JP2009200935A - Communication system, communication apparatus and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reproduce a lecture reproduced in the past without affecting other participants of a lecture when giving the lecture over a network. <P>SOLUTION: A network lecture system 10 comprises a lecturer terminal 100 and a plurality of participant terminals 200. In the network lecture system 10, lecture data is approximately simultaneously transmitted to all the participant terminals 200 in real time. Each of the participant terminal 200 can reproduce a lecture, and can accept input of designation information, which in turn designates a certain recording term of the lecture, to transmit this information to the lecturer terminal 100. When the designation information is received, the lecturer terminal 100 identifies the participant terminal 200 that is a transmission source of the designation information, specifies the recording term designated by the designation information and transmits lecture data of the specified recording term, namely, lecture data reproduced to the participant terminal 200 of the transmission source. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for giving a lecture via a network.

A technique for giving a lecture via a network is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). Since lectures via the network do not depend on the number or location of the students, for example, a plurality of students in various places can take the same lecture at the same time. In addition, when a lecture is given via a network, it is possible to perform two-way communication between the lecturer and the student.
JP 2003-289514 A

In a lecture, a student may want to review or rehearse. However, if a student asks for a question or confirmation for review or re-listening, and the lecturer responds to it, the course will be interrupted once, so other students who are attending at the same time In that case, it may be felt that the progress of the lecture is hindered.
Therefore, the present invention aims to make it possible to replay a previously replayed lecture without affecting other students when a lecture (a lecture and the like) is performed via a network. .

  A communication system according to the present invention is a communication system having a plurality of terminals and a communication device respectively used by a plurality of students, wherein the communication device communicates with each of the plurality of terminals. Communication means, lecture data recording lectures, storage means for storing lecture data representing at least one of audio and images in association with the recording time, and lecture data stored in the storage means A first distribution unit that distributes the lecture data to the plurality of terminals via the first communication unit, and one of the plurality of terminals, so that the plurality of terminals are sequentially reproduced in common. When the designation information transmitted as the transmission source, which designates a certain recording time of the lecture data, is received via the first communication means, it responds to the designation information. And second distribution means for distributing the lecture data to the transmission source terminal via the first communication means so that the lecture data stored in the storage means are sequentially reproduced from the recorded time. The terminal communicates with the communication device, a second communication unit, a reception unit that receives an input of the designation information according to a student's designation, and the designation information input by the reception unit. Transmission means for transmitting to the communication device via the communication means, and reproduction means for sequentially reproducing the lecture data when the lecture data is received via the second communication means. To do.

  A communication apparatus according to the present invention includes communication means for communicating with each of a plurality of terminals, lecture data in which a lecture is recorded, and lecture data representing at least one of voice and image is associated with the recording time. And storing the lecture data to the plurality of terminals via the communication means so that the storage means and the lecture data stored in the storage means are sequentially reproduced in common in each of the plurality of terminals. 1 and the designation information transmitted from one of the plurality of terminals as a transmission source, and when the designation information designating a certain recording time of the lecture data is received via the communication means, Distribute the lecture data to the transmission source terminal via the communication means so that the lecture data stored in the storage means are sequentially reproduced from the recording time corresponding to the designation information. Characterized by comprising a second delivery means that.

  In the communication apparatus according to the present invention, the designation information has at least one of a plurality of attributes, and further, classification means for classifying the designation information received via the communication means by the attributes, and the classification means And an output unit that outputs classification information representing the classification result according to the above.

  In the communication device according to the present invention, the communication device further includes a generation unit that records lectures by the lecturer according to the progress thereof and sequentially generates lecture data, and an input unit that inputs designation information according to the designation of the lecturer, The first distribution unit may transmit lecture data generated by the generation unit and designation information input by the input unit to the plurality of terminals.

  In the communication apparatus according to the present invention, a recognition unit for recognizing a voice or an image having a pattern determined from the lecture data, and a designation in the lecture data indicating a recording time when the voice or the image is recognized by the recognition unit The information processing apparatus may further include a generation unit that generates information, and the first distribution unit may transmit the lecture data and designation information generated by the generation unit to the plurality of terminals.

