fewer operations are required and it is simple.

The video call unit 14 is a functional unit that connects multiple logged-in learner terminals 10 and the instructor terminal 20 during self-study hours to conduct real-time video calls. The video call unit 14 transmits audio and video collected by the learner terminal 10a to the other learner terminals 10b, 10c and the instructor terminal 20, and transmits audio and video collected by the other learner terminals 10b, 10c and the instructor terminal 20 to the learner terminal 10a.

With this configuration, students can check the status of other students in real time, which gives them an opportunity to start self-study and keeps them motivated to continue, even in an environment where they must study alone, such as at home. In addition, with a configuration where students are connected to the instructor's terminal 20 by video call during self-study, the presence of the instructor allows students to study with a sense of urgency.

The video call unit 14 may also record the video acquired by the learner terminal 10 and the instructor terminal 20 and store the video data. The video data is stored in the video storage unit 1B. The stored video data is played back by, for example, the management terminal 30. The stored video data may be converted and stored into data with lower image quality or smaller data capacity than the acquired video. With this configuration, the content of instruction by the instructor can be confirmed after the fact, so that even if there is an inquiry from the learner or the guardian of the learner, a discussion can be carried out based on an objective record. Since this online self-study system is expected to be used particularly by child learners, a configuration that allows the video during self-study to be confirmed after the fact can provide a sense of security to guardians who are not always supervising during self-study.

Furthermore, the video call unit 14 can execute a private call in which only the voice and video of one learner terminal 10 and the instructor terminal 20 are transmitted and received between each other. At this time, at least the voice is not played on the other logged-in learner terminals 10. With this function, for example, when a learner wants to ask a question to an instructor during self-study with multiple people making a video call, the learner can ask the question without disturbing the self-study of the other learners. Also, with a configuration in which a private call can be made from a self-study screen where multiple people are making a video call, the learner can easily ask a question in the same way as when moving from a classroom where the learner is studying to another room and asking a question to an instructor. Note that the video call unit 14 may be able to switch to a private call based on an input from the learner terminal 10, and may also be able to accept the designation of a specific learner terminal 10 from the instructor terminal 20 and make a private call with that learner terminal 10.

The self-study time calculation unit 15 is a functional unit that calculates the time from when the attendance button is pressed to when the leave button is pressed as the self-study time. The calculated self-study time is stored in the attendance table T102 (see FIG. 2(b)) and the individual record table T103 (see FIG. 3).

The self-study information display unit 16 is a functional unit that displays the self-study performance of the learner. The self-study information display unit 16 refers to the personal card table T103 (see FIG. 3) and displays, for example, attendance, attendance time, departure time, and self-study time for each self-study time period. The self-study information display unit 16 also accumulates the self-study time for each learner and displays the accumulated value of the self-study time for a specified period on the management terminal 30. The self-study time may be displayed, for example, as a weekly or monthly total, or may display the accumulated value of the self-study time for any period input from the management terminal 30. The self-study information display unit 16 may also accumulate the actual value of the self-study time for each day of the week, or may subdivide the self-study time period and accumulate it for each time period, such as 20:00 to 20:30, 20:30 to 21:00, and 21:00 to 21:30. By displaying for each learner, it is possible to grasp whether the learner's self-study is progressing. In addition, by using this information as a basis for interviews with students or their guardians, feedback based on objective data can be provided.

If attendance was taken at a set time and everyone was considered to be present or absent, this would interfere too much with the daily rhythm of home life and could actually discourage students from studying at home. As mentioned above, by timing the time spent studying at home rather than simply checking attendance, flexible attendance and leaving can be allowed to suit students' daily rhythms, and the self-study achievements of students who only attended part of the self-study time can also be properly evaluated.

The self-study information display unit 16 may also display the self-study records of multiple learners by accumulating them for each self-study time period, etc. This configuration makes it possible to grasp the overall trend of the self-study records.

The self-study information display unit 16 may generate and display appropriate graphs, such as bar graphs, line graphs, or pie charts, for the self-study records of each learner and the self-study records of multiple learners. The self-study information display unit 16 may also be capable of outputting the data on the self-study records in an appropriate format outside the online self-study device 1 in addition to or instead of displaying it. The data output outside is, for example, imported into another application or the like and processed into the form of a graph or report.

