U.S. patent application number 14/988637 was filed with the patent office on 2016-07-21 for prescription of electronic resources based on observational assessments.
The applicant listed for this patent is School Improvement Network, LLC. Invention is credited to Chet Dee Linton, Cory John Linton, Derris Todd Moore, Jonathan E. Smalley.
Application Number | 20160210875 14/988637 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47678247 |
Filed Date | 2016-07-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160210875 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Linton; Chet Dee ; et
al. |
July 21, 2016 |
Prescription of Electronic Resources Based on Observational
Assessments
Abstract
Various embodiments for prescribing electronic resources based
on observational assessments are described. One example system
includes a communication unit for sending and receiving data, a
recommendation engine, and an assignment engine. The recommendation
engine receives observation data related to a target subject,
identifies one or more electronic resources that correspond to the
observation data, and provides data describing the one or more
electronic resources for display to an observer. The recommendation
engine is coupled to the communication unit to provide the data
representing the one or more electronic resources. The assignment
engine receives an assignment request requesting an assignment of
at least one electronic resource from the one or more electronic
resources to the target subject for completion. The assignment
engine also assigns the at least one electronic resource to the
target subject. The assignment engine is coupled to the
communication unit to receive the assignment request.
Inventors: |
Linton; Chet Dee; (Sandy,
UT) ; Linton; Cory John; (Draper, UT) ;
Smalley; Jonathan E.; (Riverton, UT) ; Moore; Derris
Todd; (Alpine, UT) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
School Improvement Network, LLC |
Midvale |
UT |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
47678247 |
Appl. No.: |
14/988637 |
Filed: |
January 5, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13570839 |
Aug 9, 2012 |
9262746 |
|
|
14988637 |
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|
61523156 |
Aug 12, 2011 |
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61523187 |
Aug 12, 2011 |
|
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61654813 |
Jun 2, 2012 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 29/06414 20130101;
G09B 5/06 20130101; H04L 12/1813 20130101; H04L 12/1831 20130101;
G06Q 10/10 20130101; G06Q 50/205 20130101; G09B 19/00 20130101;
G06Q 50/20 20130101; H04L 12/1818 20130101; H04L 29/06408
20130101 |
International
Class: |
G09B 19/00 20060101
G09B019/00; G09B 5/06 20060101 G09B005/06 |
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, using one
or more computing devices, observation data reflecting an
observational assessment by an observer of a target subject that
compares an aspect of a performance by the target subject to a
predetermined performance standard; identifying, using the one or
more computing devices, one or more electronic resources that
provide training related to the predetermined standard; providing,
using the one or more computing devices, data describing the one or
more electronic resources for display to the observer of the target
subject; receiving, using the one or more computing devices, an
assignment request from the observer requesting an assignment of at
least one electronic resource from the one or more electronic
resources to the target subject for completion; assigning, using
the one or more computing devices, the at least one electronic
resource to the target subject for completion; and monitoring,
using the one or more computing devices, whether the assignment has
been completed by the target subject by receiving and analyzing
interaction data reflecting an interaction with the one or more
electronic resources by the target subject.
2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the
identifying the one or more electronic resources includes matching,
using the one or more computing devices, metadata associated with
the one or more electronic resources to one or more aspects of the
observation data reflecting an area in which the target subject
should receive the training and how the target subject is
performing in that area.
3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or
more electronic resources include a plurality of electronic
resources and the method further comprises: determining an
effectiveness for each of the plurality of electronic resources
based on how much a set of target subjects improved relative to the
predetermined standard by utilizing that electronic resource, the
set of target subjects having a profile substantially similar to
the target subject; and prior to the providing the data describing
the one or more electronic resources for display to the observer of
the target subject, ranking, by the one or more computing devices,
the plurality of electronic resources based on the effectiveness of
each of the electronic resources.
4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the
assigning the at least one electronic resource to the target
subject includes associating the at least one electronic resource
with a profile of the target subject in a data store, and the
assignment is an instruction for the target subject to interact
with the at least one electronic resource.
5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, comprising:
receiving an assignment parameter associated with the assignment
request that sets a condition that must be met in order for the
assignment to be completed by the target subject, wherein the
assigning the at least one electronic resource to the target
subject is based at least in part on the assignment parameter.
6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least
one electronic resource includes one or more of textual data, image
data, video data and audio data.
7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least
one electronic resource is a digital video transmittable via a
network.
8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, comprising:
generating, by the one or more computing devices, a report
describing whether the assignment has been completed by the target
subject; and providing the report for display to the observer,
wherein the monitoring whether the assignment has been completed by
the target subject includes analyzing the interaction data and an
assignment parameter associated with the assignment to determine
whether the assignment parameter has been satisfied, and the report
is generated based on the comparison.
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, comprising:
receiving achievement data for at least one pupil of the target
subject; and determining, by the one or more computing devices,
whether the observational assessment of the target subject by the
observer is accurate based at least in part on the achievement
data.
10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, comprising:
generating, by the one or more computing devices, a report
describing an accuracy of the observational assessment by the
observer based at least in part on the determining whether the
observational assessment is accurate; and providing the report for
display to an administrator of the observer.
11. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory
computer-usable medium including instructions which, when executed
by a computer, cause the computer to: receive observation data
reflecting an observational assessment by an observer of a target
subject that compares an aspect of a performance by the target
subject to a predetermined performance standard; identify one or
more electronic resources that provide training related to the
predetermined standard; provide data describing the one or more
electronic resources for display to the observer of the target
subject; receive an assignment request from the observer requesting
an assignment of at least one electronic resource from the one or
more electronic resources to the target subject for completion;
assign the at least one electronic resource to the target subject
for completion; and monitor whether the assignment has been
completed by the target subject by receiving and analyzing
interaction data reflecting an interaction with the one or more
electronic resources by the target subject.
12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein to identify
the one or more electronic resources includes matching metadata
associated with the one or more electronic resources to one or more
aspects of the observation data reflecting an area in which the
target subject should receive the training and how the target
subject is performing in that area.
13. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the one or
more electronic resources include a plurality of electronic
resources and the instructions further cause the computer to:
determine an effectiveness for each of the plurality of electronic
resources based on how much a set of target subjects improved
relative to the predetermined standard by utilizing that electronic
resource, the set of target subjects having a profile substantially
similar to the target subject; and prior to the providing the data
describing the one or more electronic resources for display to the
observer of the target subject, rank the plurality of electronic
resources based on the effectiveness of each of the electronic
resources.
14. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein to assign the
at least one electronic resource to the target subject includes
associating the at least one electronic resource with a profile of
the target subject in a data store, and the assignment is an
instruction for the target subject to interact with the at least
one electronic resource.
15. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the
instructions further cause the computer to: receive an assignment
parameter associated with the assignment request that sets a
condition that must be met in order for the assignment to be
completed by the target subject, wherein to assign the at least one
electronic resource to the target subject is based at least in part
on the assignment parameter.
16. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the at least
one electronic resource includes one or more of textual data, image
data, video data and audio data.
17. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the at least
one electronic resource is a digital video transmittable via a
network.
18. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the
instructions further cause the computer to: generate a report
describing whether the assignment has been completed by the target
subject; and provide the report for display to the observer,
wherein to monitor whether the assignment has been completed by the
target subject includes analyzing the interaction data and an
assignment parameter associated with the assignment to determine
whether the assignment parameter has been satisfied, and the report
is generated based on the comparison.
19. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the
instructions further cause the computer to: receive achievement
data for at least one pupil of the target subject; and determine
whether the observational assessment of the target subject by the
observer is accurate based at least in part on the achievement
data.
20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the
instructions further cause the computer to: generate a report
describing an accuracy of the observational assessment by the
observer based at least in part on the determining whether the
observational assessment is accurate; and provide the report for
display to an administrator of the observer.
21. A system comprising: one or more processors; a recommendation
engine executable by the one or more processors to receive
observation data reflecting an observational assessment by an
observer of a target subject that compares an aspect of a
performance by the target subject to a predetermined performance
standard, to identify one or more electronic resources that provide
training related to the predetermined standard, and to provide data
describing the one or more electronic resources for display to the
observer; an assignment engine executable by the one or more
processors to receive an assignment request from the observer
requesting an assignment of at least one electronic resource from
the one or more electronic resources to the target subject for
completion, and to assign the at least one electronic resource to
the target subject for completion, the assignment engine coupled to
the recommendation engine to receive the assignment request; and a
reporting module executable by the one or more processors to
monitor whether the assignment has been completed by the target
subject by receiving and analyzing interaction data reflecting an
interaction with the one or more electronic resources by the target
subject.
22. The system of claim 21, comprising: a data store, wherein the
assignment engine is coupled to the data store and is further
configured to assign the at least one electronic resource to the
target subject by associating the at least one electronic resource
with a profile of the target subject in the data store, and the
assignment is an instruction for the target subject to interact
with the at least one electronic resource.
23. The system of claim 21, wherein the assignment engine is
further configured to receive an assignment parameter associated
with the assignment request and to assign the at least one
electronic resource to the target subject based at least in part on
the assignment parameter, the assignment parameter setting a
condition that must be met in order for the assignment to be
completed by the target subject.
24. The system of claim 21, wherein the at least one electronic
resource includes one or more of textual data, image data, video
data, and audio data.
25. The system of claim 21, wherein the at least one electronic
resource is a digital video transmittable via a network.
26. The system of claim 21, wherein the recommendation engine
identifies the one or more electronic resources by matching
metadata associated with the one or more electronic resources to
one or more aspects of the observation data reflecting an area in
which the target subject should receive the training and how the
target subject is performing in that area.
27. The system of claim 21, wherein the one or more electronic
resources comprise a plurality of electronic resources and the
recommendation engine is further configured to: determine an
effectiveness for each of the plurality of electronic resources
based on how much a set of target subjects improved relative to the
predetermined standard by utilizing that electronic resource, the
set of target subjects having a profile substantially similar to
the target subject; and rank the plurality of electronic resources
based on the effectiveness of each of the electronic resources
prior to the providing the data representing the plurality of
electronic resources for display to the observer of the target
subject.
28. The system of claim 21, comprising: a reporting module
executable by the one or more processors to generate a report
describing whether the assignment has been completed by the target
subject, and to provide the report for display to the observer,
wherein the reporting module is configured to monitor whether the
assignment has been completed by the target subject by analyzing
the interaction data and an assignment parameter associated with
the assignment to determine whether the assignment parameter has
been satisfied, and the report is generated based on the
comparison, and the reporting module is coupled to an information
source to receive the interaction data.
29. The system of claim 21, comprising: a reporting module
executable by the one or more processors to receive achievement
data for at least one pupil of the target subject and to determine
whether the observational assessment of the target subject by the
observer is accurate based at least in part on the achievement
data, the reporting module coupled to an information source to
receive the achievement data.
30. The system of claim 29, wherein the reporting module is further
configured to generate a report describing an accuracy of the
observational assessment by the observer based at least in part on
the determining whether the observational assessment is accurate,
and to provide the report for display to an administrator of the
observer.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of prior application Ser.
No. 13/570,839, filed Aug. 9, 2012, which claims the benefit under
35 U.S.C. .sctn.119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No.
61/523,156, entitled "Observation 360", filed on Aug. 12, 2011,
U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/523,187, entitled "Student
Assessment Data", filed on Aug. 12, 2011, and U.S. Provisional
Application No. 61/654,813, entitled "Teacher Effectiveness Systems
and Methods", filed on Jun. 2, 2012, the entire contents of each of
which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Technical Field
[0003] The present disclosure relates to professional development,
and more particularly to the prescription of electronic resources
based on observational assessments.
[0004] 2. Description of Background Art
[0005] Some educational and professional systems have been
migrating toward performance pay, which provides that a portion of
a professional's compensation may be tied to performance. For
example, under some educational systems, a teacher's compensation
and advancement may be tied to student achievement in the
classroom, which may directly or indirectly correspond to how that
teacher is developing professionally. However, these systems can be
limited in how to direct and manage professional development. For
instance, they often lack the ability to conveniently identify and
assign professional development activities that are relevant to the
specific needs of their professionals. They also often lack the
ability to reliably monitor whether their professionals are
actively participating in the professional development activities
that may have been assigned to them.
SUMMARY
[0006] According to one innovative aspect of the subject matter
described in this disclosure, a system includes one or more
processors; a recommendation engine executable by the one or more
processors to receive observation data reflecting an observational
assessment by an observer of a target subject that compares an
aspect of a performance by the target subject to a predetermined
performance standard, to identify one or more electronic resources
that provide training related to the predetermined standard, and to
provide data describing the one or more electronic resources for
display to the observer; an assignment engine executable by the one
or more processors to receive an assignment request from the
observer requesting an assignment of at least one electronic
resource from the one or more electronic resources to the target
subject for completion, and to assign the at least one electronic
resource to the target subject for completion, the assignment
engine coupled to the recommendation engine to receive the
assignment request; and a reporting module executable by the one or
more processors to monitor whether the assignment has been
completed by the target subject by receiving and analyzing
interaction data reflecting an interaction with the one or more
electronic resources by the target subject.
[0007] In general, another innovative aspect of the subject matter
described in this disclosure may be embodied in a method that
includes receiving, using one or more computing devices,
observation data reflecting an observational assessment by an
observer of a target subject that compares an aspect of a
performance by the target subject to a predetermined performance
standard; identifying, using the one or more computing devices, one
or more electronic resources that provide training related to the
predetermined standard; providing, using the one or more computing
devices, data describing the one or more electronic resources for
display to the observer of the target subject; receiving, using the
one or more computing devices, an assignment request from the
observer requesting an assignment of at least one electronic
resource from the one or more electronic resources to the target
subject for completion; assigning, using the one or more computing
devices, the at least one electronic resource to the target subject
for completion; and monitoring, using the one or more computing
devices, whether the assignment has been completed by the target
subject by receiving and analyzing interaction data reflecting an
interaction with the one or more electronic resources by the target
subject.
[0008] Other innovative aspects include corresponding systems,
methods, apparatus, and computer program products.
[0009] It should be noted that the language used in the present
disclosure has been principally selected for readability and
instructional purposes, and not to limit the scope of the subject
matter disclosed herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example, and
not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying
drawings in which like reference numerals are used to refer to
similar elements.