  In the communication system according to the present invention, the accepting means accepts input of a plurality of the designation information, and displays control means for displaying each recording time represented by the plurality of designation information inputted by the accepting means; Selection means for selecting at least one of the recording times displayed on the display means, and the transmission means is configured to transmit designation information representing the recording time selected by the selection means to the communication device. May be.

  In the communication system according to the present invention, the reproducing means temporarily stops the reproduction of the lecture data distributed by the first distribution means before reproducing the lecture data distributed by the second distribution means, The configuration may be such that after the reproduction of the lecture data distributed by the second distribution unit is completed, the reproduction of the lecture data distributed by the first distribution unit is resumed by fast-forwarding.

  The present invention can also be specified as a program for causing a computer to function as the above-described communication device, or a recording medium storing such a program.

  According to the present invention, when a lecture is performed via a network, it is possible to reproduce a previously reproduced lecture without affecting other students.

[Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a network lecture system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the network lecture system 10 of this embodiment includes a lecturer terminal 100, a plurality of student terminals 200, and a network 300.

  The lecturer terminal 100 and the student terminal 200 are communication devices that can communicate with each other, and are, for example, personal computers. Note that the lecturer terminal 100 and the student terminal 200 are not limited to a personal computer, and various communication devices capable of performing operations described later can be employed. The lecturer terminal 100 is a communication device used by a user who gives a lecture in this system. A user who uses the lecturer terminal 100 is hereinafter referred to as a “lecturer”. The student terminal 200 is a communication device used by a user who takes a lecture in this system. A user who uses the student terminal 200 is hereinafter referred to as a “student”. There are a plurality of students in this system, and each student takes a lecture using each student terminal 200.

  The network 300 is a network that enables communication between the lecturer terminal 100 and the student terminal 200, and is, for example, the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network). The network 300 may be, for example, a so-called Peer to Peer type network, as long as the lecturer terminal 100 and the student terminal 200 can communicate with each other, regardless of the specific form. The network 300 may be wired or wireless, or a combination thereof.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the lecturer terminal 100. As shown in the figure, the lecturer terminal 100 includes a control unit 110, a communication unit 120, an information input unit 130, and a storage unit 140. The control unit 110 includes an arithmetic device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory, and controls the operation of the lecturer terminal 100 by executing a program stored in advance. Note that the functions realized by the control unit 110 may include a known encoding function. Here, the encoding function refers to a function for converting voice and images into data in a predetermined format suitable for communication. The communication unit 120 is an interface that enables transmission and reception of data via the network 300. The communication unit 120 transmits data supplied from the control unit 110 via the network 300 and also controls data received via the network 300. 110. The information input unit 130 is an interface for inputting data to be transmitted to the student terminal 200. The information input unit 130 of this embodiment includes a photographing unit for inputting an image, a microphone for inputting sound, and an input device (keyboard, mouse, etc.) for inputting section information described later. Note that the image input by the information input unit 130 is a moving image in the present embodiment. In addition, the information input unit 130 may have a so-called superimpose function that superimposes subtitles or the like on an image. The storage unit 140 includes a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and stores data referred to by the control unit 110. The storage unit 140 may be a storage device separate from the lecturer terminal 100 connected to the network 300 or another network. The storage means in the storage unit 140 may include a recording medium configured separately from the lecturer terminal 100, such as an optical disc (DVD or the like), or may be written to the recording medium from a storage device such as an HDD. Configurations to be performed may be included.

The control unit 110 of the lecturer terminal 100 has a function of recording lectures performed by the lecturer in real time according to the progress and sequentially generating data representing the lectures. The data generated by this function is hereinafter referred to as “lecture data”. In the present embodiment, lecture data is data representing audio and images of a lecture and is generated by an encoding function. Lecture data is generated with the start of the lecture and continues to be generated until the lecture ends.
Note that the lecture data includes information indicating the recording time (or reproducing time) of the sound and the image. That is, the lecture data is data that can be reproduced not only from the beginning of the lecture but also from a specified specific time.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the student terminal 200. As shown in the figure, the student terminal 200 includes a control unit 210, a communication unit 220, an information input unit 230, an information output unit 240, and a storage unit 250. The functions of the control unit 210, the communication unit 220, and the storage unit 250 are substantially the same as the functions of the control unit 110, the communication unit 120, and the storage unit 140 of the lecturer terminal 100, respectively, and thus description thereof is omitted. However, the processing executed by the control unit 210 and the data stored in the storage unit 140 are different from the lecturer terminal 100.

