WO2011089272A1

WO2011089272A1 - Repository for submitted items

Info

Publication number: WO2011089272A1
Application number: PCT/EP2011/051004
Authority: WO
Inventors: Simon Douglas Noyce; David James Grant; Richard Lee Fenn
Original assignee: South Bank University Enterprises Limited
Priority date: 2010-01-25
Filing date: 2011-01-25
Publication date: 2011-07-28
Also published as: GB201101276D0; GB2477404A; GB201001165D0

Abstract

This invention relates to a repository (1) for the receipt of submitted items; the repository (1) comprising: a housing (3) that defines an internal storage compartment for submitted items, a face of said housing having an inlet (7) into which items for submission can be inserted; a guide (11) provided within said housing (3) for guiding submitted items from said inlet to said storage compartment; a sensor (15) located within said housing for detecting markers (67) applied to items for submission, said sensor (15) being operable in response to detection of a said marker (67) to generate a detection signal that includes information relating to said detected marker (67); and a controller (17) that is configured to receive detection signals from said sensor (15). A system employing the repository is also disclosed.

Description

REPOSITORY FOR SUBMITTED ITEMS

Field of the Invention

One aspect of the present invention relates to a repository for submitted items. Another related, aspect of the present invention relates to a system for receiving and logging submitted items, the system including a said repository for submitted items.

In one illustrative embodiment the system is configured for receiving and logging completed student assignments (otherwise known as "coursework"), and in a particular example the assignments are submitted by students attending an educational establishment such as a university or college. These submitted items are typically, but not exclusively, in the form of written papers prepared by the students.

The teachings of the present invention will be explained hereafter with particular reference to this illustrative example, but it will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the repository and system herein disclosed may be utilised for receiving and logging a variety of different items, and as a consequence that the teachings of the present invention should not be considered to be limited only to the particular application described hereafter.

Background to the Invention

An educational establishment, such as a University or college, will typically have several hundred - and in many instances several thousand - registered students who are studying a variety of different subjects and for a variety of different qualifications.

In the course of their studies, these students are typically set assignments by the persons running the courses they are undertaking, and it is normal for the students to be given deadlines by which time the assignments in question must have been completed and submitted to the educational establishment for grading.

Some establishments dictate that completed assignments must be returned to a central office irrespective of the subject being studied, and other establishments dictate that completed assignments must be returned to the departmental office for the particular subject the student in question is studying.

In either case, keeping track of the date on which student submissions were received can be an arduous and tedious task, particularly as deadlines approach and the number of submissions rapidly increase. In many establishments it is common for there to be at least one employee who spends a significant amount of their time logging the receipt of student submissions, and it would be beneficial for the establishment if that person could be relieved of what is essentially an administrative task so that they can use their time more effectively.

As an illustration, it has been estimated that logging and processing submissions in reply to one assignment set for a large group (such as all first year students studying a particular degree) takes about two days of administrative work. If these students submit on average two pieces of coursework per unit and attend four units a semester, then the administrative burden increases to sixteen days per semester. If this is extrapolated to include all years of a three-year degree then processing of student submissions for a given semester could require forty-eight days of administrative work.

There is also the problem that as students can lose marks for late submissions, or in some circumstances have submissions disregarded if they are not received on time, it is critical for the systems employed to log the receipt of coursework to be robust and easily defendable in the event that a student should challenge an alleged non- receipt or delayed receipt of a submitted assignment. In circumstances where an employee with other responsibilities is additionally allocated the task of logging submissions it is possible for the employee concerned to be distracted by their other work and for the logging process to be improperly completed - potentially to the detriment of the student.

Clearly it would be advantageous if the aforementioned drawbacks could be addressed.

Summary of the Invention

To that end, a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a repository for the receipt of submitted items; the repository comprising: a housing that defines an internal storage compartment for submitted items, a face of said housing having an inlet into which items for submission can be inserted; a guide provided within said housing for guiding submitted items from said inlet to said storage compartment; a sensor located within said housing for detecting markers applied to items for submission, said sensor being operable in response to detection of a said marker to generate a detection signal that includes information relating to said detected marker; and a controller that is configured to receive detection signals from said sensor.

