Information processing device, program, information processing method

Abstract

The present invention provides an information processing device, program, and information processing method that can display questions on student terminals at an appropriate time that does not hinder students' understanding of the lecture content. [Solution] The management server 20 and management terminal 30 perform the following processes: acquiring slide data including multiple lecture slides and the timing of switching between lecture slides; acquiring recorded lecture audio data; generating time codes for each sentence of the lecture audio based on the acquired recorded audio data; generating lecture data based on the acquired slide data, acquired recorded audio data, and generated time codes; and displaying questions related to the lecture content on the student terminal 50 while the lecture data is being distributed. In the question display process, questions are displayed during the silent period, which is a period when the lecture audio is not being played, based on the generated time codes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, a program, and an information processing method.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, an on-demand lecture, which is an asynchronous lecture, is known. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a distribution system that distributes lecture data of an on-demand lecture to a learner terminal in response to access from the learner terminal. In an on-demand lecture, while lecture slides to be displayed on the learner terminal are sequentially switched as the lecture progresses, the lecture voice of the instructor is output from the learner terminal.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] For the purpose of, for example, confirming the degree of understanding of the lecture content by the learner, there is a distribution system that displays questions for the learner to answer on the learner terminal during the lecture. Specifically, in this system, questions regarding the lecture content already explained in the on-demand lecture are displayed on the learner terminal during the on-demand lecture.

[0005] There is still room for improvement in the technology of setting the period for displaying questions in an on-demand lecture to an appropriate period that does not impede the understanding of the lecture content by the learner.

[0006] The main object of the present disclosure is to provide an information processing apparatus, a program, and an information processing method capable of displaying questions on a learner terminal during an appropriate period that does not impede the understanding of the lecture content by the learner.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] This disclosure relates to an information processing device that is communicably connected to a student terminal via a communication network and distributes lecture data for on-demand lectures to the student terminal in response to access from the student terminal, A process for acquiring slide data including multiple lecture slides and the timing of switching between the lecture slides in the on-demand lecture, The process involves obtaining recording data of the lecture audio explaining the aforementioned lecture slides, Based on the acquired recorded data, a code generation process is performed to generate a time code for each sentence of the lecture audio, Based on the acquired slide data, the acquired recording data, and the generated timecode, a lecture data generation process generates data that outputs the lecture audio from the participant's terminal while sequentially switching the lecture slides to be displayed on the participant's terminal in accordance with the progress of the on-demand lecture, as lecture data; During the distribution of the lecture data, a question display process is performed to display questions related to the lecture content that has already been explained since the start of the distribution of the lecture data on the participant's terminal for the participant to answer. Execute, In the question display process described above, the generated question is displayed within the silent period, which is the period during which the lecture audio is not being played, based on the generated time code.

[0008] In this disclosure, time codes are generated for each sentence of the lecture audio based on the recorded lecture audio data. These time codes are used, along with the slide data and the recorded lecture audio data, to generate the lecture data for on-demand lectures.

[0009] By the way, it is undesirable to display questions on the student's device while the lecture audio is playing during the distribution of lecture data. This is because it interrupts the explanation of the lecture content and may hinder the student's understanding of the lecture material.

[0010] Therefore, in this disclosure, questions are displayed during silent periods, which are periods when lecture audio is not playing, based on the generated timecode. Timecodes are used to set the display period of questions because they allow us to determine the start and end timing of each sentence in the lecture audio and thus determine silent periods.

[0011] Thus, according to this disclosure, the display period for the questions can be set to an appropriate period that does not hinder the learner's understanding.

[0012] Furthermore, the display period for questions can be set by effectively utilizing the timecode used to generate the lecture data. This reduces the workload on the person (e.g., the instructor) required to set the display period for questions. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] An overall configuration diagram of an information processing system according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] A flowchart illustrating the procedure for processing lecture delivery. [Figure 3] This diagram shows an example of a lecture screen displayed on a student's device. [Figure 4] A diagram showing an example of a question panel displayed on a participant's device. [Figure 5] A diagram showing an example of a question panel displayed on a participant's device. [Figure 6] A flowchart illustrating the procedure for generating lecture data. [Figure 7] A time chart to explain the timing of when the question panel will start to be displayed. [Figure 8] A time chart to explain the timing of when the question panel will start to be displayed. [Figure 9] This figure shows an example of a screen displaying text codes and time codes on a management terminal. [Figure 10] This diagram shows an example of the question and answer editing screen displayed on the management terminal. [Figure 11] A diagram showing an example of a setting display panel displayed on the learner terminal. [Figure 12] A diagram showing an example of a question input interface displayed on the learner terminal. [Figure 13] A flowchart showing the procedure of answer reception processing. [Figure 14] A flowchart showing the procedure of notification processing executed by the management server. [Figure 15] A diagram showing an example of an answer panel displayed on the learner terminal. [Figure 16] A diagram showing an example of an answer interface displayed on the learner terminal. [Figure 17] A diagram showing an example of an online bulletin board displayed on the learner terminal. [Figure 18] A flowchart showing the procedure of question and answer generation processing. [Figure 19] A diagram showing an example of an editing screen for candidate questions and candidate answers displayed on the management terminal. [Figure 20] A flowchart showing the procedure of correction processing. [Figure 21] A diagram showing an example of a correction screen displayed on the management terminal. [Figure 22] A diagram showing an example of a correction screen displayed on the management terminal.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the information processing apparatus according to the present disclosure is embodied will be described with reference to the drawings. The information processing apparatus of this embodiment constitutes an information processing system that provides on-demand lectures to learners.