The information input unit 230 is an interface for inputting data to be transmitted to the lecturer terminal 100 and information displayed on the information output unit 240. The information input unit 230 of this embodiment includes a keyboard and a mouse. The information output unit 240 is an interface for outputting data received from the lecturer terminal 100 and information input by the information input unit 230. The information output unit 240 of the present embodiment includes a speaker for emitting sound and a display device for displaying an image including characters and the like. The information input unit 230 has a function of selecting an image displayed on the display device.
The student terminal 200 is assigned identification information for identifying each terminal in the lecturer terminal 100. This identification information is, for example, an IP address.

  The configuration of the network lecture system 10 of the present embodiment is as described above. Under this configuration, the network lecture system 10 conducts lectures. When a student participates in a lecture, he / she performs a predetermined authentication process such as inputting a password to make the network lecture system 10 usable. This operation is so-called login, and is performed by operating the student terminal 200. The lecturer starts the lecture when the predetermined time comes. At this time, the lecturer operates the lecturer terminal 100 to start recording the lecture data. The lecturer terminal 100 starts recording lecture data in response to this operation.

  In the present embodiment, the lecture is played back at the same time for all student terminals 200 that have logged in. However, the reproduction of the lecture may cause some delay depending on the delay of the network 300 and the processing capability of the student terminal 200. Therefore, lectures viewed by students can cause a slight time difference.

The lecturer designates the break of the lecture as necessary as the lecture progresses. The lecturer designates the break of the lecture using the information input unit 130 of the lecturer terminal 100 at an appropriate time during the lecture. Here, the term “separation” is given at an appropriate time, for example, when there is a change in the content of the lecture, and is given multiple times during one lecture. Lecture breaks may be arbitrarily designated by the lecturer.
When the control unit 110 of the lecturer terminal 100 receives specification of a lecture break via the information input unit 130, the control unit 110 generates information indicating the specified time. This information is hereinafter referred to as “section information”. The section information is an example of designation information in the present invention, and is data representing the recording time of lecture data corresponding to the time designated by the lecturer. The section information is transmitted to the student terminal 200 at an appropriate timing, and the recording time represented by the section information is displayed on the student terminal 200.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a display mode of lecture data and section information on the student terminal 200. As shown in the figure, the student terminal 200 displays a lecture data display area A1 and a section information display area A2. The section information is associated with an image such as an icon and characters, and is displayed so that each can be identified. For example, the section information is displayed in order from the oldest time.

  The display mode of lecture data and section information is not limited to this. A section information display area may be provided above or below the lecture data display area, or the section information display area may be used as the lecture data display area. You may provide so that it may overlap. Further, in addition to the section information display area A2, a bar-shaped image representing the lecture reproduction time may be displayed in association with the time represented by the section data. The display area A3 shown in FIG. 4 is an example of this.

  As the lecture progresses, the student can replay the replayed lecture and confirm the lecture contents as necessary. While viewing the screen illustrated in FIG. 4, the student selects one of the lecture breaks (ie, section information) designated by the lecturer using the information input unit 230 of the student terminal 200, and in the past The replayed lecture can be viewed from the time indicated by the selected break.

  The outline of the operation in the network lecture system 10 of the present embodiment is as described above. Next, detailed operations of the network lecture system 10 will be described with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are flowcharts showing processing executed by the control unit 110 of the lecturer terminal 100, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing executed by the control unit 210 of the student terminal 200. In the following, the process shown in FIG. 5 is called “main process”, and the process shown in FIG. 6 is called “individual process”.