The communication processing unit 17 transmits and receives various data to and from the learner terminal 10, the instructor terminal 20, the management terminal 30, and the guardian terminal 40 via a network NW such as the Internet.
Specifically, between the learner terminal 10, audio and video are transmitted and received from other learner terminals 10 and the instructor terminal 20. Between the instructor terminal 20, audio and video are transmitted and received between multiple learner terminals 10. Between the management terminal 30, a display request for information stored in the learner information storage unit 1A is received, and the requested information is output. Between the learner terminal 10 and the guardian terminal 40, a notification is sent from the communication processing unit 17 based on the login process, attendance process, or leaving process of the learner terminal 10.
In addition, the exchange of data and notifications via the learner terminal 10, instructor terminal 20, management terminal 30, and parent terminal 40 can be carried out in various ways, such as via the personal pages of each learner, instructor, administrator, and parent set up on a specified website, or via dedicated applications.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the learner information storage unit 1A stores a learner information table T101 in which information about learners is stored, an attendance table T102 in which information about the attendance of multiple learners during one self-study period is stored, and a personal card table T103.

As shown in FIG. 2(a), the learner information table T101 stores, for example, the ID and password entered by the learner during the login process in association with the learner's information. The learner information table T101 may also store the learner's identification information (ID) in association with the learner's facial authentication data. In this case, the login unit 11 performs the login process by comparing the facial image captured by the imaging unit 11a with the learner's facial authentication data.

The learner information table T101 may store the identification information of the learner in association with the self-study class to which the learner belongs. On the self-study screen of the learner terminal 10, the acquired video of the learner terminal 10 of the learner belonging to the same self-study class is displayed. With this configuration, any group of learners can self-study while making video calls with each other. For example, by setting classes according to proficiency level, learners of the same proficiency level can self-study while making video calls, and motivation for self-study can be continuously improved. In addition, the self-study class may be set for each day of the week or time period of self-study. The self-study class may be set for each subject of self-study. The self-study class is set, for example, from the management terminal 30. In addition, the self-study class may be set by the learner from the learner terminal 10. According to a configuration in which multiple learner terminals are classified into classes and each class can view each other's video, the self-study of a large number of learners can be managed in a detailed manner. Furthermore, for learners, self-studying while viewing videos of a small number of people that they can easily grasp allows them to get a more concrete understanding of the learners studying with them than viewing a huge number of videos on other learners' devices, which can increase their motivation to learn.

The learner information table T101 also stores the learner's self-study schedule. The self-study schedule is information including, for example, the days of the week and the self-study time periods, and is determined in advance, for example, "Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m." The self-study schedule does not need to include information on the subjects to be self-studyed. This is because the purpose of this system is to manage self-study during a certain time period, and it is not necessary to manage the content of the self-study. The self-study schedule may include subject information. In this case, the subject information can be appropriately displayed on the learner's terminal 10 to assist in the management of the learning schedule.
The attendance processing unit 13 may store an attendance record indicating that the learner attended the self-study session in the learner information storage unit 1A when the attendance button is pressed during the self-study time slot in which the self-study session is scheduled in the self-study schedule. Even if the attendance button is pressed outside the self-study time slot, attendance record and self-study time record may not be made. In addition, when the attendance button and the leaving button are pressed outside the self-study time slot, the self-study time may be measured separately from the self-study time slot and stored in the learner information storage unit 1A.

Furthermore, the learner information table T101 stores the identification information of the learner, the contact information of the learner, and the contact information of a contact person other than the learner, in association with each other. The contact person is, for example, the guardian of the learner. The contact information may be any suitable information that can contact the guardian, such as an email address or an SNS ID.
The communication processing unit 18 transmits a prior notification to the contact information of the learner a predetermined time before the start time of the self-study stored in the learner's self-study schedule. In addition, when the communication processing unit 18 receives an attendance process or an absence process from the learner's terminal 10, it notifies the guardian's contact information, i.e., the guardian terminal 40, that the learner has started self-studying and that the learner has finished self-studying. This configuration makes it easy for guardians to manage the progress of the learner's self-study. In other words, the guardian can know that the learner is studying properly at the designated time, which gives the guardian a sense of security in terms of study and crime prevention. This is because the guardian can know that the learner has returned home even when the guardian is out.