In one envisaged arrangement the controller may be configured to locally process detection signals. In another envisaged arrangement, the controller may be configured to pass the detection signals to a remote processor.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides a system for receiving and logging submitted items, the system comprising: a repository for receiving submitted items, the repository being as herein described. Other features, advantages and embodiments of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description provided below,

Brief Description of the Drawings

Various aspects of the teachings of the present invention, and arrangements embodying those teachings, will hereafter be described by way of illustrative example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of an illustrative repository;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view, front to back, of the repository depicted in Fig. 1 ; Fig. 3 is a front elevation of another repository;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view, front to back, of the repository depicted in Fig. 3; Figs. 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views, front to back, of alternative repositories; Fig. 7 is a schematic representation of a system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

Figs. 8 to 1 1 are screenshots of an illustrative computer implemented

Coursework Submission System

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

As aforementioned, the teachings of the present invention will now be described with particular reference to the receiving and logging of course work submitted by students of a university. It will be appreciated, however, that this application is merely an illustrative application of the teachings of the present invention, and hence that the following detailed description should not be construed as being a limitation of the scope of the present invention.

With the above proviso in mind, reference should now be made to Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings in which there is shown a schematic front elevation of a repository 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

As shown, the repository 1 comprises a housing 3 (preferably a relatively robust housing that cannot easily be damaged) within which the components of the repository are provided. A front face 5 of the repository 1 includes an inlet port 7 (which in this instance is configured as a slot akin to that of a letterbox) into which items to be submitted can be inserted, and a lockable door 9 that can be unlocked and opened to enable access to be had to the interior of the repository for the retrieval of submitted items.

Fig. 2 is a schematic front-to-back cross-sectional view of the repository of Fig. 1.

As shown the repository 1 comprises a guide 1 1 that directs submitted items from the aforementioned inlet port 7 to a receptacle 13 provided within the repository 1 (the receptacle 13 optionally being removable from within the repository for emptying via the aforementioned lockable door 9).

The repository 1 further comprises a sensor 15 that is located in the vicinity of the guide - in this particular instance, above the guide 1 1 and proximate the inlet 7. The sensor 15 is configured to detect the presence of unique markers applied to items that are submitted to the repository. For example, the sensor may comprise an optical sensor that is configured to read codes on items to be submitted (each code uniquely identifying a given item). In one envisaged arrangement the code may be any type of optically readable code, for example a bar code (such as any type of one- or two- dimensional bar code), a dot code or a bokode. In another envisaged arrangement the sensor may comprise a radio frequency tag (hereafter "RF tag") reader, for example an RFID sensor. In general terms, the markers to be applied to items to be submitted can be of any type, and the sensor 15 is suitable for reading the particular type of marker selected for use in any given application.

In this particular example, as will later be described, the marker comprises a conventional one-dimensional barcode, and the sensor comprises a bar code scanner - preferably a high quality industrial scanner that is capable of reliably reading bar codes (i.e. with a low number of read errors) as items pass below the scanner. In other arrangements the sensor may be differently positioned with respect to the guide.

The sensor 15 is configured, in response to sensing a said marker, to generate a detection signal that includes information relating to the detected marker. For example, in the context of a one-dimensional bar code, the sensor 15 may output a detection signal that includes or comprises a digital representation of the detected code.

Bar code markers may be printed, by a conventional printer, onto a piece of paper or to an adhesive label that is then attached to an item to be submitted. The markers may each be unique, and in one preferred arrangement are allocated to a particular assignment that is to be completed by a particular student. In other words, two students with the same assignment will have different allocated markers for their respective assignments, as will two students with different assignments. In this arrangement it is possible not only to automatically determine when a given marker and attached coursework was submitted, but also to automatically determine from the allocated code the identity of the student and the assignment that the submitted item relates to.

In another arrangement, the markers may only uniquely identify a particular student and a particular course undertaken by the student (and not a particular assignment that that student has been allocated). In such circumstances it would be possible to automatically determine when a given student has submitted coursework, and for what course the coursework is for, but it would not be possible to automatically determine - where multiple assignments for a given course exist - to which assignment the coursework relates. In an illustrative arrangement a barcode marker may encode a number uniquely identifying the student, and a number uniquely identifying the course being undertaken by that student.

In another less preferred arrangement, the markers may only uniquely identify a particular student (and not a particular assignment that that student has been allocated). In such circumstances it would be possible to automatically determine when a given student has submitted coursework, but it would not be possible to automatically determine what the coursework relates to.

In another even less preferred arrangement, the markers may not be associated with any particular student or assignment. The markers may, for example, be pre- printed onto envelopes that a student places their coursework into prior to submitting it to the repository. In such circumstances it would not be possible to automatically determine which student submitted which item of work or what assignment the work relates to, but it would be possible to automatically determine when each item was deposited into the repository.