The main process is a process executed from the start to the end of the lecture. The main process is a process of receiving input from a lecturer and transmitting lecture data and section information corresponding to the input result to all student terminals 200 that are logged in. On the other hand, the individual process is a process of receiving an input from a specific student and transmitting lecture data corresponding to the input result only to the student terminal 200 of the student. The main process and the individual process are executed in parallel by the control unit 110 during the lecture. That is, the lecturer terminal 100 can execute individual processing while executing main processing.
In the following, transmitting lecture data is particularly referred to as “distribution”.

  In the main process (see FIG. 5), the control unit 110 first receives an input to start a lecture through the information input unit 130 (step Sa1). Upon receiving this input, the control unit 110 starts recording and recording, generates lecture data (step Sa2), and transmits the generated lecture data to all student terminals 200 that are logged in via the communication unit 120. (Step Sa3). That is, the distribution here is so-called multicast.

Further, the control unit 110 determines whether or not there is section information input via the information input unit 130 (step Sa4), and when the section information is input (step Sa4: YES), the input is performed. The section information is transmitted to all student terminals 200 that are logged in via the communication unit 120 (step Sa5). In addition, the control part 110 skips the process of step Sa5, ie, abbreviate | omits, when there is no input of section information (step Sa4: NO).
Subsequently, the control unit 110 stores the generated lecture data in the storage unit 140 (step Sa6). At this time, if section information is input, the control unit 110 stores the section information in the storage unit 140 in association with the lecture data.

  Then, the control unit 110 determines whether or not there is an input for ending the lecture (step Sa7), and when there is no input (step Sa7: NO), the processing after step Sa2 is repeated. Thereafter, when there is an input to end the lecture (step Sa7: YES), the control unit 110 ends the main process.

  As described above, the main process is a process of sequentially generating and transmitting lecture data. That is, the lecturer terminal 100 sequentially transmits the generated partial data pieces without waiting for the end of the generation of the lecture data. The lecture data transmitted in this manner is sequentially reproduced in order from the part received at the student terminal 200. That is, the lecture data is so-called streaming data, and the distribution mode is so-called streaming distribution.

The lecturer terminal 100 executes individual processing in parallel with the main processing. Distribution by individual processing is performed individually only for students who requested lecture data by individual processing (that is, lecture data generated in the past), and is so-called unicast.
In the individual processing (see FIG. 6), the control unit 110 receives an input of section information transmitted from a certain student terminal 200 via the communication unit 120 (step Sb1). In other words, the control unit 110 executes the individual processing in response to the acquisition of the section information transmitted from the student terminal 200. In order to distinguish between the section information input by the lecturer and the section information input by the student, the latter will be referred to as “specific section information” in the following. The specific section information is transmitted in association with the identification information.

If specific section information is acquired, the control part 110 will identify the student terminal 200 of the transmission origin (step Sb2). The control unit 110 identifies the transmission source student terminal 200, that is, the student, by referring to the identification information associated with the acquired specific section information. In addition, the control unit 110 identifies the recording time designated by the acquired specific section information (step Sb3), reads the lecture data from the identified recording time from the storage unit 140, and identifies the read lecture data as the identified transmission. It transmits to the original student terminal 200 via the communication part 120 (step Sb4).
In this embodiment, the lecture data transmitted at this time is from the break of the lecture represented by the specified recording time to the next break.

  Here, the operation in the student terminal 200 will be described with reference to FIG. The control unit 210 receives the lecture data transmitted from the lecturer terminal 100 as described above via the communication unit 220 (step Sc1), and outputs, that is, reproduces (step Sc2). At this time, the control unit 210 reproduces the sound and the image represented by the lecture data. In addition, when section information is transmitted with lecture data, the control part 210 displays the character and image corresponding to the said section information together.

  Further, the control unit 210 determines whether or not specific section information is input via the information input unit 230 while receiving and reproducing the lecture data (step Sc3). When the specific section information is input (step Sc3: YES), the control unit 210 transmits the specific section information to the lecturer terminal 100 via the communication unit 220 (step Sc4). In addition, the control part 110 skips the process of step Sc4, when there is no input of specific section information (step Sc3: NO).