As shown in FIG. 2(b), the attendance table T102 stores the attendance records of learners for one time period. The figure shows, for example, the attendance for a self-study time period set from 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on August 4th. The attendance table T102 stores, for each learner ID, whether the learner was present or absent, and the arrival and departure times of attendees. In addition, the self-study time of the learners calculated by the self-study time calculation unit 15 is stored.

The attendance table T102 can be called up as appropriate by the self-study information display unit 16 and displayed on the management terminal 30. This configuration makes it possible to grasp the overall attendance trends of learners during each self-study period.

As shown in FIG. 3, the individual record table T103 stores the attendance status for each self-study period and the actual self-study time for each learner. During the self-study period, students may participate flexibly according to their family circumstances, for example, entering the classroom later than the scheduled start time or leaving earlier than the scheduled end time. On the other hand, by recording the time spent on self-study separately from attendance, the length of time spent on self-study can be displayed on the management terminal 30 as one measure of the progress of learning, and can be used as an aid in providing guidance to the learner.

The individual record table T103 also stores the accumulated value of the self-study time. For example, the accumulated value for the self-study time is stored as a weekly total or a monthly total. In addition, the accumulated value for any other period may be calculated and stored.

Screen Layout
[Student's device screen]
Fig. 4(a) is an example of an attendance processing screen G100 displayed after login processing on the learner terminal 10. Fig. 4(b) is an example of a screen displayed after attendance processing on the learner terminal 10. This screen is a main screen that is mainly displayed during self-study. Note that in this example, buttons are displayed on each screen, and a button is selected by placing the cursor and clicking or tapping the touch panel display, but a selection may also be input by performing an operation such as pressing a corresponding physical key.

As shown in FIG. 4(a), when login processing is performed on the learner terminal 10a, an attendance processing screen G100 is displayed on the display unit 13a. An attendance button B101 is displayed on the attendance processing screen G100. When the attendance button B101 is pressed via the input unit 14a, attendance processing is performed by the attendance processing unit 13. The attendance processing screen G100 may also display a display area G101 in which images of other learner terminals 10 that have already logged in are displayed. The attendance processing screen G100 may also display classroom selection buttons B101a and B101b for selecting an available virtual space. The available virtual space is, for example, modeled after a classroom, and by selecting a classroom, a learner can study on his/her own while having a video call with other learners who have selected the same classroom.

When the Attend button B101 is pressed, the screen transitions to the self-study screen G110 shown in FIG. 4(b). The display area G101 of the self-study screen G110 displays images of other logged-in learner terminals 10. The display area G101 also displays images acquired by the logged-in instructor terminal 20.

The self-study screen G110 displays a leave button B102. When the learner presses the leave button B102 via the input unit 14a, the attendance processing unit 13 performs the leave process. When the leave button B102 is pressed, a button or the like that instructs the logout process is displayed on the screen, and pressing this button performs the logout process from the system. The self-study screen G110 may also be configured to perform the logout process when it is closed.

In addition, a plurality of reaction buttons B103 are displayed on the self-study screen G110. The reaction buttons B103 include, for example, first to third buttons B103a, B103b, and B103c, and each button is displayed corresponding to a reaction shown by the learner, such as "I can hear you," "Got it!", or "I don't understand." Furthermore, a question button B104 is displayed on the self-study screen G110 by the display control unit 12.

Furthermore, the self-study screen G110 may display the scheduled end time of the self-study, or a notification may be displayed at a predetermined time set in accordance with the self-study schedule. The notification may be, for example, a notice to notify the end of the self-study a predetermined time before the scheduled end time, or a break notification encouraging the user to take a break during the self-study period.

[Screen of instructor's terminal]
5A is an example of a screen G200 displayed on the instructor terminal 20. The screen G200 of the instructor terminal 20 is provided with a display area G201 for displaying images acquired from a plurality of logged-in learner terminals 10.