[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example system for
prescribing electronic resources based on observational
assessments.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example
professional development server.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example client
device.
[0014] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example method for prescribing
electronic resources based on observational assessments.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example method for identifying
and ranking electronic resources based on observational
assessments.
[0016] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example method for assigning
electronic resources.
[0017] FIGS. 7A and 7B are flowcharts of an example method for
monitoring and reporting on assigned electronic resources.
[0018] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an example method for requesting
assignment of an electronic resource.
[0019] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an example method for assessing
performance of an observer of a target subject.
[0020] FIG. 10 is a graphic representation of an example
observation interface for assigning electronic resources.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Example System
[0021] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example system 100
for prescribing electronic resources based on observational
assessments. More particularly, the system 100 is capable, at least
in part, of recommending electronic resources for prescription to a
target subject being observed by an observer, providing the
electronic resources for consumption by the target subject,
monitoring and reporting on the consumption, and assessing the
performance of the observer of the target subject based on the
performance of the target subject.
[0022] In the depicted embodiment, the system 100 includes a
professional development server 102, a media distribution server
118, client devices 126a . . . 126n (also referred to herein
individually and collectively as 126) that are accessed by users
132a . . . 132n (also referred to herein individually and
collectively as 132), and a third-party server 136. In the
illustrated embodiment, these entities are communicatively coupled
via a network 142. While only one network 142 is coupled to the
professional development server 102, the media distribution server
118, the client devices 126a . . . 126n, and the third-party server
136, in practice any number of networks 142 can be connected to
these entities.
[0023] The professional development server 102 is a computing
device or system for providing a professional development service.
In the depicted embodiment, the professional development server 102
is coupled to the network 142 via signal line 112, and is coupled
to a data store 110 and a media data store 122 via signal lines 108
and 114, respectively. The professional development server 102 may
include one or more processors and one or more storage devices
storing data or instructions for execution by the one or more
processors. For example, the professional development server 102
may be a server, a server array or any other computing device, or
group of computing devices, having data processing, storing and
communication capabilities. The professional development server 102
may be a virtual server (i.e., a virtual machine) implemented via
software. For example, the virtual server operates in a host server
environment and accesses the physical hardware of the host server
including, for example, a processor, memory, storage, network
interfaces, etc., via an abstraction layer (e.g., a virtual machine
manager). It should be understood that the professional development
server 102 could be made up of any combination of devices and
servers, or only one of device or server. The professional
development server 102 may interact with the other entities 110,
118, 122, 126a . . . 126n, and 136 of the system 100 via the
network 142 or may be coupled to and interact with these entities
via a direct data connection.
[0024] In some embodiments, the entities of the system 100
including the professional development server 102 and the media
distribution server 118 may be implemented using cloud-based
architectures where one or more computer functions are performed by
remote computing systems and devices at the request of a local
computer device. For example, a client device 126 may be a
computing device having a limited set of hardware and/or software
resources and may access hardware and/or software resources
provided across the network 142 by other computer devices and
resources, such as other client devices 126, the third-party server
136, the professional development server 102, or any other
computing resources. The client device 126 may access these
resources through a client application, such as a web browser or
customized application, and the results of any computer functions
or resources may be delivered through the client application 128 to
the user of the client device 126, such as those described below
with reference to FIG. 3. The professional development server 102
may be a cloud-based distributed computing system having
dynamically scalable and virtualizable resources, and various
functionality of the professional development server 102, the
functionality of the professional development application engine
104, the observation engine 106, and/or the media distribution
server 118 may be carried out and supplemented by computing systems
and devices distributed over the network 142. Although only one
professional development server 102 is shown, multiple servers 102
may be included in the system 100.
[0025] In FIG. 1, the professional development server 102 includes
a professional development application engine 104 and an
observation engine 106. The professional development application
engine 104 is software including routines for providing
network-based professional development training to professionals.
Professional development training includes teaching skills to
participants, assisting participants in integrating and applying
those skills to their profession, assessing the success of
participants in applying the skills, and evaluating whether
additional training is necessary. By way of example, professional
development training may be used to improve the skills of teachers
and school administrators, health care professionals such as nurses
or physicians, legal professionals such as lawyers, judges or
trustees, corporate professionals such as officers, directors,
managers or other internal corporate employees, travel industry
professionals such as pilots, drivers, skippers or the like,
educational professionals such as teachers or professors, financial
professionals such as accountants, brokers, traders, tax
specialists or the like, human relations professionals, sales
professionals, service industry professionals, government
employees, law enforcement personnel, military personnel, sports
professionals and/or personnel, homeland security personnel, or any
other workforce that requires professional training and assessment
as to the assimilation and effectiveness of such training.
[0026] In some embodiments, the professional development
application engine 104 may collect and store mapping information
(i.e., social graphs) in the data store 110 mapping how all users
132 of the professional development service are associated. For
example, the social graph of each user may describe that user's 122
relationships with other users 132, based at least in part on
shared attributes, etc. In another example relating to education,
all users 132 may be associated in their respective social graphs
by school, school district, subject matter taught, amount of
experience, etc. Users may also define their own connections and
sets of users using functionality provided by the client
application 128 in cooperation with the professional development
application engine 104. For example, users 132 who met at a math
conference may add one another to their social graph by using
functionality provided by the client application 128 in cooperation
with the professional development application engine 104. The
professional development application 104 may also generate and
maintain a user profile in the data store 110 for each user of the
professional development service. A user profile is a collection of
personal and professional data that is unique to a specific user.
In some embodiments, the user profile is a digital representation
of that person on the professional development service and includes
a user's customized settings and preferences, biographical
information, employment information, professional interests,
employer information, professional development information, social
graph information, etc.
[0027] In some embodiments, the professional development training
may be provided by the professional development application engine
104 via the network 142 to teachers and administrators in an
academic environment or other educational setting, such as a school
district. The training or instruction may be provided by the
professional development application engine 104 in the form of
electronic resources.
[0028] An electronic resource may be any electronic media for
conveying information. For example, an electronic resource can be
instructional in nature, and can convey knowledge, information, and
resources to a user who interacts with or views it. As a further
example, an electronic resources may include an instructional audio
or video segment, a publication, an interactive instructional
reference, a lesson plan, a planning tool, a community forum, a
sharing tool, an industry standard, a portfolio tool, a progress
monitoring tool, a reporting tool, etc. In some embodiments, an
electronic resource can include any of textural data, graphical
data, video data, audio data, etc. For example, the electronic
resource may be a webpage including one or more of text, graphics,
video, audio, etc. In another example, the electronic resource may
be or include a downloadable or streamable media object, including,
for example, an electronic document (e.g., portable document format
(PDF) document), electronic book (e-book), digital video, digital
audio file, vector graphics file, etc. In these or other examples,
the electronic resource may include a dataset/electronic file with
text, graphics, video, audio, etc. embedded therein.
[0029] In some embodiments, these electronic resources may convey
information on various topics, such as leadership training,
teaching skills, and similar subjects of consequence and importance
to the professional development of the users. For instance, an
electronic resource may be an instructional video about an aspect
of teaching, and a teacher may view the video by streaming it using
his/her client device 126. In another example, the electronic
resource may be a web-based interactive reference including text,
audio, video, etc., and the teacher may study the reference by
interacting with it via a client application 128 such as a web
browser.
[0030] The observation engine 106 facilitates professional
development based on observational assessments. In addition to its
plain and ordinary meaning, an observational assessment is an
assessment of, evaluation of, estimation of, determination of,
judgment of, review of, rating of, comment on, suggestion about,
etc., of one or more qualities of a target subject. The qualities
assessed by an observational assessment may include, for example,
the target subject's effectiveness, achievement, execution,
compliance, value-add, improvement, deficiencies, weaknesses, etc.
Hereinafter, these qualities are referred to collectively and
individually as performance. An observational assessment is based
on observations input by an observer of the target subject during
an observation session, which may be an impromptu session or a
planned session. In addition to its plain and ordinary meaning, an
observation may be a qualitative or quantitative assessment of,
evaluation of, estimation of, determination of, judgment of, review
of, rating of, comment on, suggestion about, etc., one or more of
the above-noted qualities of the target subject.
[0031] In some embodiments, an observational assessment may be
informal assessment of the target subject. In other embodiments,
the observational assessment may be a formal assessment of the
target subject submitted to a human resources department or the
like. The observer performing the observational assessment may be a
supervisor, administrator, human resources personnel, coach,
mentor, colleague, peer, etc., of the target subject, or may be
unknown and/or unrelated to the target subject (e.g., an anonymous
observer). For example, the observer may be an evaluator or
reviewer for a business or organization, such as a school or school
district.
[0032] In some embodiments, an observer interacting with the
observation engine 106 via a client application 128 may provide
observation data to the observation engine 106 reflecting his/her
observations of a target subject, and in response, may receive
recommendations of electronic resources that can be assigned to the
target subject being observed by the observer. The observer
interacting with the observation engine 106 may also assign one or
more recommended electronic resources to the target subject for
completion, and the target subject, upon accessing the professional
development application engine 104 via an associated interface, may
be presented with the electronic resource and/or options for
interacting with the electronic resource. The observation engine
106 is discussed in further detail below with reference to at least
FIG. 2.
[0033] The data stores 110 are 140 are information sources for
storing and providing access to organized collections of data. In
some embodiments, the data stores 110 and 140 are included in the
memories (not shown) of the professional development server 102 and
the third-party server 136, respectively. In other embodiments, the
data stores 110 and 140 are included in a server or storage system
distinct from but accessible by the professional development server
102 and the third-party server 136, respectively. In various
embodiments, the data stores 110 and 140 store records, files,
objects, etc., in cooperation with a file system executable by a
processor. The data stores 110 and 140 may additionally or
alternatively include a database management system (DBMS)
executable by a processor to manage a collection of records, files,
objects, etc. For example, the database could be a structured query
language (SQL) DBMS. In these embodiments, the professional
development server 102 and/or the third-party server 136 are
respectively coupled to these databases via a bus or a network to
store data in multi-dimensional tables having rows and columns, and
manipulate, i.e., insert, query, update and/or delete, rows of data
using programmatic operations (e.g., SQL queries and
statements).
[0034] Additional structure and functionality of the professional
development application engine 104, the observation engine 106, and
the data store 110 are discussed in further detail below.
[0035] The media distribution server 118 is a computing device
and/or system for transmitting electronic resources stored in the
media data store 122 to the other entities of the system 100. In
some embodiments, the media distribution server 118 cooperates with
the professional development application engine 104 to provide an
electronic resource to a user for consumption. For example, the
professional development engine 104 may transmit a file (e.g., a
webpage) to a client device for display to the user. The file may
include code (e.g., a video player) executable to receive a video
and/or audio stream (e.g., an electronic resource) from the media
distribution server 118 and render it for display to the user. In
other embodiments, the professional development server 102 performs
the function of the media distribution server 118. In the depicted
embodiment, the media distribution server 118 is coupled to the
network 142 via signal line 122 for communication with the other
entities of the system 100. The media distribution server 118 is
also coupled to the media data store 122 to access electronic
resources and other data stored in the media data store 122. In
some embodiments, the media distribution server 118 is a hardware
server including a processor, memory and network communication
capabilities. In other embodiments, the media distribution server
118 is a virtual server.
[0036] In some embodiments, the media distribution server 118
transmits video and audio streams to one or more client devices
126. The video and audio streams may be live feeds or may be
previously recorded, stored as media objects in the media data
store 122, and transmitted to the one or more client devices 126 on
demand, via delayed broadcast, etc. In some embodiments, the audio
and video are streamed from the media distribution server 118 via
the network 142. In other embodiments, a user can download an
instance of the video and audio media objects from the media
distribution server 118 to a local repository for storage and local
playback.
[0037] The media distribution server 118 and/or the professional
development server 102 is/are capable of transmitting any number of
electronic resources to any number of client devices 126
simultaneously. While in the depicted embodiment, only one media
distribution server 118 is depicted, any number of media
distribution servers 118 and/or media data stores 122 may be
included in the system. For example, the media distribution server
118 and the media data store 122 may be a distributed server and
storage system with local instances strategically located in
locations where spikes in demand for the electronic resources are
likely to occur. For example, if a cluster of client devices 126
are located in a particular geographic region, local instances of
the media distribution server 118 and the media data store may be
coupled to the network 142 in that geographic region such that the
media objects stored in the media data store 122 may be served
locally and at a faster data rate to that cluster of client devices
126.
[0038] It should be understood that, in some embodiments, the media
distribution server 118 and/or the third-party server 136 have the
same or similar architecture (e.g., memory, processor,
communication unit, bus, etc.) as the professional development
server 102 depicted in FIG. 2, and thus the description of those
components applies to the media distribution server 118 and/or the
third-party server 136.
[0039] The media data store 122 is an information source for
storing data and providing access to stored data. The stored data
may include the electronic resources described above, such as media
objects including video, audio, vector-based files, electronic
books, documents, etc. In some embodiments, the media data store
122 is included in the memory (not shown) of the media distribution
server 118. In other embodiments the media data store is included
in the memory 218 (see FIG. 2) of the professional development
server 102. In yet other embodiments, the media data store 122 is
included in a server or storage system distinct from but accessible
by the media distribution server 116 and the professional
development server 102. In some embodiments, the media data store
122 includes a database management system (DBMS) executable by a
processor to manage a collection of records, files, and objects
including the media objects. For example, the database could be a
structured query language (SQL) DBMS. In these embodiments, the
professional development server 102 and/or the media distribution
server 118 are coupled to the database via the bus 214 to store
data in multi-dimensional tables having rows and columns, and
manipulate, i.e., insert, query, update and/or delete, rows of data
using programmatic operations (e.g., SQL queries and
statements).
[0040] The third-party server 136 is a server hosting a
network-based software application operable to provide various
services or functionalities, and to send data to and receive data
from the professional development server 102, the media
distribution server 118, and the client devices 126a . . . 126n via
the network 142. In the depicted embodiment, the third-party server
136 is coupled to the network 142 via signal line 134 for
communication with the other entities of the system 100. The
third-party server 136 is also coupled to the data store 140 via
signal line 138 for accessing and storing data. In some
embodiments, the third-party server 136 is a server, server array
or any other computing device, or group of computing devices,
having data processing, storing and communication capabilities. In
other embodiments, third-party server 136 is a virtual server.