In this embodiment the sensor 15 is coupled to a controller 17 that passes detection signals from the sensor 15 to a remote processor (not shown) via an input/output interface 19. In a preferred arrangement the input/output interface comprises an Ethernet interface, and the controller comprises an Ethernet interface controller that is configured to pass detection signals from the sensor to a remote processor, for example to a remote computing resource such as a server for processing. In another envisaged implementation the input/output interface could comprise a wireless interface that enables signals to be sent wirelessly to a remote processor.

In this embodiment, processing of detection signals, for example to determine the identity of the student to whom the marker has been allocated, is accomplished remotely (i.e. outside of the repository). In a preferred arrangement, a computing resource such as a server is configured to receive detection signals from the input/output interface 19, to interpret those signals, and to store in a database a date (and optionally a time) of receipt for each detected marker. If the marker has been allocated to a particular student, then records for that student may be updated to indicate that a piece of coursework has been submitted by the student and - in a particularly preferred arrangement - the student may be automatically provided with confirmation of receipt (for example, by means of an email sent to a stored email address for that student). If the marker uniquely identifies a particular assignment, then that confirmation and/or the student records may also indicate that coursework for a particular assignment has been received.

In another envisaged embodiment, shown schematically in Fig. 3, the housing 3 of the repository 21 may include, in the front face 5 thereof, an output port 23 through which printed receipts may be dispensed to students using the repository. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 4, the repository 21 includes a receipt printer 25 that is coupled to the controller 17, and the controller is configured following the submission of an item to process the detection signal from the sensor 15 and control the receipt printer to print a receipt and output that receipt via the aforementioned output port 23.

In circumstances where the markers do not uniquely identify a given student or assignment, then the receipt may merely indicate the date (and optionally the time) of receipt, and optionally the code embodied within the marker attached to the submitted coursework (so that the student can prove, by means of the receipt, that a given marker was submitted to the repository, and at least the date on which that marker was submitted).

If the marker uniquely identifies a student, then the controller 17 may be configured to access a remote or local database (not shown) to determine the identity of the student to whom that marker has been allocated, and may control the receipt printer 25 to include the student's name on the receipt. If the marker uniquely identifies both a student and a given assignment, then the controller 17 may be configured to access a remote database (for example at the remote computing resource) to determine the identity of the student and the identity of the assignment that the coursework relates to, and may control the receipt printer 25 to include the student's name and/or the name of the assignment on the receipt.

The processor 17 may also be configured to control the receipt printer 25 to print information received from a remote processor via the input/output interface 19, the remote processor having processed (as described above) detection signals from the sensor 15.

Whilst the aforementioned arrangements enable the submission of student coursework to be automated (to a lesser or greater extent), students might be tempted to attempt to defraud the system by inserting a piece of paper with a marker printed onto it just far enough into the repository for the marker to be read (thereby causing a receipt to be generated), before pulling the piece of paper back out of the repository (the intention being that the student will later resubmit the piece of paper with their coursework attached - once that coursework has been completed).

To combat this, it is proposed (as depicted in Fig. 5) to include a second sensor 27 between the first sensor 15 and the receptacle 13. As the second sensor 27 need only be capable of detecting the presence of an item (as opposed to reading a marker on an item), it can comprise a simple infrared sensor, or an LED emitter/detector pair. In either case, the passage of a submitted item past the second sensor 27 will cause the second sensor to generate a signal, and if the second sensor is provided at a point within the repository from which it is not possible (or at least very difficult) to retrieve a submitted item then the output of a signal from the second sensor is a reliable indication that an item has in fact been submitted.

In an envisaged arrangement, the controller 17 is configured to communicate with the remote processor to store in the aforementioned remote database, along with information derived from the detection signal, an indication as to whether a signal has been received from the second sensor (an absence of an indication being an indication that an item was not in fact submitted to the repository).

Whilst this arrangement goes someway towards combating attempts to defraud the system, it would still be possible for a student to submit a sheet of paper with a marker on it, and then later submit their coursework and claim that the marker sheet had become detached from their coursework. There is also the problem that with the aforementioned repositories, a student who submits coursework with a marker that fails to be recognised will be deemed not to have submitted their work. Lastly, there is the general problem that a repository with an open inlet may tempt students to post general rubbish into the repository.