The display position of each learner's video in the display area G201 may be specified by operating the instructor's terminal 20. The display positions may be automatically rearranged based on appropriate information such as grade order, class order, or student number order, or may be specified arbitrarily by the instructor. The position specified via the instructor's terminal 20 is also reflected in the display on each learner's terminal 10. In addition, the display position is stored, and even if the learner attends at a different time, the video acquired from the learner's terminal 10 is displayed in the same position. This function can give the learner a sense of realism as if a seat in the classroom was assigned to them.

Screen G200 may also display a classroom movement button G203 for transitioning to a virtual space where other learners are present. In this example, the button for classroom A is highlighted, and the button for classroom B, to which a transition can be made, is displayed in a different manner. With this configuration, when learners are engaged in video calls in multiple virtual spaces, i.e., classrooms, a single instructor can easily move between the multiple classrooms to supervise self-study.

The screen G200 may be configured so that the displayed learners are switched at regular intervals. The number of learners to be displayed at one time may be selectable, or the number of learners that can be displayed on one screen may be calculated by specifying the size of the area in which one learner is displayed. The display mode when switching learners is arbitrary, for example, scrolling up, down, left, or right. With this configuration, the instructor can supervise a large number of learners without operating the instructor terminal 20. Furthermore, the instructor can watch over the learners who are studying on their own while performing another task, such as a lecture in a classroom, which is efficient. Even in the case of this configuration, the displayed learners can be fixed, or a specific learner may be always displayed, and the display of other learners may be switched.
The configuration in which the displayed learner is switched at regular intervals may also be realized on the screen of the learner terminal 10.

As shown in FIG. 5(a), when any of the reaction buttons B103 is pressed on the learner terminal 10, a display corresponding to the input is made on the instructor terminal 20 in the display area G201 of the image captured on the learner terminal 10. The display corresponding to the input is, for example, a reaction icon G202 in the form of a speech bubble. The reaction icon G202 displays text or the like according to the type of reaction button. In the figure, when the instructor asks "Can you hear me?" during a video call, the learner presses the reaction button B103a saying "I can hear you." Note that the display corresponding to the pressing of the reaction button B103 may also be displayed on other learner terminals 10. With this configuration, the instructor can visually grasp the reactions of multiple learners at once, which is more efficient than listening to simultaneous speech.

In addition, a notification may be displayed in the display area G201 when the learner's movements are captured in the video acquired by the learner's terminal 10 and are small and undetectable for a predetermined period of time or longer. This is because when the movements are small, it is possible that the learner is dozing off. With this configuration, the instructor can appropriately warn the learner not to doze off.

Figure 5 (b) is an example of a screen G200 displayed on the instructor terminal 20 when the question button B104 is pressed on the self-study screen G110. The display control unit 12 displays on the screen G200 a learner terminal 10 on which the question button B104 was pressed, so that the learner who has a question can be identified. The display control unit 12 also displays a button for accepting an instruction to accept a question, in association with the learner terminal 10. In the figure, a question icon G204 is lit on the display area G201a of the image acquired from the learner terminal 10 on which the question button B104 was pressed, out of the display area G201. Also, a confirmation button G205 is displayed on the same display area G201a. With this configuration, even if the question button B104 is pressed from multiple learner terminals 10 at the same time, the instructor can select which learner terminal 10 to respond to the question from.

When the confirmation button G205 is pressed on the instructor terminal 20, a private call with the corresponding learner terminal 10 is started. At this time, the image acquired from the learner terminal 10 may be highlighted in the display area G201. The image may also be displayed as a large pop-up superimposed on the screen G200.

●Processing flow
[Attendance processing flow]
FIG. 6A is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing when attendance processing is performed from the learner terminal 10.
First, the online self-learning device 1 transmits a reminder notification to the learner terminal 10 a predetermined time before the start time of the self-learning (S101). When the learner terminal 10 performs a login process (S102), the online self-learning device 1 receives this and authenticates the learner by referring to the learner information table T101 (S103). The online self-learning device 1 also causes the learner terminal 10 to display the attendance processing screen G100 (see FIG. 6(a)) via the display control unit 12.

When the attendance button is pressed on the learner terminal 10 (S104), the online self-learning device 1 records this fact (S105). Then, it sends an attendance notification to the parent terminal 40 (S106).