[0041] The third-party server 136 can provide access to data stored
in the data store 140 that is associated with users of the
professional development application engine 104. In some
embodiments, the data stored in the data store 140 may include
demographics data, achievement data, student data, teacher data,
standards data, inter-rater reliability data, etc., and the
third-party server 136 may include a software application for
providing secure access to this data to the professional
development application engine 104 over the network 142 via an API.
For example, in an educational setting, the demographics data may
include instructor and pupil demographics data, and may be
segmented across school district, school, classroom, grade, etc.;
the achievement data may include standardized test scores for
educators and pupils; the student data may include student
assessments of teachers (e.g., aggregated from surveys, reviews,
etc.), biographical data describing the students, social graph data
(e.g., aggregated from third-party social networking services),
etc.; the teacher data may include biographical data describing the
teachers, social graph data (e.g., aggregated from third-party
social networking services), teacher preferences, teacher
assessments of students (e.g., aggregated from surveys, reviews,
etc.), etc.; and the standards data may include standards compiled
and approved by a governing organization or institution which
define the levels of attainment pupils much reach to be considered
acceptably educated. In some embodiments, a local instance of the
data stored in the data store 140 may be included in the data store
110. For example, a batch program operating periodically (every few
minutes, hours, days, weeks, etc.) may retrieve a refreshed version
of the data stored in the data store 140 and store it in the data
store 110.
[0042] The client devices 126a . . . 126n are computing devices
having data processing and data communication capabilities. In the
depicted embodiment, the client device 126a is coupled to the
network 142 via signal line 124a and the user 132a interacts with
the client device 126a as depicted by line 130a, and the client
device 126n is coupled to the network 142 via signal line 124n and
the user 132n interacts with the client device 126n as depicted by
line 130n. While FIG. 1 illustrates two or more client devices 126,
the present disclosure applies to any system architecture having
one or more client devices.
[0043] The client devices 126 may include one or more wired or
wireless network interfaces for sending and receiving network data;
a graphics processor; a low or high-resolution touchscreen; a soft
and/or physical keyboard; forward and rear facing cameras; sensors
such as accelerometers and/or gyroscopes; a GPS receiver; a
Bluetooth module; memory storing applicable firmware; and various
physical connection interfaces (e.g., USB, HDMI, headset jack,
etc.); etc. Additionally, an operating system for managing the
hardware and resources of the client device 126, application
programming interfaces (APIs) for providing applications access to
the hardware and resources, a user interface module for generating
and displaying interfaces for user interaction and input, and
applications such as applications for making phone calls, video
calls, video chatting, web browsing, messaging, social networking,
gaming, capturing digital video and/or images, etc., may be stored
and operable on the client device 126.
[0044] The client devices 126a . . . 126n may be computing devices
of the same type or of different types. For example, the client
device 126a may be a tablet computer and the client device 126n may
be a laptop. In other examples, a client device 126 can be a
computing device such as a workstation computer, a desktop
computer, a netbook computer, a smartphone, a set-top box/unit, an
Internet Protocol-connected smart TV or projector including a
computer processor capable of receiving viewer input, accessing
video content on computer networks such as the Internet, and
executing software routines to provide enhanced functionality and
interactivity to viewers, or the like. In some embodiments, the
client device 126 is a handheld wireless computing device, which is
capable of sending and receiving voice and/or data communications.
For example, the client device 126 may include a processor, a
memory, a power source and one or more network interfaces coupled
via a data bus, where the one or more network interfaces broadcast
and receive control data, voice data, and/or network data via radio
signals.
[0045] In the depicted embodiment, the client device 126a contains
a client application 128 for generating and displaying user
interfaces, receiving user input, and sending data to and receiving
data from the other entities 102, 118, 136, etc. of the system 100.
In particular, the client application 128 may include routines for
accessing the functionality and content of the professional
development server 102 and/or the media distribution server 118. In
some embodiments, different client devices 126 may include
different client applications 128. For example, the client device
126a may include a client application 128a customized for
interaction with the professional development server 102 and/or the
media distribution server 118, and the client device 126b may
include a client application 128b operable as a web browser for
accessing webpages and other web-based resources served by other
entities of the system 100 such as the professional development
server 102. In other embodiments, the client devices 126 may
include the same client applications 128.
[0046] Additional structure and functionality of the client devices
126 and the client application 128 are provided below with
reference to at least FIG. 3.
[0047] The network 142 includes one or more wired or wireless
networks and may have any number of configurations such as a star
configuration, token ring configuration or other known
configurations. The network 142 may include a local area network
(LAN), a wide area network (WAN) (e.g., the Internet), and/or any
other interconnected data path across which multiple devices may
communicate. The network 142 may be coupled to or include mobile
(cellular) networks including distributed radio networks and a hub
providing a wireless wide area network (WWAN), or other
telecommunications networks. In some embodiments, the network 142
may include Bluetooth communication networks for sending and
receiving data. The network 142 may transmit data using a variety
of different communication protocols including user datagram
protocol (UDP), transmission control protocol (TCP), hypertext
transfer protocol (HTTP), hypertext transfer protocol secure
(HTTPS), file transfer protocol (FTP), direct data connection,
wireless access protocol (WAP), various email protocols, etc.
Client devices 126 may couple to and communicate via the network
142 using a wireless and/or wired connection. In some embodiments,
the communication unit (not shown) of the client devices 126
include a wireless network interface controller for sending and
receiving data packets to an access point of the network 142. For
example, the client devices 126 may be Wi-Fi enabled devices that
connect to wireless local area networks (WLANs), such as wireless
hotspots. The client devices 126 may also include one or more
wireless mobile network interface controllers for sending and
receiving data packets via a WWAN of the network 142.
Example Professional Development Server 102
[0048] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example professional
development server 102. In the depicted embodiment, the
professional development server 102 is a computing device that
includes a professional development application engine 104 and an
observation engine 106. The professional development server 102
also includes a processor 216, a memory 218, a communication unit
220, and a data store 110 communicatively coupled via a
communication bus 214. The bus 214 can be any type of conventional
communication bus for transferring data between components of a
computing device, or between computing devices. The professional
development server 102 depicted in FIG. 2 is provided by way of
example and it should be understood that the professional
development server 102 may take other forms and include additional
or fewer components without departing from the scope of the present
disclosure. For example, while not shown, in some implementations,
the professional development server 102 may include input and
output devices (e.g., a computer display, a keyboard and mouse,
etc.). Additionally, it should be understood that the computer
architecture depicted in FIG. 2 is applicable to the other entities
of the system 100, such as the media distribution server 118 and/or
the third-party server 136 with various modifications.
[0049] The processor 216 includes an arithmetic logic unit, a
microprocessor, a general purpose controller, or some other
processor array to perform computations and provide electronic
display signals to a display device (not shown). The processor 216
may be coupled to the bus 214 for communication with the other
components of the professional development server 102. The
processor 216 may process data signals and may have various
computing architectures including a complex instruction set
computer (CISC) architecture, a reduced instruction set computer
(RISC) architecture, or an architecture implementing a combination
of instruction sets. Although only a single processor 216 is shown
in FIG. 2, multiple processors may be included. The processor 216
may be capable of supporting the display of images and the capture
and transmission of images, perform complex tasks, including
various types of feature extraction and sampling, etc. It should be
understood that the professional development server 102 could
include various operating systems, sensors, displays, additional
processors, and other physical configurations.
[0050] The memory 218 stores instructions and/or data that may be
executed by the processor 216. The memory 218 is coupled to the bus
214 for communication with the processor 216 and the other
components of professional development server 102. The instructions
and/or data may comprise code for performing any and/or all of the
techniques described herein. In particular, the memory 218 includes
a non-transitory computer-usable (e.g., readable, writeable, etc.)
medium, which can be any apparatus or device that can contain,
store, communicate, propagate or transport instructions, data,
computer programs, software, code, routines, etc., for processing
by or in connection with the processor 216. A non-transitory
computer-usable storage medium may include any and/or all
computer-usable storage media. In some implementations, the memory
218 may include volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or both. For
example, the memory 218 may include a dynamic random access memory
(DRAM) device, a static random access memory (SRAM) device, flash
memory, a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a CD ROM device, a
DVD ROM device, a DVD RAM device, a DVD RW device, a Blue-Ray.TM.
storage device, a flash memory device, or any other mass storage
device known for storing information on a more permanent basis. It
should be understood that the memory 218 may be a single device or
may include multiple types of devices and configurations.
[0051] The communication unit 220 is an interface for sending to
and receiving data from other computing devices. In the depicted
embodiment, the communication unit 220 is coupled to the network
142 by the signal line 112 and coupled to the bus 214. In some
embodiments, the communication unit 220 includes a network
interface device (I/F) having ports for wired connectivity. For
example, the communication unit 220 includes a CAT-5/6/7 interface,
USB interface, or SD interface, etc. The communication unit 220 may
also include a transceiver for sending and receiving signals using
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth.RTM. or cellular communications for wireless
communication. The communication unit 220 can link the processor
216 to the network 142 that may in turn be coupled to other
processing systems. The communication unit 220 can provide
connections to the network 142 and to other entities of the system
100 using standard communication protocols including, for example,
TCP/IP, HTTP, HTTPS, etc.
Example Professional Development Application Engine 104
[0052] The professional development application engine 104 includes
a content engine 202, which is coupled for communication with the
other components 106, 110, 204, 206, 208, 210, 216, 218, and 220 of
the professional development server 102. The content engine 202 is
also coupled to the network 142 via the communication unit 220 for
communication with the other entities 118, 122, 126a . . . 126n,
136, and 140 of the system 100.
[0053] In some embodiments, the professional development
application engine 104 and/or the content engine 202 are sets of
instructions executable by the processor 216 to provide their
respective functionality. In other embodiments, the professional
development application engine 104 and/or the content engine 202
are stored in the memory 218 of the professional development server
102 and are accessible and executable by the processor 216 to
provide their respective functionality. In any of these
embodiments, the professional development application engine 104
and the content engine 202 may be adapted for cooperation and
communication with the processor 216 and other components 106, 110,
204, 206, 208, 210, 216, 218, and 220 of the professional
development server 102.
[0054] The content engine 202 is software including routines for
managing and providing content for the professional development
service. In some embodiments, the content engine 202 catalogs the
electronic resources, provides for the addition or removal of
electronic resources, transmits the electronic resources to the
users of the professional development service for consumption,
tracks user consumption and interaction with the of electronic
resources, etc.
[0055] The content engine 202 is coupled to the data store 110 and
the media data store 122, either directly or via the media
distribution server 118, to access the electronic resources stored
therein. In some embodiments, the content engine 202 can search the
data store 110 and the media data store 122 to generate and collect
information about the electronic resources. For instance, the
content engine 202 can aggregate attributes of the electronic
resources, such as the author, publisher, file size, creation date,
publication date, a thumbnail of the resource, etc., and store them
in a resource library database. In various embodiments, the content
engine 202 can access the electronic resources in the data store
110 and the media data store 122 to transmit or stream copies of
those resources to the client devices 126 of the users 132
requesting to interact with them.
[0056] The content engine 202 can also receive and store new
electronic resources in the media data store 122 or the data store
110. In some embodiments, the content engine 202 may interact with
the media distribution server 118 to store information in the media
data store 122. In other embodiments, the content engine 202 may
store information in the media data store 122 directly. In some
embodiments, the content engine 202 receives content addition
requests via the network 142, requesting the addition of electronic
resources to the professional development service. For example, the
content engine 202 is capable of serving a webpage to a client
device 126 that provides functionality for the user of the client
device 126 to author or upload an electronic resource along with
metadata characterizing it. The electronic resource may be an
interactive electronic book, a video file, an audio file, a
document, a dataset, an electronic link, or any other electronic
resource that can be accessed and viewed via the professional
development service. The content engine 202 may receive the
additional electronic resource, store the metadata about the
resource in the resource library database, and store the electronic
resource in the data store 110 and/or media data store 122. Thus,
the content engine 202 can update the resource library database,
either periodically or real-time, with any new electronic resources
that have been added to or removed from the professional
development service.
[0057] The content engine 202 is capable of receiving requests for
electronic resources from users 132 and fulfilling those requests
by transmitting the electronic resources to the corresponding
client devices 126 of the users 132. For example, the content
engine 202 may receive a request from a client device 126 of a user
132 via the network 142 to view a training video that was assigned
to the user 132 by an observer while observing that user 132 in
action. In another example, upon logging in to the professional
development service, a user 126 may be presented with an interface
by the user application 128 that shows any outstanding assignments
that the user 132 must complete, the dates by the assignments must
be completed, a description of what the assignments are, etc. Using
this interface, the user may select an assignment, in response to
which the user application 128 transmits a request to the content
engine 202 for the electronic resource associated with the
assignment. In yet another example, an observer, upon logging in,
may be provided with electronic resources (e.g., video, audio,
etc.) by the content engine 202 in cooperation with the client
application 128, which describes what to focus on, observe,
evaluate, during an upcoming/pending observational assessment of a
target subject. In these or other examples, electronic resources
can be identified and served to the users based on the users'
social graphs and/or preferences. The content engine 202, upon
receiving this request, may locate the electronic resource in the
data store 110 and provide it to the user application 128 via the
network 142 for presentation to the user 132. As discussed
elsewhere herein, the content engine 202 may, in some embodiments,
cooperate with the media distribution server 118 to provide the
electronic resources for consumption and/or interaction by the
users 132 requesting them.