To address these issues it has been proposed, in another repository 29 shown schematically in Fig. 6, to include a gate 31 that is controlled by the controller 17. In particular, the gate 31 is controlled by the controller to open only when a valid marker has been sensed by sensor 15, and to close as soon as the second sensor detects that an item has been submitted. In a particularly preferred arrangement the controller is configured to open the gate 31 only for a predetermined period of time, say 10 to 15 seconds and to close the gate 31 is no signal is generated by the second sensor 27 before the predetermined period of time has expired.

As will be appreciated, in this arrangement the gate 31 is normally closed and as such it is not possible to post rubbish into the repository. Furthermore, as the gate 31 only opens once a valid marker has been detected, students are prevented from submitting coursework without marker sheets or from submitting the same marker sheet on more than one occasion. In a similar way, a student whose marker cannot be read is prevented from submitting their work and can seek assistance, whereas with other embodiments they would not have received a receipt for the work they submitted (which might potentially be deemed to be a non-submission of work).

As aforementioned, the repository of these embodiments is well suited for use as part of a system for receiving and logging submitted items. Fig. 7 is a schematic representation of a system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The system 33 comprises a computing resource 35, such as a server, which is coupled to a data store 37 that may comprise, for example, a RAID array of hard disk drives (HDDs). The data store is configured, inter alia, to store student information - in particular information identifying the students, courses being taken, assignments allocated to those students for completion, and details of submitted coursework.

The server 35 is coupled to a local area network 39 via network switch 41 . As will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art, a user of a terminal 43 of the local area network 39 may access the server 35 via the network switch 41 and execute software modules hosted by the server. In a particularly preferred arrangement it is also envisaged for remote users 49 to be able to access the server 35 via an internet 51 , such as the World Wide Web.

The network switch 41 is coupled to a repository 45 for submitted items (in this particular example completed student assignments) that may be configured in accordance with any of the arrangements herein described. The repository 45 is capable of communicating via network switch 41 with the server 35. In this illustrative example, there is also provided a remote repository 47 (which again may be configured in accordance with any of the embodiments herein disclosed) that is configured for communication with the server 35 via the internet 51 .

Figs. 8 to 1 1 are screenshots of an illustrative "coursework submission system" that can be operated by a user at a terminal 43 or by a remote user 49.

To use the system a user must first log onto server 35 and authenticate themselves, for example by entering a username and password. Once the user has been authenticated, they are able to view information stored in the data store 37.

As shown, the system is configured to present information in the form of folders that a user can select by clicking on the associated tab. In Fig. 8, an authenticated user has selected the "summary" folder, by clicking on tab 53, and is looking at summary information for a particular student. The summary folder displays information about the course being undertaken by the student, as well as contact details for the student - which details may be edited by clicking on an edit button 55. Clicking on "modules" tab 57 reveals a "modules" folder that lists the course modules that the student is currently studying, the assignments (if any) that have been set for those modules, and the dates by which the student must have completed those assignments. In this particular instance, the student has an "optics 1 " assignment due on 25 January 2010 and a Matrices 1 assignment due on 12 February 2010.

The assignment can be selected by clicking on the associated submission deadline, and once this is done a normally greyed out "submit assignment" button 59 becomes available. If the user should click on the "submit assignment" button, then they are presented with the screen shown in Fig. 10, and can either click a "help" button 61 to access information about how to use the coursework submission system, a "back" button 63 to return back to the assignment selection screen shown in Fig. 9, or a "print front sheet" button 65.

If the user should click on button 65 they are asked to confirm their choice (since they will be indicating to the system that they are about to submit coursework). If the user should confirm their choice, the server generates a unique numerical identifier that is stored in a database maintained by the data store along with - in the preferred embodiment - the identity of the student and information identifying the assignment for which the student is submitted coursework. The user is then prompted to select a local printer, and the server cooperates with the terminal being used by the user to cause the local printer to print a marker sheet of the type depicted in Fig. 1 1 . As shown in Fig. 1 1 , the marker sheet includes - in this instance - a machine readable representation (in this instance a barcode 67) of the numerical identifier generated by the server, as well as other information identifying the student, the course, the date and the assignment that the coursework relates to.

Once the marker sheet has been printed, the student affixes it to the front of their coursework, and inserts the coursework (marker sheet upwards) into one of the repositories of the system, and on doing so the controller of that repository communicates with the server to store in the database record associated with the number encoded in the barcode 67, the date on which the coursework was submitted by the student.

As will be appreciated, the system described is an effective way of logging student submissions that avoids the large amount of administrative work associated with current systems for logging work.