[Processing flow for leaving the room]
FIG. 6B is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing when a leaving process is performed from the learner terminal 10.
First, when the leave button B102 (see FIG. 4(b)) is pressed on the learner terminal 10 (S201), the online self-learning device 1 records this fact (S202). At this time, the self-study time may be calculated and recorded in the attendance table T102 and the individual record table T103. Next, the online self-learning device 1 transmits a leave notification to the guardian terminal 40 (S203). After that, the logout process is performed on the learner terminal 10 (S204).
In addition, even if the logout process is performed before the leave button B102 is pressed on the learner terminal 10, the leave is not recorded. According to this configuration, even if the self-study screen is switched to another screen and self-study is performed, the self-study time is totaled and clocked.

[Private call processing flow]
FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of a process for making a one-to-one video call, i.e., a private call, between the learner terminal 10 and the instructor terminal 20 in response to a request from the learner terminal 10 during self-study time.
First, audio and video for a video call are sent and received between multiple learner terminals 10 and the instructor terminal 20 (S301a, S301b). When the question button B104 (see FIG. 4(b)) is pressed from a learner terminal 10 (S302), the online self-study device 1 notifies the instructor terminal 20 that the button has been pressed, and displays the pressed learner terminal 10 on the instructor terminal 20 in a manner that makes it possible to identify the learner terminal 10 (S303). In the example of FIG. 5(b), a question icon G204 is displayed in the display area G201a of the image of the learner terminal 10. Also, a confirmation button G205 for responding to the question from the learner is displayed.

When the confirmation button G205 is pressed on the instructor terminal 20 (S304), the online self-study device 1 transmits a private call start command to the learner terminal 10 and the instructor terminal 20 (S305). Specifically, the display control unit 12 displays the image acquired from the instructor terminal 20 on the learner terminal 10 in a different manner to the image from the learner terminal 10, emphasizing it. In addition, audio from other learner terminals 10 is not played. On the instructor terminal 20, the image acquired from the learner terminal 10 is displayed in a different manner to the other learner terminals 10 in an emphasizing manner. In addition, audio from other learner terminals 10 is not played. On the other learner terminals 10, audio from the learner terminal 10 and the instructor terminal 20 that are making the private call are not played. In addition, the terminal that is making the private call may be displayed in a distinguishable manner on the other learner terminals 10. This is because other learners cannot call out to the instructor during a private call.

The online self-study system according to the embodiment of the present invention described above can motivate learners to continue self-study, such as at home.

Note that in the online self-study system according to the present embodiment described above, the functional configuration of each terminal or device is merely an example, and the functional units shown in this example may also be provided in a terminal or device different from this example.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Online self-study device 11 Login unit 12 Display control unit 13 Attendance/exit processing unit 14 Video call unit 15 Self-study time calculation unit 16 Self-study information display unit 17 Communication processing unit 1A Learner information storage unit 1B Video storage unit 10 Learner terminal 20 Instructor terminal 30 Management terminal 40 Parent terminal (contact terminal)
Network

Claims (8)