[0058] When users consume or interact with the electronic resources
provided by the content engine 202, the content engine 202 is
capable of logging the consumption and interaction in the data
store 110 in association with those users. In some embodiments, the
content engine 202 cooperates with the user application 128 to
monitoring user interactions with the electronic resources. For
example, when user interacts with a user interface generated and
displayed by the user application, the user application 128 sends
interaction data via the network 142 to the content engine 202
informing the content engine 202 of the interaction, and the
content engine 202 stores this interaction data. In a further
example, if a user interacts with a media player embedded in a user
interface of the user application 128, interaction data describing
the user's interactions, such which actions the user took (e.g.,
clicked a pause button, a play button, a scrubbing dial, volume
dial; maximized the viewing field of the media player; added a
comment about the video using an associated interface element;
etc.) are sent by the user application 128 to the content engine
202 and the content engine 202 logs those interactions. The
interaction data may also include or be associated with data
identifying which electronic resource was interacted with, the user
who interacted with the resource, the time and date of the
interaction, etc. In another example, if a user is accessing an
interactive electronic book, the user application can send
interaction data describing when the user begins interacting with
the electronic book, pages through the electronic book, downloads
files included with or embedded in the electronic book, completes
surveys included with the electronic book, views videos embedded in
the electronic book, comments on passages of the electronic book,
or otherwise uses any other functionality provided by the user
application 128 for interaction with the electronic book or the
corresponding components of the professional development
application engine 104.
[0059] In some embodiments, the content engine 202 may provide the
electronic resource to the client devices 126 with presentational
information and the client application 128 may use the
presentational information to form the look and feel of the user
interfaces. For example, the electronic file(s) or data stream(s)
may be formatted using a markup language (e.g., HTML, XML, etc.),
style sheets (e.g., CSS, XSL, etc.), graphics, and/or scripts
(e.g., JavaScript, ActionScript, etc.), and the client application
128 may interpret the interface instructions and render an
interactive Web User Interface (WUI) for display on a user device
116 based thereon. In other implementations, the client application
128 may determine the formatting and look and feel of the user
interfaces independently. Using the user interfaces presented by
the client application 128, the user can input commands selecting
various actions.
Example Observation Engine 106
[0060] The observation engine 106 is software including routines
for facilitating professional development based on observational
assessments. In particular, the observation engine 106 can send,
receive and store observation-related data, such as observation
data, templates and files including questions and answers tied to
performance standards (e.g., standards related to execution,
compliance, effectiveness, personalized learning plans, etc.),
identify and suggest electronic training resources based on
observation-related data received, generate reports including
analytics about the professionals and their progress, generate
performance (e.g., execution, evaluation, compliance,
effectiveness, etc.) assessments of the observers of the
professionals based on demographics data, observation-related data,
achievement data, standards data, student data, teacher data,
interaction data, inter-rater reliability data, observer comparison
data, or any other data described herein.
[0061] In the depicted embodiment, the observation engine 106
includes an observation module 204, a recommendation engine 206, an
assignment engine 208, and a reporting module 210. The components
204, 206, 208, and 210 of the observation engine 106 are coupled
for communication with each other and the other components 104,
110, 202, 216, 218, and 220 of the professional development server
102. The components 204, 206, 208, and 210 are also coupled to the
network 142 via the communication unit 220 for communication with
the other entities of the system 100.
[0062] In some embodiments, the observation engine 106, the
observation module 204, the recommendation engine 206, the
assignment engine 208, and/or the reporting module 210 are sets of
instructions executable by the processor 216 to provide their
respective functionality. In other embodiments, the observation
engine 106, the observation module 204, the recommendation engine
206, the assignment engine 208, and/or the reporting module 210 are
stored in the memory 218 of the professional development server 102
and are accessible and executable by the processor 216 to provide
their respective functionality. In any of these embodiments, the
observation engine 106, the observation module 204, the
recommendation engine 206, the assignment engine 208, and/or the
reporting module 210 may be adapted for cooperation and
communication with the processor 216 and other components 104, 110,
202, 216, 218, and 220 of the professional development server
102.
[0063] The observation module 204 is software including routines
for sending, receiving, processing, and storing observation-related
data. In some embodiments, the observation module 204 may provide
observation templates to observers for use in observing and
assessing other users (also referred to as the target subjects),
receive observation files including observation data reflecting the
assessments, and store the observation files in the data store 110
in association with the target subjects being observed. In some
embodiments, the observation module 204 interacts and cooperates
with the client application 128 to provide the above-noted
functionality.
[0064] In the depicted embodiment, the observation module 204 is
coupled to one or more client devices 126 to provide one or more
observation templates to the client devices 126 and to receive
observation-related data from the client devices 126. In some
embodiments, an observation template is an electronic form for
assessing the performance of a target subject. The observation
template may include header fields for describing the circumstances
of an observation session. For example, the observation template
may include fields for describing the identity a target subject,
the date the observation was performed by an observer, and how the
results of the observation should be distributed and stored, etc.
Additionally or alternatively, the observation template may include
assessment fields for describing the performance (e.g., execution,
compliance, effectiveness, and/or other qualities) of the target
subject during the observation, data about prior observational
assessments of the target subject, data about other observers, etc.
In some embodiments, the assessment fields may include data
describing predefined questions and user-selectable or
user-definable answers; fields for user-definable questions and/or
answers; comment fields for providing a description of the target
subject; rubrics, etc. In these or other embodiments, the
assessment fields may state a goal, objective, effectiveness
expectation, or other metric, and include one or more indicators
assessing how the target subject is meeting that goal, objective,
effectiveness expectation, or other metric. For example, the
objective might be "administrators develop the vision, mission,
values, beliefs and goals of the organization, collaboratively
determining the processes used to establish these attributes, and
facilitating their integration into the life of the organization
community," and the selectable indicators assessing whether the
administrator is partially proficient at meeting this goal may
state that the vision, mission and values are: "developed through
collaborative process," "publically available," part of routine,"
and "routinely updated" by the target subject (i.e., the
administrator). In this example, if only some of these indicators
are met, then the target subject is deemed partially proficient at
the goal. If all are met, additional indicators evaluating whether
a target subject is proficient, accomplished, or exemplary at
meeting this goal are considered and selected if appropriate. The
observation templates may also include assignment fields for
recommending, assigning and/or integrating electronic resources
(e.g., video); and fields for defining assignment parameters for
the electronic resources (e.g., task timers, wait times, etc.), as
described in further detail below. In some embodiments, suggestions
for the assignment fields may be populated real-time by the
assignment engine 208 in response to the sending of observation
data.
[0065] The content of the observation templates may be displayed to
users via user interfaces generated and displayed by the client
application 128. The user interfaces displaying the content of an
observation template to a user may also provide functionality for
completing the various fields of the template. For example, while
observing a target subject in the field, an observer user 132 may
interact with interface elements presented by the client
application 128 to input information about the circumstances of the
observation and the target subject's performance. For example, the
observer user 132 may input the location where the observation
session took place; the date and time of the observation session;
the identity of the target subject's audience; information about
the identity of the observer; information about the observer's
position and/or relationship to the target subject; options for
storing and distributing the results of the observation; etc. The
observer user 132 may also provide input describing the performance
of the target subject, such as inputting answers to questions about
various aspects of the target subjects performance, etc.
[0066] In some embodiments, an observation template may include
predefined questions and answers for assessing the compliance of a
target subjects with various predetermined requirements. For
example, the requirements may be based on institutional policy,
compliance with requirements, legislated practices, or an industry
standard, and the questions may be directed to whether or not a
target subject is meeting those requirements/standards. In these
embodiments, the same template may be used repeatedly by an
observer to record his/her observations of a target subject over
time or of a number of different target subjects. In other
embodiments, various different templates may be used for the
observational assessments of a target subject. The structure and
content of the observation templates, or portions thereof, may be
user-defined or may be automatically generated by the observation
module 204 using standards data stored in the data store 110 or
received from another entity of the system 100, such as the
third-party server 136.
[0067] The client application 128 may transmit observation-related
data including input provided by the observer during the assessment
of the target subject to the observation module 204 for storage.
For example, the observer may instruct the client application 128
to save a completed observation template as an observation file in
a local repository, and then transmit it to the observation module
204 via the network 142 for storage in the data store 110. The
observation file includes the information from the template upon
which it is based along with the observations (e.g., evaluations,
ratings, compliance assessments, and comments), assignments, and/or
other information input by observer during the observation.
[0068] In the depicted embodiment, the observation module 204 is
coupled via the bus 214 to the data store 110 to store and retrieve
observation-related data. For example, the observation module 204
can store and retrieve the observation templates and the
observation files received from the client application 128. The
observation module 204 can also store, retrieve, and provide
organization information associated with observers and target
subjects. For example, in an educational setting, the observation
module 204 may access information associated with the organization
of the school districts of a state or region; a school district;
the schools of a school district; the teachers and administrators
of a school district, a school, a subject, etc.; the classes in a
district or school; the students of a school district, a school, a
class, a subject, a teacher, an administrator, etc., from the data
store 110.
[0069] The recommendation engine 206 is software including routines
for receiving observation data related to a target subject,
identifying one or more electronic resources that correspond to the
observation data, and for providing data representing the one or
more electronic resources for display. In some embodiments, the
recommendation engine 206 is coupled via the network 142 to receive
observation data from one or more client devices 126. The
observation data may characterize one or more aspects of a target
subject's performance during an observation session performed by an
observer. In the depicted embodiment, the recommendation engine 206
is coupled to the data store 110 via the bus 214 to store and
retrieve data, and is coupled to the media data store 122 either
directly via signal line 114 or indirectly via signal line 110 and
the network 142 to store and retrieve data.
[0070] In some embodiments, the observation data may accompany a
resource request for a list of electronic resources that correspond
to the observation data. The recommendation engine 206 may receive
the request from a client device 126, and may satisfy the request
by identifying one or more electronic resources that correspond to
the request, and provide a resource response including a summary of
the one or more resources to the client device 128 for display to
the user 132 of the client device 128. For example, an observer of
a target subject may provide input reflecting observation data
assessing the performance of the target subject, and the client
application 128, upon receiving that input, may transmit a request
for recommended electronic instructional resources that can be
assigned by the observer to the target subject to help the target
subject improve his or her skills in a given area.
[0071] In some embodiments, to identify one or more electronic
resources that correspond to the observation data accompanying the
resource request, the recommendation engine 206 can compare the
observation data to metadata associated with electronic resources
to identify resources that match the observation data. For example,
the recommendation engine 206 can search a resource library
database that includes an index or catalog of the electronic
resources that are available. For instance, the resource library
database can include metadata for each of the electronic resources
describing each resource. The metadata can include tags describing
various characteristics of an electronic resource, a graphical
image of the resource (e.g., a thumbnail), a description of the
topic or subject matter that the resources is directed to, an
author or authors of the resource, the publisher of the resource,
the popularity of the resource including, for example, the number
of users who have consumed the resource and the level of their
interactivity with the resource, etc. The recommendation engine 206
can query the resource library database using the observation data
or aspects thereof to identify resources that have corresponding
metadata that match the observation data, either loosely or
strictly.
[0072] The electronic resources may be distributed among several
data stores located across the network 142 or may be stored in a
single data store. In the depicted embodiment, the media data store
122 and the data store 110 work cooperatively to store the
electronic resources. For example, media objects such as video,
audio, e-books, vector-based files, documents, datasets, learning
objects, etc., may be stored in the media data store 122 and lesson
plans, learning progressions, curriculum maps, publications,
portfolios, industry standards, etc., may be stored in the data
store 110. In other embodiments, all of the electronic resources
may be stored in and accessible from a single information source,
such as the media data store 122, the data store 110, etc. In any
of the foregoing embodiments, the resources stored in the data
store may be cataloged, for example, by the content engine 202, in
a single resource library database or in resource library databases
distributed over the network 122, and the recommendation engine 206
can query the resource library database or resource library
databases for information matching various criteria or for
information about the resources. In other embodiments, the
electronic resources may be prescribed or predetermined in advance
and pushed out by the professional development server 102 to the
observer of a target subject for assignment or to the target
subject directly for consumption.
[0073] In some embodiments, the observation data includes data
quantifying an observer's assessment of a target subject's
performance. For example, the observation data may include an
answer input by an observer in response to a question about the
target subject's performance in a particular area, and the answer
may quantify how well a target subject is performing. In some
embodiments, the answers to questions may be based on predefined
performance scales that are defined to the recommendation engine
206 and the recommendation engine 206 may use the answer to
determine where the target subject lies within that performance
scale. For example, a target subject's performance in a particular
area may be assessed from worst to best using the following
identifiers: "unsatisfactory," "needs improvement," "developing,"
"proficient," and "distinguished," and if the observation data
includes data identifying "unsatisfactory" as the answer to a
particular question about a target subject's performance in that
area, the recommendation engine 206 may use this assessment to
identify one or more electronic resources that provide foundational
training in that area.
[0074] If multiple electronic resources are identified by the
recommendation engine 206 as corresponding to the observation data,
the recommendation engine 206 can rank them based on one or more
criteria. A criterion may be any attribute associated with the
electronic resources. For example, the criterion may include a
topic; the number of times an electronic resource has been
interacted with, viewed, listened to, etc.; an author; a publisher;
a date of the electronic resource; the number of users connected to
the target subject in the social graph who have interacted with the
electronic resource; the number of times an electronic resource has
been assigned to users having a similar assessment; etc. The
recommendation engine 206 can generate the summary of electronic
resources based on the ranking performed by it. For example, the
top-ranked electronic resource may be listed first in the summary
and the lowest-ranked resource may be listed last. In another
example, the recommendation engine 206 may limit the summary to a
certain number of top-ranked resources. In yet another example, the
list of electronic resources may be sorted in order of rank and
provided incrementally as needed by the user application 128. In a
further example, the recommendation engine 206 may rank the
resources by those that have been most impactful/effective for
subjects similar to the target subject. For example, the
recommendation engine 206 may use demographics, observation,
achievement, interaction, standards, student, and/or teacher data,
etc. to identify the resources that were the most effective at
helping a set of similar target subjects develop professionally.
For example, a target subject may be a fourth grade teacher who is
struggling with maintaining order in the classroom. The
recommendation engine 206, using demographic data and/or profile
data, may identify other fourth grade teachers who, based on their
respective observation data and/or achievement data, also initially
struggled with maintaining order in their classrooms and who later
became proficient at maintaining order in their classrooms, as
reflected by their respective observation data and/or achievement
data, by watching a training video(s) on classroom management; and
the recommendation engine 206 and may recommend this/these videos
for assignment/consumption.