  Thereafter, the control unit 210 determines whether or not the transmission of the lecture data has been completed (step Sc5), and if there is no such input (step Sc5: NO), the processing after step Sc1 is repeated. Thereafter, when the transmission of the lecture data is completed (step Sc5: YES), the control unit 210 ends the process.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a display mode of a lecture on the student terminal 200. It should be noted that the display mode shown in the figure follows that illustrated in FIG. First, when the lecture is started, the student terminal 200 displays an image as shown in FIG. Thereafter, as the lecture progresses, images representing section information in the display area A2 increase as shown in FIG.
The student selects one of the images displayed in the display area A2 when he / she wants to check the reproduced past lecture. Upon receiving this selection, the student terminal 200 transmits the section information represented by the selected image to the lecturer terminal 100 as specific section information.

Upon receiving the lecture data corresponding to the specific section information, the student terminal 200 displays the lecture data in the display area A1. That is, the lecture reproduced by the student terminal 200 is switched from a real-time one to a past one. At this time, the student terminal 200 displays the button B as shown in FIG. 8C, and when the student selects the button B, the lecture to be reproduced is returned to the real-time lecture (that is, switched again). You may do it.
At this time, as shown in the display area A3 in FIG. 8 (c), the student terminal 200 displays the progress status of the past lecture that is currently being reproduced (hatching) and the progress status of the real-time lecture (filled in black). May be displayed together.

  As described above, the network lecture system 10 according to the present embodiment enables a student who has transmitted specific section information to view a reproduced past lecture while simultaneously allowing a plurality of students to view the lecture. At this time, in the student terminal 200 that has transmitted the specific section information, the past lecture of the designated recording time is reproduced, while in the other plural student terminals 200, the real-time that has been reproduced up to that point is reproduced. The lecture will be replayed. That is, according to the network lecture system 10 of the present embodiment, it is possible to allow only a specific student to view a previously reproduced lecture without affecting other students.

[Modification]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be implemented in other forms. For example, the following modifications can be applied to the present invention. Note that the following modifications may be combined as appropriate.

(1) Modification 1
In the present invention, a plurality of reproduction modes after reproducing past lecture data that has been reproduced can be considered. For example, once a past lecture has been replayed, a real-time lecture can be replayed after that. Real-time lectures that were held during the viewing time can no longer be viewed. Therefore, in the student terminal 200, for example, the real-time lecture is temporarily stopped before starting the reproduction of the past lecture, the lecture data is stored, and the lecture data is reproduced after the reproduction of the past lecture is finished. It may be.

Also, in this case, students who watched past lectures will not have real-time lectures that should be real-time, so the lecture will end differently from other students. . In order to eliminate this time difference, the student terminal 200 increases the playback speed of a lecture (which should be real time in nature) to be played back after a past lecture has finished playing, and fast-forwards the resumed lecture. Good to play. In this way, after the fast-forwarding period ends, it is possible to replay the lecture in real time on all the student terminals 200 almost simultaneously.
Further, when past lecture data is reproduced, the stored lecture data may be continuously reproduced until the lecture ends without switching.

(2) Modification 2
The designation information in the present invention is not limited to information input by a lecturer like the section information described above. In other words, each student may specify an arbitrary break and transmit information indicating the recording time to the lecturer terminal 100 as specified information. In this case, the designation information may have an attribute.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram exemplifying a case where designation information specified by a student and having attributes is input, and is a diagram illustrating an image displayed by the control unit 210 of the student terminal 200. In the figure, a display area A1 is a lecture data display area similar to the example of FIG. The display area A4 is an image display area representing the designation information in the present modification. In this example, there are three types of attributes in the designation information, and attributes such as “important”, “interested”, and “don't know” are assigned, respectively. In this example, when the student thinks that the content of the viewed lecture is important, an input for selecting the button B1 corresponding to the designation information to which the “important” attribute is assigned is input via the information input unit 230. Do. Similarly, the student has a button B2 corresponding to “I'm interested” when interested in the viewed lecture contents, and a button B3 corresponding to “I don't know” when the contents of the viewed lectures are not well understood. select.