An online self-study system in which a plurality of learner terminals are connected to each other and an image of a learner who is self-studying, which is taken by a learner terminal, is displayed in real time on another learner terminal,
a video call unit that receives an image of the learner who is self-studying, which is taken by the learner's terminal, and transmits the image to another learner's terminal;
a learner information storage unit that stores information about the learner who uses the learner terminal;
a login unit that accepts a login process for the online self-learning system from the learner terminal;
a display control unit that displays an attend button on a screen of the learner terminal in response to the login process, and displays a leave button on the screen in response to pressing of the attend button;
an attendance processing unit that accepts attendance processing and leaving processing of the learner terminal in response to pressing of the attendance button and the leaving button, respectively;
a self-study time calculation unit that calculates the time from when the attend button is pressed to when the leave button is pressed as a self-study time;
a self-study information display unit that accumulates the self-study time for each of the learners in a predetermined period and displays the accumulated self-study time in association with the learners on at least an administration terminal different from the learner terminal;
Equipped with
The learner information storage unit stores at least the learner's self-study schedule, and when an attendance button is pressed during a time period included in the learner's self-study schedule, an attendance record indicating that the learner attended the self-study session and a record of the self-study time from when the attendance button was pressed until when the departure button was pressed are stored in the learner information storage unit.
Online self-study system.
the learner information storage unit stores at least the identification information of the learner and face authentication data of the learner in association with each other;
the login unit performs a login process for the learner by collating a face image captured by an imaging unit included in the learner terminal with face authentication data of the learner.
2. The online self-study system according to claim 1.
The learning system is further connected to an instructor terminal that simultaneously displays the images captured by the multiple learner terminals in real time.
acquiring a motion of the learner, and if the motion of the learner is not detected for a predetermined time or longer, notifying the fact in a display area of the instructor terminal;
3. An online self-learning system according to claim 1 or 2.
the learner information storage unit stores the identification information of the learner in association with contact information of a contact person different from the learner;
a communication processing unit that notifies the contact person when at least one of the login process, the press of the attend button, and the press of the leave button is performed,
An online self-learning system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The student terminal is further connected to an instructor terminal that displays the image captured by the student terminal in real time.
the display control unit displays a response button on the learner's terminal for inputting a response from the learner, and when the response button is pressed, displays a display corresponding to the input at least in a display area of the instructor's terminal for a video image captured by the learner's terminal.
An online self-learning system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The learner terminal is further connected to an instructor terminal that displays in real time an image of the learner who is self-studying, the image being taken by the learner terminal;
the display control unit causes the learner terminal to display a question button, and causes the instructor terminal to display a confirmation button when the question button is pressed;
when the confirmation button is pressed, the video calling unit starts a private call in which audio and video are transmitted between the learner terminal and the instructor terminal, and at least the audio is not reproduced on the other learner terminal.
An online self-learning system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
A method for managing self-study using an online self-study system in which a plurality of learner terminals are interconnected and images of learners engaged in self-study, which are taken by the learner terminals, are displayed in real time on the other learner terminals, comprising:
The online self-study system includes a learner information storage unit that stores information about the learner who uses the learner terminal;
a video call step of receiving an image of the learner who is self-studying, which is taken by the learner's terminal, and transmitting the image to another learner's terminal;
a login step of accepting a login process for the online self-learning system from the learner terminal;
a display control step of displaying an attend button on a screen of the learner terminal in response to the login process, and displaying a leave button on the screen in response to pressing of the attend button;
an attendance processing step of accepting attendance processing and leaving processing of the learner terminal in response to pressing of the attendance button and the leaving button, respectively;
a self-study time calculation step of calculating a time from when the attend button is pressed to when the leave button is pressed as a self-study time;
a self-study information display step of accumulating the self-study time for each learner in a predetermined period and displaying the self-study information in association with the learner on at least an administration terminal different from the learner terminal;
The learner information storage unit stores at least the learner's self-study schedule, and when an attendance button is pressed during a time period included in the learner's self-study schedule, the learner information storage unit stores an attendance record indicating that the learner attended the self-study session and a record of the self-study time from when the attendance button was pressed until when the leave button was pressed;
including,
Self-study management methods.
A computer program for controlling an online self-study system in which a plurality of learner terminals are connected to each other and an image of a learner who is self-studying, which is taken by a learner terminal, is displayed in real time on another learner terminal,
The online self-study system includes a learner information storage unit that stores information about the learner who uses the learner terminal;
A video call command for receiving an image of the learner who is self-studying, which is taken by the learner's terminal, and transmitting the image to another learner's terminal;
a login command for accepting a login process for the online self-learning system from the learner terminal;
a display control command for displaying an attend button on a screen of the learner terminal in response to the login process, and displaying a leave button on the screen in response to pressing of the attend button;
an attendance processing command for accepting attendance processing and leaving processing of the learner terminal in response to pressing of the attendance button and the leaving button, respectively;
a self-study time calculation command for calculating the time from when the attend button is pressed to when the leave button is pressed as the self-study time;
a self-study information display command for accumulating the self-study time for each learner in a predetermined period and displaying the self-study information in association with the learner on at least a management terminal different from the learner terminal;
The learner information storage unit stores at least the learner's self-study schedule, and when an attendance button is pressed during a time period included in the learner's self-study schedule, a command to store in the learner information storage unit an attendance record indicating that the learner attended the self-study session and a record of the self-study time from when the attendance button was pressed until the departure button was pressed;
to cause a computer to execute
Computer program.

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