[0075] The assignment engine 208 is software including routines for
receiving an assignment request requesting an assignment of one or
more electronic resources to the target subject for completion, and
for assigning the one or more electronic resources to the target
subject based at least in part on the assignment request. In some
embodiments, the assignment engine 208 is coupled via the network
142 to receive the assignment request from one or more client
devices 126.
[0076] The assignment engine 208 may interact with the client
application 128 to assign various electronic resources to a target
subject. For example, during an observation of the target subject,
the observer inputs observational data indicating that the target
subject is in need of training on a particular skillset, and the
recommendation engine 206 provides a summary of electronic
instructional/training resources that are accessible via the
professional development service hosted by the professional
development application server 104. The observer, using an
interface rendered and displayed by the user application 128, may
assign one or more of the electronic resources to the target
subject. In response to the assignment, the assignment unit 304 of
the user application 128 generates and sends and assignment request
to the assignment engine 208, which identifies the electronic
resource or resources that have been assigned, as further discussed
below with reference to at least FIG. 3. The assignment engine 208
then records the assignment of the electronic resources in the data
store 110 in association with a user profile for the target
subject. In some embodiments, an assignment is not activated by the
assignment engine 208 until the corresponding observation file
including the assignment is finalized and uploaded by the
observation unit 302 of the client application 128. In other
embodiments, one or more assignment requests are provided and
recorded by virtue of the observation file being uploaded for
storage by the client application 128 to the professional
development server 102. For example, upon receipt of the
observation file, the assignment engine 208 extracts any
assignments from the observation file and records them as described
above. In some embodiments, to complete the assignment, the target
subject, who is a user of the professional development service, may
be required to access the service and interact with the electronic
resource, for example, as discussed above with respect to the
content engine 202. In other embodiments, to complete the
assignment, the target subject may be required to consume the
electronic resource and then report on his/her implementation of
the training provided by the resource and/or provide his/her
reflections on the training provided by the resource, etc., via the
client application 128. For example, the target subject may be
required to submit, via the client application 128, input
describing his/her experience with trying-out/implementing the
principles taught by the assigned resource (e.g., an online
training video). Once this input has been received, the assignment
engine 208 may flag the assignment as being completed in the data
store 110. Other configurations for completing an assignment are
also contemplated.
[0077] In some embodiments, the assignment request includes one or
more assignment parameters. Each assignment parameter sets a
condition that must be met in order to complete the assignment. For
example, an assignment parameter includes a due date, a level of
interaction with the electronic resource that is required to
complete the assignment, an additional requirement that must be
satisfied for completion of the assignment, etc. For instance, the
observer may assign a video to the target subject to view and may
require the target subject to write his/her thoughts or reflections
about the video by inputting and transmitting them via an interface
associated with the professional development service. In the
depicted embodiment, the assignment engine 208 is coupled to the
data store 110 via the bus 214 to store the one or more assignment
parameters in association with assignment to which they pertain. In
these or other embodiments, one or more assignment parameters can
be predefined and stored in the data store 110. A predefined
assignment parameter can be applicable to all users who are
assigned electronic resources, or may be customized for a
particular group of users, such as those belonging to a particular
organization or being observed by a particular observer. For
example, for all videos that are assigned, a predefined assignment
parameter can be set (e.g., by an observer via an associated
interface of the professional development service) requiring that
the videos must be viewed to completion in order for the
assignments of those videos to be considered satisfied. In another
example, predefined assignment parameters can require videos to be
viewed to completion in full screen mode with the sound of the
video being set at an audible level in order for the assignments
for the videos to be considered satisfied.
[0078] In some embodiments, the assignment engine 208 generates and
sends an electronic notification to the users associated with the
assignment request. For example, the assignment engine 208 may send
an email to the target subject and/or the observer(s) summarizing
the assignment. The email may include a description of the
electronic resource and an electronic link (e.g., a hyperlink
including the uniform resource locator (URL) of the electronic
resource) for directing the reader directly to the electronic
resource. The email may also describe any assignment parameters,
such as when the assignment must be completed by. In another
example, the assignment engine 208 may send a similar message to
the user via an internal messaging system, an instant messaging
system, a text messaging system, or any other electronic messaging
system. In these embodiments, the assignment engine 208 is coupled
to the data store 110 to access information about the electronic
resource and to store a copy of the electronic notification that
was sent.
[0079] The reporting module 210 is software including routines for
generating and sending reports. The reporting module 210 may use
the data stored/and or aggregated by the professional development
server 102 such as achievement data, demographics data, student
data, teacher data, observation-related data, interaction data,
standards data, or any other data described herein, to generate the
reports. For example, the reporting module 210, using the data
aggregated and stored by the observation engine 106 and/or
professional development application engine 104, may
generate/segment/organize a report by region, district, school,
class, teacher, student(s), class-size, gender, ethnicity, public
policy, legislation, standards, requirements, etc. In a further
example, the reporting module 210 may process this data to make
macro and/or micro qualitative assessments for inclusion in one or
more reports. For instance, the reporting module 210, based on the
observation-related data, demographics data, achievement data,
student data, teacher data, interaction data, and/or standards
data, etc., may generate an aggregate effectiveness score for a
region, body, or group, and/or individual effectiveness scores for
each of the teachers of that region, body, or group. The reports
may be generated by the reporting module 210 to include any type of
data including textual, graphical, video, audio, and vector-based
data to provide rich, qualitative and quantitative analysis of the
target subject(s), observer(s), and associated organization(s) or
businesses(s), including their performance (e.g., execution,
effectiveness, compliance, problem-areas, etc.).
[0080] In some embodiments, the reporting module 210 may analyze
two or more data types, such as observation-related data,
achievement data, and/or student data related to the target
subject, to generate an effectiveness rating for that target
subject. Analyzing two more data types to generate an effectiveness
rating is advantageous as it can provide a more reliable
effectiveness rating for a target subject compared to an
effectiveness rating generated from a single data type. For
instance, the observation data for a given teacher may reflect, for
a particular evaluation period, that the teacher received a rating
of "proficient" for four of the metrics evaluated and a "needs
improvement" rating for three of the metrics. However, during this
same evaluation period, the student data may reflect that the
students of this teacher gave the teacher a "proficient" or
"excellent" rating in every category surveyed, and the achievement
data for these students may reflect standardized test scores, which
meet or exceed legislative requirements. As a result, the
effectiveness rating generated by the reporting module 210 can
balance the "needs improvement" ratings against the positive survey
and test score results to produce a more accurate overall
"effectiveness" rating for the teacher. In other examples, the
reporting module 210 may determine the assessments of the target
subject described by each data type as being consistent, and as
providing further evidence/support for a particular effectiveness
rating.
[0081] In some embodiments, the reporting module 210 can generate a
report based at least in part on the receipt of interaction data
describing an interaction between the target subject and the at
least one electronic resource that was assigned. The reporting
module 210 may be coupled to the content engine 202, the memory
218, and/or the data store 110 to receive the interaction data. For
example, to generate a report, the reporting module 210 may analyze
user behavior in interacting with one or more electronic resources
provided by the professional development application engine 104,
and generate a report summarizing and/or detailing this analysis.
In particular, when a user consumes an electronic resource, the
content engine 202 of the professional development application
engine 104 may receive and store interaction data describing the
interaction in the data store 110 in association with a user
profile associated of the user, and the reporting module 210 may
access the interaction data to analyze the user interaction and
generate a report describing the user interaction.
[0082] For example, when a user accesses an electronic resource,
pages through an electronic book, downloads files included with or
embedded in a webpage, complete a survey associated with any
electronic resource, views a video file, listens to an audio file,
comments on passages of an interactive electronic book, submits
lesson plans, submits curriculum maps, downloads documents, uploads
files including video, audio, text, graphics, etc., participates in
communities, groups defined by his/her social graph, or otherwise
uses any other functionality provided by the client application 128
(e.g., see FIG. 3) to interact with an electronic resource, the
professional development application engine 104 receives
interaction data describing these interactions from the client
application 128 or another entity of the system, such as the media
distribution server 118, and stores interaction data describing the
interaction in the data store 228. In another example, if an
observer assigns a target subject to watch a video on achieving
effective classroom management via the professional development
service, the reporting module 210 can generate status updates about
the target subject's progress on watching the video and send them
to the observer. The reporting module 210 can also report on the
target subject's additional efforts to develop his/her skills by
reporting on what other electronic training resources the target
subject has consumed since the observer made the assignment,
provided the target subject provides his/her consent for doing so
via an associated privacy settings interface.
[0083] In some embodiments, the reporting module 210 generates a
report in response to receiving a trigger signal. In some
embodiments, the trigger signal may be generated by the
professional development application engine 104 upon the completion
of an assignment by a target user and transmitted to the reporting
module 210. In other embodiments, the trigger signal may be
generated in response to a request for a report, for example, from
a user of the professional development service via an associated
user interface. For example, an observer who observed a target
subject and assigned the target subject one or more electronic
resources may input a command into his/her user device 118 via the
user application 128 commanding that a report be generated
describing the target subject's progress on completing the
assignment. Responsive to receiving the command, the user
application 128 may generate and send a report request via the
network 110 to the reporting module 210, thus triggering the
reporting module 210 to generate and send the report for display to
the target subject, observer, an administrator, a combination of
the foregoing, etc.
[0084] In other embodiments, the reporting module 210 may
automatically generate the report at certain intervals, times, etc.
For example, the reporting module 210 may automatically generate
reports for all outstanding assignments and send them to the
administrator and/or observer users 132 who oversee the target
subjects that the outstanding assignments correspond to. In some
embodiments, the reporting module 210 may transmit the report to
the user application 128 for display to the user 132, provide the
report for download as a portable document, transmit the report via
electronic message (e.g., via email) to one or more other users 132
associated with or responsible for the target subject, etc.
[0085] The reporting module 210 is also capable of analyzing the
effectiveness of an observer, and generating and providing a report
describing the observer's effectiveness to the observer and other
users 132, such as an administrator of the observer. In some
embodiments, to analyze the effectiveness of the observer, the
reporting module 210 compares achievement data and
observation-related data associated with the target subject to
determine if the performance assessment of the target subject
reflected by the observation-related is accurate and consistent.
The achievement data can include any type of achievement data
associated with the target subject. For example, depending on the
target subject's profession, the achievement data may include test
scores for one or more pupils of the target subject, test scores
for the target subject, reviews by peers, performance reviews,
sales figures associated with the target subject, reviews by
clients of the target subject, compliance with
requirements/standards, etc. The observation data can include any
data associated with the performance assessments made by an
observer, such as the observation files associated with the
observer and/or target subject(s) observed by the observer. In
these or other embodiments, the reporting module 210 can track the
observational assessments performed by an observer and compare them
for consistency based on substance, frequency, etc.
[0086] Based on the observation-related and achievement data, the
reporting module 210 can determine the accuracy and consistency of
a performance assessment (e.g., execution, effectiveness,
compliance, performance, trending, and other metrics, etc.) of the
target subject. In some embodiments, the reporting module 210 can
analyze the achievement data to determine an achievement-based
performance assessment for the target subject; can analyze the
observation-related to determine an observation-based performance
assessment for the target subject; and compare the
achievement-based and the observation-based performance assessments
to further determine if the observation-based performance
assessment of the target subject is accurate/consistent. In other
embodiments, the reporting module 210 may compare the observational
assessments by one observer of a target subject to the
observational assessments of the same target subject by other
observers to determine the accuracy of the observer's assessments.
For example, if an observational assessment of a target subject by
a first observer is grossly inconsistent with the observational
assessments of that target subject by other observers on the same
or similar subject matter, the observational assessment of the
first observer may be flagged and reported to an administrator of
the observer for further review/scrutiny.
[0087] In some embodiments, the accuracy of the observation-based
performance assessment can be determined based on whether the
achievement-based and the observation-based performance assessments
are consistent. For example, the reporting module 210 may determine
the observation-based performance assessment to be inaccurate if
the observation-based performance assessment is negative and the
achievement-based performance assessment is positive, or
conversely, if the observation-based performance assessment is
positive and the achievement-based performance assessment is
negative.
[0088] Further, the reporting module 210 may determine the
observation-based performance assessment to be accurate if both the
observation-based performance and achievement-based performance
assessments were negative or positive. However, if the both the
observation-based performance and the achievement-based performance
assessments were neutral, the reporting module 210 may report that
the accuracy of the performance assessment made the by the observer
could not be verified.
[0089] The reporting module 210 can generate a report describing
the determination it made about the accuracy of the observer's
performance assessment of a target subject and provide the report
for display to the observer(s) or one or more other users, such as
an administrator of the observer(s). In some embodiments, the
reporting module 210 can generate the report in response to
receiving a request from a client device 126 of an
administrator/user 132 who oversees the observer. In other
embodiments, the reporting module 210 can automatically generate
and send the report to the administrator via an electronic message,
such as an email, an internal messaging application provided by the
professional development application, a text message, etc.
[0090] In some embodiments, the accuracy of all of the observer's
performance assessments of a particular target subject or multiple
target subjects may be determined by the reporting module 210 and
included in the report. For example, the observer's overall
accuracy in performing the observational assessments may be
computed over time by the reporting module 210 to determine if the
observer is consistently inaccurate with his/her observations.
Additionally, the reporting module 210 may compare the accuracy of
one or more of an observer's assessments of a target subject to the
assessments of that target subject by other observers to determine
whether they are consistent. If not, information describing the
inconsistencies may be included in the report.
[0091] The reporting module 210 may also determine whether an
observer is properly performing the observational assessments and
can include this determination in the report. In some embodiments,
the reporting module 210 may analyze the observation files for some
or all target subjects observed by the observer to determine the
level and quality of feedback provided by the observer about those
subjects. For example, if the reporting module 210 determines that
the assessments (e.g., answers, ratings, comments, etc.) for the
target subjects made by the observer in the observation files are
all the same or substantially similar, the reporting module 210 may
determine that the observer is simply making the same assessments
for each target subject and is not performing the assessments as
required. The reporting module 210 may also make a determination as
to the quality of one or more assessments performed by an observer
based on the level and/or variety of feedback included in the
observation file(s) for one or more target subjects.