  The display area A3 is a display area for displaying the progress of the lecture and the recording time designated by the designation information in association with each other. In the figure, a scale S1 displays the reproduction time of a lecture as a bar-shaped image. The scale S1 is desirably provided with characters and scales every predetermined time (for example, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, etc.). The icons I1, I2, I3, and I4 are images representing the recording time of the designation information designated by the student and the attributes thereof, and are images that are displayed according to the selection of the buttons B1 to B3 described above. . Here, the symbol (!) Displayed on the icon I1 is the attribute “important”, the symbol (double circle) displayed on the icons I2 and I4 is the attribute “interested”, and the symbol displayed on the icon I3. (?) Corresponds to the attribute “I don't know”. That is, by referring to the image in the display area A3, the student can confirm at what point in the lecture he / she thought it was important.

  In this modification, the student can select any one of a plurality of displayed icons and view again the lecture data at the recording time indicated by the selected icon. At this time, the control unit 210 identifies designation information corresponding to the selected icon and transmits it to the lecturer terminal 100. When the lecturer terminal 100 receives this designation information, it reads the lecture data stored in the storage unit 140 in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment, and transmits it to the student terminal 200.

(3) Modification 3
When the student inputs the designation information as in the second modification described above, reproduction of the desired lecture content may already be started when the student inputs the designation information. For example, when a student thinks that he / she does not understand the content of the viewed lecture, the reproduction of the “I don't know” lecture has actually ended. Therefore, in the lecturer terminal 100 that has received the designation information, the lecture data is read from the recording time that is a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds) before the recording time indicated by the designation information, and is reproduced on the student terminal 200. It may be.

  Also, the designation information designated by the lecturer (ie, section information; hereinafter referred to as “first designation information”) and the designation information designated by the student (ie, the designation information described in Modification 2; hereinafter referred to as “second designation”). When it is used together with "information"), it is also possible to do as follows. That is, in the lecturer terminal 100 that has received the second designation information, the section to which the recording time represented by the received second designation information belongs is recognized, the lecture data is read from the beginning of the section, and the student terminal At 200, the lecture is replayed from the beginning of the section.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a combination of the first designation information and the second designation information. In the figure, display areas A1 and A4 are the same as those shown in FIG. Icons I1 and I2 are also the same as those shown in FIG. The display area A5 is a display area in which the first designation information and the second designation information are displayed in association with each other, and the first designation information (the same as the scale S1 in FIG. 9) is displayed below the scale S2. That is, a section delimiter) is shown, and second designation information is shown above the scale S2. In the case shown in FIG. 10, for example, when the student selects the icon I1, the student terminal 200 specifies that the recording time represented by the icon I1 belongs to the first section, and the lecture data from the beginning of the section. Read and send. Similarly, when the student selects the icon I2, the student terminal 200 reads the lecture data from the beginning of the second section and transmits it.

(4) Modification 4
In the case where the designation information is input at the student terminal 200 as in the aspect described in the second modification, after the lecturer terminal 100 receives the input designation information, the designation information is classified according to the attribute. The information representing the classification result may be output so that the lecturer or the student can use it. For example, the student terminal 200 transmits all input designation information to the lecturer terminal 100, and the lecturer terminal 100 classifies the received designation information according to attributes, and the designation information to which a specific attribute is assigned. The recording time (s) to be expressed may be specified, and lecture data at each specified time may be extracted and transmitted to the student terminal 200. In this way, it is possible for the student terminal 200 to receive lecture data such as a summary in which only a part (for example, a part of interest) in which a student has specified a specific attribute is extracted and reproduced. It becomes possible. In this case, the information representing the classification result of the designated information is lecture data obtained by extracting only specific portions. Note that the control unit 110 may cause the storage unit 150 to store lecture data obtained by extracting only the specific portion.