It will also be appreciated that whilst various aspects and embodiments of the present invention have heretofore been described, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the particular arrangements set out herein and instead extends to encompass all arrangements, and modifications and alterations thereto, which fall within the sprit and scope of the invention.

For example, whilst the embodiments thus far described are for a network- enabled repository, it will be appreciated that the teachings of the invention may equally be applied to a system that includes stand-alone (i.e. non-networked) repositories. In this arrangement, students may still access a server via an internet to generate marker sheets, but the controller of the stand-alone repository comprises a computing resource that is able to maintain a database of student records in a local data store (the local database being a replica of the database that is accessible via the world wide web), and to update that local database when a student submits coursework. In a particularly preferred arrangement the controller may comprise a so-called Micro ITX mini PC or a so-called Beagleboard (see: www.beagleboard.org for further details of such devices).

In a further modification of the embodiments described, the repository may be provided with a screen that enables a student to check that an allocated barcode does indeed identify information relating to themselves, for example their student number and the course for which they are submitting coursework. In an envisaged implementation, the repository may retrieve information from the server or local database in response to scanning of a marker, may display that information, and instruct the student to indicate that the information displayed is correct before permitting the student to submit their coursework.

Lastly, it should also be noted that whilst the foregoing description sets out particular combinations of features described herein, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the particular combinations herein disclosed, but instead extends to encompass any combination of features or embodiments irrespective of whether or not that particular combination has been specifically enumerated at this time.

In particular it should also be noted that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the particular combinations explicitly enumerated herein, but instead extends to encompass any combination of features herein disclosed.

Claims

1 . A repository for the receipt of submitted items; the repository comprising:

a housing that defines an internal storage compartment for submitted items, a face of said housing having an inlet into which items for submission can be inserted; a guide provided within said housing for guiding submitted items from said inlet to said storage compartment;

a sensor located within said housing for detecting markers applied to items for submission, said sensor being operable in response to detection of a said marker to generate a detection signal that includes information relating to said detected marker; and

a controller that is configured to receive detection signals from said sensor.

2. A repository according to Claim 1 , wherein said housing comprises a door that can be opened to provide access to said storage compartment.

3. A repository according to Claim 2, wherein said door is lockable.

4. A repository according to any preceding claim, wherein said sensor comprises an optical sensor configured to read a marker on an item to be submitted.

5. A repository according to Claim 4, wherein said sensor is configured for reading one or more of one or two dimensional bar codes, dot codes or bokodes.

6. A repository according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein said sensor comprises a radio frequency tag reader.

7. A repository according to any preceding claim, wherein said detection signal includes a digital representation of a detected marker.

8. A repository according to any preceding claim, further comprising an input/output interface, said controller being configured to pass detection signals to said interface.

9. A repository according to Claim 9, wherein said controller is configured to pass detection signals to a remote processor via said interface.

10. A repository according to any preceding claim, further comprising a receipt generator coupled to said controller, and controllable by said controller to output a receipt for items submitted to said repository.

1 1 . A repository according to any preceding claim, further comprising a second sensor located between said sensor and said repository.

12. A repository according to Claim 1 1 , wherein said second sensor is configured to detect submitted items inserted into the repository via said inlet and to output a signal indicative of the detection of a said item.

13 A repository according to Claim 12, wherein said second sensor is located sufficiently far from said inlet to prevent an item that has been inserted into said repository and has been detected by said second sensor from being withdrawn from said repository.

14. A repository according to any preceding claim, further comprising a door configured to close said inlet, said controller being configured to open said door on detection of a marker by said sensor.

15 A repository according to any preceding claim, wherein said controller is configured to determine whether a detected marker is valid.

16. A repository according to any preceding claim, comprising a local data store, said controller being configured to store information related to detected markers in said data store together with information relating to when a said detected marker was detected by said sensor.

17. A system for receiving and logging submitted items, the system comprising: one or more repositories for receiving submitted items, said one or more repositories being as claimed in any of claims 1 to 16.

18. A system according to Claim 17, comprising a processor configured to process detection signals from each said repository and log in a data store information relating to detected markers and to when a detected marker was detected by a said sensor.

19. A system according to Claim 17 or 18, comprising means for generating markers for application to an item for submission.

20. A system according to Claim 19, wherein said generating means comprises an interface operable by a user to select .an element for which an item is to be submitted.

21 . A system according to Claim 20, wherein said element comprises a module of an academic course of study, and said item comprises coursework for said module.