[0092] The reporting module 210 may store any reports and/or data
generated by it in the data store 110 for later access by the
reporting module 210 or any other component of the professional
development server 102, such as an administrative module (not
shown) of the professional development application engine 104 that
provides administrator/users access via the client application 128
to statistics and reports about the users 132 of the professional
development service that the administrator oversees.
[0093] In the depicted embodiment, the reporting module 210 is
coupled to the data store 110 via the bus 214 or the data store 140
via the network 102 and the third-party server 138 to receive the
achievement data. For example, the reporting module 210 can
periodically retrieve the achievement data from the third-party
server 136 via an API and store it locally in the data store 110
for later access or use. In another example, the reporting module
210 can retrieve the achievement data real-time via the API for
analysis and compare it to the observation-related data from the
observation file. However, in other embodiments, the reporting
module 210 may retrieve the achievement data from any information
source communicatively coupled to the professional development
server 102 or network 142 via the network.
[0094] The reporting module 210 provides numerous additional
advantages including providing the target subject a mechanism for
reporting on the completion of an assignment, providing an
observer/user a mechanism to monitor whether the target subject(s)
he/she observes completes the assignments assign to them, analyzing
and reporting on an observer's performance and work quality,
determining/rating effectiveness of target subjects, etc.
[0095] Additional functionality of the professional development
application engine 104, the observation engine 106, and their
corresponding components are further described below.
Example Client Device 126
[0096] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example client device 126.
In the depicted embodiment, the client device 126 includes a client
application 128. The client device 126 also includes a
communication unit 308, a processor 310, a memory 312, a graphics
adapter 316, a display 318, and an input device 320, which are
communicatively coupled via the bus 314. In some embodiments, the
functionality of the bus 314 may be provided by an interconnecting
chipset.
[0097] The communication unit 308 includes interfaces for
interacting with other devices/networks of devices. In some
embodiments, the communication unit 308 includes transceivers for
sending and receiving wireless signals. For example, the
communication unit 308 includes radio transceivers (4G, 3G, 2G,
etc.) for mobile network connectivity, and radio transceivers for
WiFi and Bluetooth.RTM. connectivity. In these or other
embodiments, the communication unit 308 may include a network
interface device (I/F), which includes ports for wired
connectivity. For example, the communication unit 308 may include a
CAT-type interface, USB interface, or SD interface, etc. In the
depicted embodiment, the communication unit 308 is coupled to the
network 142 by the signal line 124.
[0098] The processor 310 comprises an arithmetic logic unit, a
microprocessor, a general purpose controller, or some other
processor array to perform computations and optionally provide
electronic display signals to the display 318. The processor 310
may communicate with the other components via the bus 314.
Processor 310 processes data signals and may comprise various
computing architectures including a complex instruction set
computer (CISC) architecture, a reduced instruction set computer
(RISC) architecture, or an architecture implementing a combination
of instruction sets. Although only a single processor is shown in
FIG. 3, multiple processors may be included. The client device 126
also includes an operating system executable by the processor 310
as discussed elsewhere herein, for example, with reference to FIG.
1.
[0099] The memory 312 stores instructions and/or data that may be
executed by processor 310. The memory 312 communicates with the
other components of client device 126 via the bus 314. The
instructions and/or data comprise code for performing any and/or
all of the techniques described herein. In particular, the memory
312 includes a non-transitory computer-usable (e.g., readable,
writeable, etc.) medium, which can be any apparatus or device that
can contain, store, communicate, propagate or transport
instructions, data, computer programs, software, code, routines,
etc., for processing by or in connection with the processor 310. A
non-transitory computer-usable storage medium may include any
and/or all computer-usable storage media. In some implementations,
the memory 312 may include volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or
both. In some implementations, the memory 312 may include volatile
memory, non-volatile memory, or both. For example, the memory 312
may include a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) device, a static
random access memory (SRAM) device, flash memory, a hard disk
drive, a floppy disk drive, a CD ROM device, a DVD ROM device, a
DVD RAM device, a DVD RW device, a flash memory device, or any
other mass storage device known for storing information on a more
permanent basis. It should be understood that the memory 312 may be
a single device or may include multiple types of devices and
configurations. In some embodiments, the client application 128 is
stored in the memory 312 and executable by the processor 310.
[0100] The display 318 represents any device equipped to present
output signals generated and provided by the client device 126. In
some embodiments, the display 318 displays electronic images and
data including, for example, user interfaces and formatted
information. For example the display 318 may be any conventional
display device, monitor or screen, such as an organic
light-emitting diode (OLED) display, a liquid crystal display
(LCD), an e-ink display, etc. In some embodiments, the display 318
is a touch-screen display capable of receiving input from one or
more fingers of a user 132. For example, the display 318 may be a
capacitive touch-screen display capable of detecting and
interpreting multiple points of contact with the display surface.
In some embodiments, the display 318 may be coupled to the bus 314
via a graphics adapter 316, which generates and provides display
signals to the display 318. The graphics adapter 316 may be a
separate processing device including a separate processor and
memory (not shown) or may be integrated with the processor 310 and
memory 312.
[0101] The input device 320 represents any device for inputting
data on the client device 126. In some embodiments, the input
device 320 is a touch-screen display capable of receiving input
from the one or more fingers of the user 132. The functionality of
the input device 320 and the display 318 may be integrated, and a
user 132 of the client device 126 may interact with the client
device 126 by contacting a surface of the display 318 using one or
more fingers. For example, the user 132 may interact with an
emulated (i.e., virtual or soft) keyboard displayed on the
touch-screen display by using fingers to contacting the display in
the keyboard regions. In other embodiments, the input device 320 is
a separate peripheral device or combination of devices. For
example, the input device 320 includes a keyboard (e.g., a QWERTY
keyboard) and a pointing device (e.g., a mouse or touchpad). The
input device 320 may also include a microphone (e.g., for voice
input) or other known peripheral devices.
Example Client Application 128
[0102] The client application 128 is software including routines
for sending and receiving data to the other entities of the system,
including, for example, the professional development server 102,
the media distribution server 118, and the third-party server 136.
In some embodiments, the client application 128 is a web browser
application for accessing the resources provided by the
professional development server 102 and the media distribution
server 118. For example, the professional development service
operated by the professional development server 102 in cooperation
with the media distribution server 118 may be a web-based service
and the client application 128 may access various electronic
resources provided by the service via uniform resource locators
(URLs). In other embodiments, the client application 128 is an
application customized specifically for accessing the professional
development service, and more particularly, cooperating and
interacting with the observation engine 106.
[0103] In the depicted embodiment, the client application 128
provides a user 132 (e.g., an observer) interacting with the client
device 126 mechanisms for inputting viewing, adding, modifying,
deleting observation-related data related to one or more other
users 132. The client application 128 may cooperate with the
observation engine 106 to conveniently store and retrieve
observation templates and files. The client application 128 may, in
some embodiments, send a resource request to the observation engine
106 to identify and provide recommended electronic resources that
can be assigned to a user. The client application 128 may also send
a request to the reporting module 210 to provide
observation-related statistics and reports for display to the user
via a report interface generated by the interface engine 306 of the
client application 128.
[0104] In the depicted embodiment, the client application 128
includes an observation unit 302, an assignment unit 304, and an
interface engine 306. The observation unit 302, the assignment unit
304, and the interface engine 306 are communicatively coupled with
each other and the other components 308, 310, 312, 316, 318, and
320 of the client device 126. The components are also coupled to
the network 142 via the communication unit 308 for communication
with the other entities of the system 100. While not depicted, in
some embodiments, the client application 128 may include an
authentication module for authenticating the user 132 to access the
professional development service.
[0105] In some embodiments, the client application 128, the
observation unit 302, the assignment unit 304, and/or the interface
engine 306 are sets of instructions executable by the processor 310
to provide their respective functionality. In other embodiments,
the client application 128, the observation unit 302, the
assignment unit 304, and/or the interface engine 306 are stored in
the memory 312 of the client device 126 and are accessible and
executable by the processor 310 to provide this functionality. In
any of these embodiments, the client application 128, the
observation unit 302, the assignment unit 304, and/or the interface
engine 306 may be adapted for cooperation and communication with
the processor 310 and other components of the client device
126.
[0106] In some embodiments, the observation-related data managed by
the client application 128 may be locally stored in the memory 312,
remotely stored in the data store 218, the social graph 214, the
third-party server, or may be stored in any combination of the
forgoing thereof. For example, an instance of the
observation-related data may be stored locally on the client device
126 and remotely on the professional development server 102, and
the client application 128 may synchronize the information via the
network 142 as the information changes. In some embodiments, the
client application 128 may be a stand-alone application or may be
integrated into another application operable on the client device
126.
[0107] The observation unit 302 is software including routines for
sending and receiving observation-related data to the observation
module 204, cooperating with the interface engine 306 to display
observation-related information to a user, and cooperating with the
interface engine 306 to receive observation-related input from the
user. In some embodiments, the observation unit 302 interacts with
the observation module 204 to receive observation templates and
observation files for display to the user 132 of the client device
126 and to send observation files to the observation module 204 for
processing and/or storage in the data store 110, as discussed above
with reference to at least FIG. 2.
[0108] In some embodiments, the observation unit 302 can cooperate
with the observation module 204 via the network 142 to provide
information about target subjects to an observer and provide
functionality to the observer for assessing and tracking the
performance and development of the target subjects. The observation
unit 302 may also interact with the interface engine 306 to provide
administrative tools such as a reporting tool for viewing
statistics and other analytical data, and/or an observational tool
for assessing the performance of subordinates, assigning
development resources to those individuals, and tracking completion
of the assignments. In some embodiments, the observation unit 302
interacts with the interface engine 306 to display observation
templates and files to a user, as discussed with reference to at
least FIG. 10 below.
[0109] The observation unit 302 may be coupled to the interface
engine 306 to receive user input and display the information to the
user 132 via user interfaces generated by the interface engine 306,
such as the observation interface 302 discussed with reference to
FIG. 10 below. For example, the observation unit 302 may send
interface signals to the interface engine 306, and responsive to
receiving these signals, the interface engine 306 may generate and
display user interfaces that correspond to the instructions
included in the interface signals. In another example, the
interface engine 306 may receive input signals from a user via the
input device 320 and send those signals to the observation unit 302
for processing. In some embodiments, in cooperation with the
interface engine 308, the observation unit 302 can receive
user-related and observation-related information and display the
data to the user, display observation templates to the user,
populate observation templates with user input, save observation
files based on the observation templates, transmit
observation-related data such as observation files to the
observation module 204 or storage, receive observation-related
statistics and reports and organize and display them to the user,
receive electronic resources for assignment, consumption, etc., by
the user, receive electronic communications from other users via
the network 142 and display them to the user, etc. In some
embodiments, an observer may, via a user interface rendered by the
interface engine 306, preselect options and/or be guided similarly
in designing observation templates and appropriate follow-up
activities.
[0110] In some embodiments, the interface engine 306, in
cooperation with the observation unit 302, may generate a report
dashboard/interface for viewing reports generated and provided by
the reporting module 210 and received by the observation unit 302.
This dashboard provides numerous advantages including providing an
observer or administrator with detailed information about a given
target subject's performance (e.g., execution, effectiveness,
compliance, etc.) over time. For example, the observer may be a
school principal and may need to visit the classrooms of a number
of his/her teachers to perform observational assessments of each of
them. For each teacher, the principal may, using the dashboard,
access any previous observational assessments of that teacher; view
an overall performance (e.g., execution, effectiveness, compliance,
etc.) rating/summary of that teacher; view the performance (e.g.,
execution, effectiveness, compliance, etc.) ratings/summaries of
that teacher over time; view statistics across all observational
assessments of that teacher or a subset, such as the observational
assessments performed for that academic year; may quickly ascertain
the areas a teacher has had problems with or has been working on,
or the areas the teacher has been improving on; review the test
scores for the students of the teacher, student and parent
evaluations of the teacher; view the electronic training resources
the teacher has consumed/interacted with; view any work-product,
lesson plans, videos, presentation, etc., the teacher has uploaded,
the professional learning communities and groups the teacher has
interacted with, any mentors the teacher has been working with,
etc. Using this information, the principal may quick get
up-to-speed on where the teacher is at, thus provide pertinent and
relevant observations (e.g., evaluations, ratings, suggestions,
comments, etc.) and assignments, etc., during the observation
session to be performed.
[0111] The assignment unit 304 is software including routines for
generating and sending resource requests, receiving resource
responses including one or more electronic resources identified by
the assignment engine 208, and assigning one or more electronics
resources to a user. In some embodiments, the assignment unit 304
cooperates and interacts with the assignment engine 210 to identify
one or more electronic resources that can be assigned to a user, as
discussed above with reference to at least FIG. 2.
[0112] The assignment unit 304 is coupled to the interface engine
306 to receive user input and provide information to the user 132
via user interfaces generated by the interface engine 306. In some
embodiments, responsive to receiving user input signals, the
assignment unit 304 can generate a resource request or an
assignment request. In some embodiments, the input signals may
specify which electronic resource(s) is/are being assigned and the
user the resource(s) is/are being assigned to. For example, an
observer performing and observation of a target subject, may select
one or more of the videos identified by the recommendation engine
206 and displayed to the via a user interface, such as the
observation interface 1000 illustrated in FIG. 10. The assignment
unit 304 may also assign supplemental instructional, prescriptive
and/or discipline related resources in response to one or more of
these resource being assigned by an observer (e.g., after receiving
a report about an initial assignment). In some embodiments, the
assignment unit 304 assigns one or more of these resources by
generating and sending an assignment request and receiving an
assignment confirmation as discussed elsewhere herein. In addition,
the assignment unit 304 may provide tools/functionality to the
observer to provide the target subject with feedback, follow-up
with the target subject about an assignment or an aspect
observational assessment performed, provide recommendations of
additional electronic resources to assign to the target subject
upon completion of an initial assignment by the target subject,
etc.