  In addition, the classification result of the designation information can be provided as an aggregation of the information transmitted from the plurality of student terminals 200. For example, the lecturer terminal 100 adopts a configuration in which each recording time that becomes a break of a lecture is associated with a total value of a student who specifies an attribute at the recording time, and this is notified to the lecturer or the student. Can do. In this way, for example, it is possible to grasp the tendency of the students, such as whether there are many students who did not know which part of the lecture.

(5) Modification 5
The attributes in the present invention are not limited to the three types described above. Although the attribute in the modification 2 represents the state of understanding of the lecture content of the student, the attribute in the present invention may be related to other things related to the lecture or to the student. For example, the attribute may represent the degree of understanding or proficiency level of the lecture contents of each student. In this case, the attribute is assigned in advance to each student, for example, by performing a test on the student. In this way, it is possible to inform the lecturer which level of the student is listening to which part of the lecture. In addition, if these attributes are used in combination with the attributes shown in Modification 2, it is also possible to obtain information such as what level of students are interested in what parts of the lecture are considered important. It becomes. Further, the attribute in the present invention may be input on the lecturer terminal 100 side.

(6) Modification 6
In the embodiment described above, the section information (that is, the designation information) is input by the lecturer, but the lecturer terminal 100 may have a function of generating it. For example, the lecturer terminal 100 may sequentially analyze voices or images and generate section information indicating the recording time when a certain pattern of voices or images is recognized. Here, the sound or image pattern may be any pattern as long as it is predetermined. For example, section information is generated when a specific pattern (symbol, picture, etc.) is included in the image taken by the photographing unit, or when sound (such as a buzzer sound) having a specific waveform or frequency is input. You may be made to do. Alternatively, when the lecturer does not speak for a predetermined time, the lecture may be separated. In this case, the specified pattern is a silent period of a predetermined time (a period in which noise or the like is ignored and can be regarded as substantially silent).
In addition, when the lecturer terminal 100 generates section information, the lecturer terminal 100 may generate attribute information indicating attributes of each section information. Here, the attribute is a number or name assigned to a period (section or the like) represented by the section information. Furthermore, the lecturer terminal 100 may superimpose this attribute information on the voice when recording the lecture data. As a method of superimposing attribute information, for example, digital modulation performed by a so-called modem can be used.

  In addition, the lecturer terminal 100 may generate section information at predetermined time intervals (for example, every 10 minutes) regardless of sound or images. In this case, the student may select the section information generated and transmitted immediately before, instead of selecting any of the plurality of section information. In this way, the student can view the previous lecture from a little while ago.

(7) Modification 7
The lecturer terminal 100 may transmit lecture data recorded in advance, instead of transmitting lecture data recorded in real time. In addition, the lecture data does not represent sound and image, and may represent only one of them.

(8) Modification 8
The student terminal 200 may display a past lecture by switching it to a real-time lecture, or may display both at the same time. For example, when a past lecture is reproduced, a real-time lecture may be reproduced for video, and a past lecture may be reproduced for audio.

(9) Modification 9
What is implemented by applying the present invention is not limited to lectures but includes various explanations and statements. Therefore, the “lecture” in the present invention can be regarded as a concept encompassing what is similar to such a lecture. Further, the “lecture” here is not limited to one-way information transmission from one (lecturer) to the other (student), but two-way information transmission can be performed.

(10) Modification 10
In the above-described embodiment, the program executed by the control unit 110 of the lecturer terminal 100 is readable by a computer such as a magnetic recording medium such as a magnetic disk, an optical recording medium such as an optical disk, a magneto-optical recording medium, or a semiconductor memory. It can be provided in a state stored in a simple recording medium. This program may be downloaded via a network such as the Internet.