[0113] The interface engine 306 is software including routines for
rendering user interfaces and for receiving user input. The
interface engine 306 may be coupled to the input device 320 via the
bus 314 to receive input signals from the user 132. For example, an
observer/user 132 can select an answer to an observation-related
question using the input device 320, and the interface engine 306
receives signals describing the answer. The interface engine 306
may store the input signals in the memory 312 for retrieval by the
other elements of the client application 128, such as the
assignment unit 304, or may provide the signals directly to the
other elements of the client application 128.
[0114] The user interfaces generated by the interface engine 306
include interfaces for inputting, modifying, and deleting
information, displaying notifications, rendering video, displaying
images and text, displaying vector-based content, sending and
storing information, etc. In some embodiments, the user interfaces
include user interface elements that allow users 116 to interact
with the client device 126 and input information and commands, such
as text entry fields, selection boxes, drop-down menus, buttons,
virtual keyboards and numeric pads, etc., as further discussed
below with reference to FIG. 10
Example Methods
[0115] Referring now to FIG. 4, an example method 400 for
prescribing electronic resources based on observational assessments
is described. The method 400 begins by identifying 402 one or more
electronic resources based on observation data. In some
embodiments, the recommendation engine 206 identifies 402 the one
or more electronic resources by querying a library of electronic
resources for resources that match one or more aspects of the
observation data. If a plurality of electronic resources is
identified, the recommendation engine 206 can rank and filter the
electronic resources and thus recommend which electronic resources
are the most suitable for a target subject. Next, the method 400
provides 404 a summary of the one or more electronic resources to
an observer, such as a supervisor or evaluator, for assignment to
subject that he/she is observing. For example, the client device
126 of the observer may receive a summary of training videos or
other resources identified and ranked by the recommendation engine
206 and may display the summary to the observer via a user
interface. The observer may use the interface to preview the videos
or other resources and/or assign one or more of the videos or other
resources to the target subject.
[0116] Next, the method receives 406 an assignment of one or more
electronic resources. In some embodiments, the assignment engine
208 receives an assignment request describing the one or more
electronic resources that are to be assigned to the target subject
by the assignment engine 208. The method 400 continues by
associating 408 the assignment of the one or more electronic
resources with the target subject. In some embodiments, to
associate the assignment, the assignment engine 208 stores the
assignment request or information therefrom in the data store 210
in association with the a user profile of the target subject. The
method 400 is then complete and ends.
[0117] FIG. 5 describes an example method 500 for identifying and
ranking electronic resources based on observational assessments.
The method 500 begins by generating 502 metadata for electronic
resources, such as audio files, video files, vector-based files,
electronic books, electronic publications, spreadsheets, word
processing documents, presentational slides, etc. In some
embodiments, the electronic resources are submitted for storage in
the data store 110 and/or the media data store 122 along with
metadata describing the contents and characteristics of the
electronic resources. In other embodiments, metadata for the
electronic resources are derived from the electronic resources
themselves, for example by parsing header information included in
the electronic resources. The method 500 then stores 504 the
metadata and the associated electronic resources. For example, the
metadata and associated electronic resources can be stored 504 in
the data store 110 and/or in the media data store 122. In some
embodiments, a resource library database is updated to include the
metadata for the electronic resources, including for example, data
describing the content and characteristics of the electronic
resources and their stored location.
[0118] Next, the method 500 receives 506 observation data
reflecting an observational assessment made about a target subject.
In some embodiments, the observation data reflects an answer to a
question from an observation template. For example, the observation
data can describe how the target subject is performing with
reference to a particular skill, requirement, standard, etc. Using
the metadata associated with the electronic resources, the method
500 queries 508 for one or more electronic resources that match the
observation data. The match can be loose and allow electronic
resources that generally pertain to the observation data to be
identified, or may be strict and require that the electronic
resources be precisely directed to the assessment reflected in the
observation data. For example, if the target subject is identified
as lacking in his or her ability to communicate with students who
speak English as a second language, a loose match may identify
resources generally related to classroom communication, and a
strict match may identify resources that specifically relate to
communicating with students who speak English as second
language.
[0119] The method 500 continues by ranking 510 the electronic
resources identified in block 508, provided multiple electronic
resources are identified. In some embodiments, the ranking of the
electronic resources is based on one or more criteria. Examples of
a criterion may include, but are not limited to, a conclusion,
result, fact, statistic, or artifact included in the observation
data, interaction data, demographics data, achievement data,
student data, teacher data, and/or standards data. In one example,
the electronic resources may be ranked based on student and teacher
artifacts, such as student work or performance, lesson plan,
curriculum maps, etc., so as to surface the resources that are the
most relevant to the teachers, the subject being taught, and/or the
direction of the curriculum being taught. In another example, the
electronic resources may be ranked based on which electronic
resources most closely match the observation data, how popular
electronic resources are (e.g., how many times they have been
uniquely interacted with), etc. In yet another example, the
electronic resources may be ranked based on the
progress/improvement a teacher is making, as identified in the
observation data, in the achievement data for the students of the
teacher, a combination of the foregoing, etc. It should be
understood, however, that the above examples are provided by way of
illustration and many other ways to rank the users are possible,
contemplated, and within the scope of this disclosure.
[0120] This ranking is beneficial, as the electronic resources, or
a description thereof, can automatically be provided in order of
most relevant or useful to the observer for assignment to the
target subject. In embodiments where only one resource is
identified in block 508, the ranking in block 510 is skipped and
the method 500 proceeds to block 512. Next, the method 500 sends
512 the electronic resource or resources for assignment to the
target subject and the method 500 is complete and ends.
[0121] FIG. 6 describes an example method 600 for assigning
electronic resources. The method 600 begins by receiving 602 a
request. The request may be a request to preview a particular
electronic resource or to assign one or more resources to a target
subject, and may include information identifying the associated
resource or resources. In some embodiments, the request may be
received from a client device 126 via the network 142. The method
600 continues by determining 604 whether the request includes a
preview request for previewing the resource. If so, the method 600
provides 606 the resource indicated in the preview request for
presentation to the observer. In some embodiments, the electronic
resource is provided by the professional development server 102
and/or media distribution server 118 via the network 142 to a
client device 126 of the observer. In other embodiments, other
entities coupled to the network 142 may provide the electronic
resource. By way of example, an observer who received a list of
electronic resources from the recommendation engine 206 via the
client application 128 can preview one or more of the electronic
resources to learn more about the resource or resources, determine
whether the subject matter of the resource is appropriate for the
target subject, etc.
[0122] If the method 600 determines 604 that the request does not
include a preview request, the method 600 then determines 608
whether the request includes an assignment request for assigning
one or more electronic resources to a target subject for
completion. If so, the method 600 determines 610 if any assignment
parameters are associated with the assignment request. In some
embodiments, an assignment parameter places a condition on how the
assignment of an electronic resource is to be completed. For
example, the assignment parameter may be a due date by which the
target subject must interact with the electronic resource by. As a
further example, if electronic resource is a video, the assignment
parameter may be a due date by which the target subject must watch
the video by using an interface associated with the professional
service. If it is determined 608 that the request does not include
an assignment request, the method 600 is then complete and
ends.
[0123] Next, the method 600 assigns 612 the one or more electronic
resources to the target subject based on the one or more assignment
parameters. In some embodiments, the method 600 may assign 612 the
one or more electronics resources by storing a record of the
assignment in the data store 110 in association with a user profile
of the target subject. The record can include information
describing the one or more electronic resources and the one or more
assignment parameters. The method 600 is then complete and
ends.
[0124] FIGS. 7A and 7B describe an example method 700 for
monitoring and reporting on assigned electronic resources. The
method 700 begins by monitoring 702 the progress of an assignment.
The assignment may include the assignment of one or more electronic
resources to target subject for completion/interaction by the
target subject. The assignment may also include one or more
assignment parameters that dictate how the assignment should be
completed by the target subject, and the method 700 can analyze the
assignment parameters to determine if the assignment has been
completed. In some embodiments, the reporting module 210 is
configured to monitor the status of the assignment, including
whether the assignment has been fully completed, is in progress, or
has not begun.
[0125] The method 700 continues by exchanging 704 communications
between the target subject and the observer of the target subject.
In some embodiments, the method 700 facilitates the exchange by
providing the contact information (e.g., an electronic messaging
address) of target subject to the observer and vice versa. In other
embodiments, the method 700 exchanges communication by relaying
electronic messages between messaging accounts of the target
subject and the observer using an internal messaging service.
Exchanging communication using other messaging services, such as
email, instant messaging, SMS, etc., is also contemplated. In these
embodiments, the method 700 may store record of any communications
exchanged between the target subject and the observer for later
reference and retrieval. Exchanging communication between the
observer and the target subject is advantageous in a number of
respects including that it provides a feedback loop between the
target subject and the observer. For example, the target subject
may communicate questions to the observer about what specific areas
the target subject should focus on improving when interacting with
an electronic resource assigned to him/her by the observer, and the
observer may provide feedback to the target subject. In some
embodiments, the communications exchanged by the method 700 may be
included in a report generated by the reporting module 210 to
summarize the interaction between a target subject and an
observer.
[0126] Next, the method 700 determines 706 the conclusion of the
assignment. For example, the method 700 can determine whether the
assignment was successfully completed, was never begun, or was in
progress at the conclusion of the time set for completing the
assignment. The method 700 then updates 708 the user profile of the
target subject to reflect the conclusion. In some embodiments, the
reporting module 210 updates a record stored in the data store 110
with data reflecting the conclusion.
[0127] The method 700 continues by generating 710 a report
describing the status of the assignment and providing it to the
observer 712 and/or other users. The report may include the
conclusion determined by the method in block 706, any electronic
communication exchanged between the target subject in the observer
in block 704, and any other information about the assignment,
including a description of the electronic resource(s), information
from the observation file associated with the assignment,
statistics and results from other observational assessments
performed previously of the target subject, any related industry
standards, performance benchmarks, or job requirements, etc.
[0128] The method 700 then determines 714 whether the assignment
was successfully completed. In some embodiments, this determination
is based on the conclusion from block 706. If the method 700
determines 714 the assignment to have been successfully completed,
the method 700 continues by identifying 716 one or more related
supplemental electronic resources. In some embodiments, the method
700 identifies 716 these resources in response to receiving a
supplemental resource request from a client device 126. In other
embodiments, the method 700 identifies 716 the supplemental
electronic resources in response to receiving a signal for the
resources from one of the components of the observation engine 106.
For example, upon determining that the assignment had been
successfully completed, the reporting module 210 may signal the
recommendation engine 206 to identify supplemental electronic
resources related to the observation data or electronic resource
associated with the assignment. The method 700 may then provide 718
a summary of the related supplemental electronic resources
identified in block 716 to the observer or another user for
assignment to the target subject. For example, a summary of these
supplemental resources may be included in a report provided to the
observer, and the client application 128 may display the report to
the observer and provide functionality to the observer for
assigning one or more of the supplemental resources to the target
subject. In some embodiments, blocks 714-720 can be performed prior
to block 710 and then information describing the additional
resources identified in blocks 716 or 720 can be included in the
report generated in block 710 and provided in block 712 to the
observer. In these embodiments, blocks 718 and 722 would be
eliminated.
[0129] If the method 700 determines 714 the assignment to have not
been successfully completed, the method 700 continues by
identifying 720 discipline-related electronic resources. In some
embodiments, the reporting module 210 may signal the recommendation
engine 206 to identify one or more discipline-related electronic
resources that can be assigned to the target subject. The
recommendation engine 206 may identify these resources based on the
conclusion determined in block 706 and using operations that are
substantially similar to or the same as the operations described
above with reference to block 508 of method 500. The recommendation
engine 206 may also rank these resources, for example, using the
operations discussed above with reference to block 510 of method
500. Additionally or alternatively, one or more electronic
resources that are discipline-related may be pre-prepared for
circumstances where a target subject fails to complete an
assignment, and may be identified as such in a data store, such as
the resource library database. For example, in educational setting,
a school district may have prepared an electronic resource, such as
the instructional digital video, emphasizing the importance of the
observation process and the need for target subjects to complete
any professional development training assigned to them via the
observation engine 106.
[0130] The method 700 may then provide 722 a summary of the
discipline-related supplemental electronic resources identified in
block 720 to the observer or another user for assignment to the
target subject. For example, a summary of these electronics
resources may be included in a report provided to the observer, and
the client application 128 may display the report to the observer
and provide functionality to the observer for assigning one or more
of the discipline-related resources to the target subject. The
method 700 is then complete and ends.
[0131] FIG. 8 describes an example method 800 for requesting
assignment of an electronic resource. The method 800 begins by
presenting 802 an observation template including questions and
associated user-selectable/definable answers to an observer of a
target subject. In some embodiments, the interface engine 206
displays the observation template upon receiving interface signals
from the observation unit 202. Next, the method receives 804 user
input providing an answer to a question and, based on this answer,
the method 800 determines 806 one or more electronic resources that
can be assigned by the observer to the target subject. For example,
the interface engine 306 receives input signals providing
observation data from the observer via the input device 320 and the
assignment unit 304 generates an assignment request based on the
observation data and transmits it to the assignment engine 208. The
assignment engine 208, in reply, identifies one or more electronic
resources and sends them to the assignment unit 304 and the
assignment unit 304 instructs the interface engine 306 to display
the one or more electronic resources to the observer.
[0132] The one or more electronic resources are then displayed 808
by the method 800 to the observer. Next, the method 800 receives
810 user input selecting one of the electronic resources, and
determines 812 whether the user input includes an instruction to
present the resource for review. If so, the method 800 requests 814
the electronic resource for presentation. In some embodiments, the
method 800 sends a presentation request to the server hosting the
resource requesting the server provide the electronic resource for
presentation. For example, the electronic resource is a video and
the assignment engine 208 receives a video stream from the media
distribution server 118 responsive to sending a preview request to
the content engine 202. If the user input does not include an
instruction to present the resource, the method continues by
determining 816 whether the user input includes an instruction to
assign the electronic resource to the target subject for
completion. If so, the method 800 requests 818 the assignment of
the electronic resource to the target subject. In some embodiments,
an assignment request is sent by the assignment unit 304 to the
assignment engine 208 via the network 142 requesting the electronic
resource be assigned to the target subject for completion. If the
method 800 determines 816 that the user input does not include an
instruction to assign the electronic resource, the method 800 is
then complete and ends.