The figure which shows the structure of the network lecture system which is one Embodiment of this invention. Block diagram showing the configuration of the lecturer terminal Block diagram showing the configuration of the student terminal Figure illustrating the display mode of lecture data and section information on the student terminal Flow chart showing the process (main process) executed by the lecturer terminal Flow chart showing processing (individual processing) executed by the lecturer terminal Flow chart showing processing executed by the student terminal The figure which shows the display mode of the lecture in the student terminal Figure illustrating the display mode of lecture data and specified information on the student terminal Figure illustrating the display mode of lecture data and specified information on the student terminal

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Network lecture system, 100 ... Lecturer terminal, 200 ... Student terminal, 300 ... Network, 110 ... Control part, 120 ... Communication part, 130 ... Information input part, 140 ... Storage part, 210 ... Control part, 220 ... Communication unit, 230 ... information input unit, 240 ... information output unit, 250 ... storage unit

Claims (8)

A communication system having a plurality of terminals and communication devices respectively used by a plurality of students,
The communication device
First communication means for communicating with each of the plurality of terminals;
Lecture data recording a lecture, wherein the lecture data representing at least one of voice and image is stored in association with the recording time;
First distribution for distributing the lecture data to the plurality of terminals via the first communication unit so that the lecture data stored in the storage unit is sequentially reproduced in common in each of the plurality of terminals. Means,
The designation information transmitted from one of the plurality of terminals as a transmission source, and when the designation information for designating a certain recording time of the lecture data is received via the first communication means, the designation information Second distribution means for distributing the lecture data to the transmission source terminal via the first communication means so that the lecture data stored in the storage means are sequentially reproduced from the recording time according to With
The terminal
Second communication means for communicating with the communication device;
Accepting means for accepting input of the designation information according to the designation of the student;
Transmitting means for transmitting the designation information input by the accepting means to the communication device via the second communication means;
And a reproducing unit that sequentially reproduces the lecture data when the lecture data is received via the second communication unit. A communication means for communicating with each of a plurality of terminals;
Lecture data recording a lecture, wherein the lecture data representing at least one of voice and image is stored in association with the recording time;
First distribution means for distributing the lecture data to the plurality of terminals via the communication means, so that the lecture data stored in the storage means is sequentially and sequentially reproduced in each of the plurality of terminals;
The designation information transmitted from one of the plurality of terminals as a transmission source, and when the designation information for designating a certain recording time of the lecture data is received via the communication unit, Second distribution means for distributing the lecture data to the transmission source terminal via the communication means so that the lecture data stored in the storage means are sequentially reproduced from the recording time. Communication device. The designation information has at least one of a plurality of attributes,
Classification means for classifying the designation information received via the communication means according to the attribute;
The communication apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: an output unit that outputs classification information representing a classification result by the classification unit. A generation means for recording lectures by lecturers according to their progress and generating lecture data sequentially,
Input means for inputting designated information according to the designation of the lecturer,
The communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first distribution unit transmits the lecture data generated by the generation unit and the designation information input by the input unit to the plurality of terminals. . Recognizing means for recognizing voice or image having a pattern determined from the lecture data;
Generating means for generating designation information indicating a recording time when the voice or image is recognized by the recognition means in the lecture data;
The communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first distribution unit transmits the lecture data and the designation information generated by the generation unit to the plurality of terminals. The accepting means accepts input of a plurality of the specified information,
Display control means for displaying on the display means each recording time represented by the plurality of pieces of designation information input by the receiving means;
Selecting means for selecting at least one of the recording times displayed on the display means,
The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit transmits designation information indicating a recording time selected by the selection unit to the communication device. The reproducing means includes
Before playing back the lecture data delivered by the second delivery means, pause the reproduction of the lecture data delivered by the first delivery means,
2. The communication according to claim 1, wherein after the reproduction of the lecture data distributed by the second distribution unit is completed, the reproduction of the lecture data distributed by the first distribution unit is resumed by fast-forwarding. system. Computer
Lecture data recorded in lectures, which is stored in storage means for storing lecture data representing at least one of audio and images in association with the recording time, is sequentially reproduced in common on each of a plurality of terminals. First distribution means for distributing the lecture data to the plurality of terminals via communication means for communicating with each of the plurality of terminals,
The designation information transmitted from one of the plurality of terminals as a transmission source, and when the designation information for designating a certain recording time of the lecture data is received via the communication unit, A program for functioning as second distribution means for distributing the lecture data to the transmission source terminal via the communication means so that the lecture data stored in the storage means are sequentially reproduced from the recording time.

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