[0133] FIG. 9 describes an example method 900 for assessing
performance of an observer of a target subject. The method 900
begins by receiving 902 achievement data for one or more pupils of
the target subject and comparing 904 the achievement data to
observation data associated with the target subject. For example,
the reporting module 210 may access achievement data from the data
store 110 or from the third-party server 136 and compare it to
observation data also accessed from the data store 110. In some
embodiments, the observation data may be pulled from an associated
observation file stored in the data store. Based on the comparison,
the method 900 determines 906 whether a performance assessment
reflected by the observation data is accurate and generates 908 a
report describing the performance of the observer based on the
accuracy determination performed in block 906. For example, the
reporting module 210 can generate a report describing the
determination it made about the accuracy of the observer's
performance assessment of a target subject (e.g., as reflected by
the observation file). The method provides 910 the report for
display to an administrator of the observer, and then completes and
ends.
[0134] It should be understood that the methods 400-900 are
provided by way of example, and the variations and combinations of
these methods, as well as other methods, are contemplated. For
example, in some embodiments, at least a portion of the methods
400-900 represent various segments of one or more larger methods
and may be concatenated or various steps of these methods may be
combined to produce other methods which are encompassed by the
present disclosure. Additionally, it should be understood that the
assignments of electronic resources and reporting on the
conclusions of the assignments, as described with reference to at
least the methods 400-900, could be iterative, and thus repeated as
many times as necessary to assist a target subject with his or her
professional development.
[0135] To illustrate various aspects of the system 100 and the
methods 400-900, the following non-limiting example is provided. A
school principal may visit the classrooms of each teacher in
his/her school to observe the teacher in action and provide an
assessment of the teacher's performance. The principal may launch
the client application 128 on his/her wireless client device 126,
and once launched, the observation unit 302 of the client
application 128 may refresh a local repository with updated teacher
information and observation templates received from the observation
engine 106 via the network 142. The principal, using an interface
generated by the interface engine 306, may select previously
completed observation files for a given teacher to view how the
teacher performed during previous observation sessions. The
principal, using an interface of the client application 128, may
also select to perform a new observation assessment of the teacher
by selecting the observation template that should be used as a
basis for the observation and the name of the teacher that he is to
observe. In response to the selection, the observation unit 302
then opens the observation template for the principal to populate
with his/her observations (e.g., assessments, evaluations, ratings,
comments, etc.) and assignments, etc. The principal, using the
question and answer/feedback fields provided in the template,
provides input (observation data) assessing the performance (e.g.,
execution, compliance, effectiveness, etc.) of the teacher with
respect to various criteria/standards.
[0136] Upon answering a question about whether the teacher
implements effective classroom management to maximize student
learning, the principal selects a predefined answer indicating that
the teacher is "developing" in this area. The assignment unit 304
responds to receiving the input by sending a resource request to
the recommendation engine 206 including information associated with
the question and/or answer, and in reply, the recommendation engine
206, using the information provided with the resource request,
identifies, ranks and provides a list of recommended training
videos related to classroom management. This list is displayed by
the interface engine 306 to the observer, and the observer selects
the first video in the list and assigns it to the teacher with a
due date of two weeks from the date of the observation using the
functionality of the client application 128. In response, the
assignment unit 304 sends an assignment request to the assignment
engine 208, which records the assignment request in the data store
110 in association with a user profile of the teacher. The
reporting module 210 monitors the teacher's progress in watching
the training video and reports the progress to the observer by
generating and sending weekly reports summarizing the progress to
the observer via email. The reporting module 210 also stores the
reports in the data store 110 for access by the principal via an
interface of the client application 128. The teacher watches the
video by accessing the video via a webpage served by the
professional development application engine 104 in cooperation with
the media distribution server 118 the day before the due date and
the reporting module 210 reports the completion of the assignment
to the principal by sending a report to the observer via email and
storing the report in the data store 110 for later access by the
observer via the client application 128.
Example User Interface
[0137] Referring now to FIG. 10, an example observation interface
1000 for assigning electronic resources is described. It should be
understood that the user interface illustrated in FIG. 10 is
provided merely by way of example, and that other user interfaces
may be generated and displayed by the client application 128 to
allow users 132 to interact with the system 100 and to allow the
system 100 to present information to the users. For example,
various user interfaces may be produced to display reports and
statistics, display dialogs, set parameters and settings, send
electronic communications, view, listen to and/or interact with the
electronic resources provided by the professional development
service, etc.
[0138] As depicted in FIG. 10, the observation interface 1000
includes a menu region 1002 and an observation region 1004. The
menu region 1002 includes selectors 1006 for selecting the user for
which an observation will be performed. The menu region 1002 also
includes an observation creation button 1008. Selecting a user
selector 1006 displays a corresponding observation file
created/being created for that user. For example, in the depicted
embodiment, the user selector 1004 for John Smith has been selected
and a corresponding observation file for John Smith is being
populated with assessment information by the observer in the
observation region 1004. Selecting the observation creation button
1008 creates a new observation file from an observation template.
In some embodiments, in response to the selection of the
observation creation button 1000, a dialog (not shown) displaying a
list of users is presented to the observer. In some embodiments,
the list of users represents all of the users that are associated
with a particular organization or company. For example, in
educational setting, the list of users may include all of the
teachers of a school, or may be a segmented list listing all of the
schools within a school district and their corresponding teachers
and administrators. In some embodiments, this list is provided on
demand to the observation unit 302 by the observation module 204
via the network 142 and rendered for display by the interface
engine 306. In other embodiments, the observation unit 302 may
retrieve the list from a local repository and provide it to the
interface engine 306 for display. Using the user interface, the
observer may then select who the target subject is from the list of
users, and responsive to receiving this input, the interface engine
306 may render the observation interface 1000 for the target
subject similar to the one displayed in FIG. 10.
[0139] The observation region includes a header region 1010 and a
body region 1012. The header region 1010 includes fields for
displaying who the target subject of the observation is (e.g., John
Smith), who the observer is (e.g., Mary Anderson), which
observation template is being used for the observation, and for
inputting the date and time the observation session was started and
completed. The header region 1010 also includes an options dialogue
for configuring settings, such as how the observation file is to be
distributed and stored. For example, the observer may check a
checkbox to set an option for storing the observation file in the
data store 110 for later access.
[0140] The body region includes elements for the observer to input
his/her assessments made during the observation. For example, as
depicted in FIG. 9, the body region 1012 includes an assessment
region 1014 including a standard that the target subject must meet,
a question/indicator for the observer, and answer elements 1016 for
answering the question/indication. For instance, the
question/indicator states "[t]eacher implements effective classroom
management to maximize student learning," and the observer inputs
information indicating that the target subject's performance in
this area is developing and information commenting about the target
subject's performance.
[0141] As depicted, the body region 1012 also includes a resource
region 1034 for displaying one or more electronic resources. In
some embodiments, the electronic resources displayed in the
resources region 1034 are received from the recommendation engine
206 and displayed in the resource region 1034 responsive to the
observer inputting information into the answer elements 1016. For
example, upon receiving the input from the observer, the
observation unit 302 transmits a resource request to the
recommendation engine 206 requesting a list of related electronic
resources be provided based on the input (e.g., observation
data).
[0142] The resource region 1034, as depicted, includes a resource
scrolling region 1018, a scrollbar 1024, one or more electronic
resources 1020, a resource description region 1022, an assignment
button 1028, a preview button 1030, and a due date button 1032. The
resource scrolling region 1018 provides the user with functionality
to scroll through and select one or more of the various electronic
resources displayed therein. The scrolling can be performed by
interacting with the scrollbar 1024 or the resource scrolling
region 1018 (e.g., swiping the resource scrolling region 1018 via a
touch-sensitive display with an input element, such as a finger).
The selecting can be performed by interacting with the
representations of the electronic resources in the resource
scrolling region. For example, selecting on an electronic resource
once selects the resource, and selecting it again unselects the
resource. Multiple selection is also possible using known selection
methods.
[0143] Once one or more resources have been selected by the
observer, they can be previewed or assigned using the corresponding
preview and assignment buttons 1030 and 1028. In some embodiments,
selecting the preview button transmits a request for a selected
electronic resource, and once received, displays the selected
electronic resource(s) in a preview interface with interface
elements allowing the user to view and interact with the electronic
resource. For example, the selected electronic resource is a video
and the selecting the preview button displays a media player for
viewing the video.
[0144] In some embodiments, selecting the assignment button 128
sends an assignment request to the assignment unit 304 requesting
the assignment of the one or more selected electronic resources to
the target subject. In reply, the assignment unit 304 may send a
confirmation response to the assignment unit 304 indicating that
the one or more resources were successfully assigned. Once this
response has been received, the scrollable resource region may be
refreshed to only display the resources that were assigned and the
assignment button 1028 may change to an unassign button to indicate
that the displayed resources have been assigned and provide
functionality for the observer to unassign them if desired. The due
date button is an example of an input element for setting an
assignment parameter. As depicted, when the due date button is
selected, a calendar dialog is displayed for selecting a date for
when the assignment of the one or more electronic resources should
be completed. It should be understood that the observation
interface 1000 could include any number of interface elements for
setting assignment parameters.
[0145] In some embodiments, the resource region 1034 may initially
be hidden from display until the user inputs observation data into
one or more of the answer elements 1016. In other embodiments, the
resource region 1034 may always be displayed, or may be hidden or
displayed by selecting a corresponding expansion/contraction button
(not shown). While only one assessment region 1014 and resource
region 1034 are displayed in the depicted embodiment, it should be
understood that numerous assessment regions 1014 and corresponding
resource regions 1034 could be included. For example, there could
be numerous standards and associated questions/indicators for
measuring the target subject's performance during observation, and
thus numerous corresponding resource regions for displaying
electronic resources that correspond to the various assessments
that have been made by the observer during the observation
session.
[0146] An example system and methods for prescribing electronic
resources based on observational assessments have been described.
In the above description, for purposes of explanation, numerous
specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough
understanding of the present disclosure. It should be understood
that the technology described in the various example embodiments
can be practiced without these specific details. In other
instances, structures and devices are shown in block diagram form
in order to avoid obscuring the description.
[0147] Reference in the present disclosure to "some embodiments,"
"an embodiment," "an example embodiment," "other embodiments,"
etc., means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic
described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least
one embodiment of the description. The appearances of the phrase
"in some embodiments" in various places in the present disclosure
are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiments.
[0148] Some portions of the detailed descriptions that follow are
presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of
operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic
descriptions and representations are the means used by those
skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the
substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm
is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence
of steps leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring
physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not
necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or
magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined,
compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at
times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these
signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms,
numbers, or the like.
[0149] It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and
similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical
quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these
quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from
the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the
description, discussions utilizing terms including, for example,
"processing" or "computing" or "calculating" or "ranking" or
"identifying" or "determining" or "displaying" or "receiving" or
"conducting" or "collecting" or the like, refer to the action and
processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing
device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as
physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's
registers and memories into other data similarly represented as
physical quantities within the computer system memories or
registers or other such information storage, transmission or
display devices.
[0150] The present embodiment of the present disclosure also
relates to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. This
apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes,
or it may include a general-purpose computer selectively activated
or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such
a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage
medium including, for example, any type of disk including floppy
disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magnetic disks, read-only
memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs,
magnetic or optical cards, flash memories including USB keys with
non-volatile memory or any type of media suitable for storing
electronic instructions, each coupled to a computer system bus.
[0151] The present disclosure can take the form of an entirely
hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an
embodiment containing both hardware and software elements. In a
preferred embodiment, the present disclosure is implemented in
software, which includes but is not limited to firmware, resident
software, microcode, etc.
[0152] Furthermore, the description can take the form of a computer
program product accessible from a computer-usable or
computer-readable medium providing program code for use by or in
connection with a computer or any instruction execution system. For
the purposes of this description, a computer-usable or computer
readable medium can be any apparatus that can contain, store,
communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in
connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or
device.
[0153] A data processing system suitable for storing and/or
executing program code will include at least one processor coupled
directly or indirectly to memory elements through a system bus. The
memory elements can include local memory employed during actual
execution of the program code, bulk storage, and cache memories
which provide temporary storage of at least some program code in
order to reduce the number of times code must be retrieved from
bulk storage during execution.
[0154] Input/output or I/O devices (including but not limited to
keyboards, displays, pointing devices, etc.) can be coupled to the
system either directly or through intervening I/O controllers.
[0155] Network adapters may also be coupled to the system to enable
the data processing system to become coupled to other data
processing systems or remote printers or storage devices through
intervening private or public networks. Modems, cable modems,
wireless adapters, and Ethernet cards are just a few of the
currently available types of network adapters.
[0156] Finally, the algorithms and displays presented herein are
not inherently related to any particular computer or other
apparatus. Various general-purpose systems may be used with
programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove
convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the
required method steps. The required structure for a variety of
these systems will appear from the description. In addition, the
present disclosure is not described with reference to any
particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a
variety of programming languages may be used to implement the
teachings of the present disclosure as described herein.
[0157] It is intended that the scope of the disclosure be limited
not by this detailed description, but rather by the claims of this
application. As will be understood by those familiar with the art,
the present disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms
without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics
thereof. Likewise, the particular naming and division of the
modules, routines, features, attributes, methodologies and other
aspects are not mandatory or significant, and the mechanisms that
implement the present disclosure or its features may have different
names, divisions and/or formats. Furthermore, as will be apparent
to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art, the modules,
routines, features, attributes, methodologies and other aspects of
the disclosure can be implemented as software, hardware, firmware
or any combination of the three. Also, wherever a component, an
example of which is a module, of the present disclosure is
implemented as software, the component can be implemented as a
standalone program, as part of a larger program, as a plurality of
separate programs, as a statically or dynamically linked library,
as a kernel loadable module, as a device driver, and/or in every
and any other way. Additionally, the disclosure is in no way
limited to implementation in any specific programming language, or
for any specific operating system or environment. Accordingly, the
disclosure is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the
scope of the subject matter set forth in the following claims.
* * * * *