[0015] Figure 1 shows the overall configuration of the information processing system 10. The information processing system 10 comprises a management server 20 and a management terminal 30 that constitute the information processing device, a generation AI server 60, and a student terminal 50. The management server 20, management terminal 30, and generation AI server 60 are devices operated by an administrator (e.g., an instructor) that provides on-demand lecture distribution services. The management terminal 30 is, for example, a desktop computer or a notebook computer. The management server 20, management terminal 30, and generation AI server 60 are connected in a way that allows them to communicate with each other.

[0016] The student terminal 50 is a device operated by the participant (e.g., a student) of the on-demand lecture. The student terminal 50 is, for example, a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a smartphone, or a tablet. The information processing system 10 is equipped with multiple student terminals 50, corresponding to the number of participants.

[0017] The management server 20 and the multiple student terminals 50 are connected to each other so that they can communicate with one another via a communication network 70 (e.g., the Internet). The communication network 70 includes at least one of a wired network and a wireless network.

[0018] The management server 20 is a device that performs various processing related to the on-demand lecture distribution service, and comprises a control unit 21, a communication unit 22, and a storage unit 23. The control unit 21 includes a processor as part of its hardware configuration and executes a program for on-demand lecture distribution. The communication unit 22 functions as an interface for sending and receiving data with external communication devices. In the management server 20, the control unit 21, the communication unit 22, and the storage unit 23 are connected to each other via a communication bus 24.

[0019] The memory unit 23 includes memory and storage as hardware components. The memory is a storage device for storing data used for processing in the management server 20. The memory provides the processor with a workspace for temporary use when the processor is performing processing. The memory includes, for example, ROM or RAM. The storage is a storage device for storing various programs and data for the processor to read and execute. The storage includes, for example, an HDD or flash memory. The storage stores program information for the lecture delivery service, etc. For example, program information stored on a storage medium is installed in the memory unit 23. The storage medium is, for example, a USB memory or a CD-ROM. Also, for example, program information transmitted via the communication network 70 is installed in the memory unit 23.

[0020] The communication unit 22 transmits and receives data via the communication network 70. The communication unit 22 transmits data to the communication unit of another device in accordance with instructions from the control unit 21. The communication unit 22 receives data transmitted from the communication unit of another device and transmits it to at least one of the control unit 21 and the storage unit 23.

[0021] The management terminal 30, like the management server 20, includes a control unit 31, a communication unit 32, and a storage unit 33. The management terminal 30 further includes an input unit 34 and a display unit 35. In the management terminal 30, the control unit 31, communication unit 32, storage unit 33, input unit 34, and display unit 35 are connected to each other via a communication bus 38.

[0022] The storage unit 33 includes memory and storage. The control unit 31 includes a processor and controls the operation of the management terminal 30 by reading and executing programs stored in the storage unit 33. The communication unit 32 sends and receives data with the management server 20 via the communication unit 22 of the management server 20. The communication unit 32 sends data to the management server 20 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 31. The communication unit 32 receives data sent from the management server 20 and sends it to at least one of the control unit 31 and the storage unit 33.

[0023] The input unit 34 is a device operated by the administrator. The input unit 34 receives input operations from the administrator and transmits information related to the received input operations to the control unit 31. The input unit 34 is, for example, a hardware key such as a touch panel, touch display, or keyboard, or a pointing device such as a mouse. The display unit 35 is a device that outputs the processing results processed by the control unit 31. The display unit 35 is, for example, a touch panel, touch display, or desktop display.

[0024] The management terminal 30 is equipped with other peripheral devices, including a microphone 36 for detecting sound and a speaker 37 for outputting sound. The microphone 36 and speaker 37 are connected to the communication bus 38.

[0025] The trainee terminal 50, like the management terminal 30, is equipped with various devices such as a control unit 51, a communication unit 52, a storage unit 53, an input unit 54, a display unit 55, a microphone 56, and a speaker 57. In the trainee terminal 50, each device is connected to the others via a communication bus 58.

[0026] The memory unit 53 includes memory and storage. The control unit 51 includes a processor and controls the operation of the student terminal 50 by reading and executing programs stored in the memory unit 53. The communication unit 52 transmits and receives data via the communication network 70. The communication unit 52 transmits data to the communication unit of another device in accordance with instructions from the control unit 51. The communication unit 52 receives data transmitted from the communication unit of another device and transmits it to at least one of the control unit 51 and the memory unit 53.

[0027] The generation AI server 60, like the management server 20, includes a control unit 61, a communication unit 62, a storage unit 63, and a generation AI 64. In the generation AI server 60, the control unit 61, the communication unit 62, the storage unit 63, and the generation AI 64 are connected to each other via a communication bus 65.

[0028] The memory unit 63 includes memory and storage. The control unit 61 includes a processor and controls the operation of the generation AI server 60 by reading and executing programs stored in the memory unit 63. The communication unit 62 transmits and receives data via the communication network 70. The communication unit 62 transmits data to the communication unit of another device in accordance with instructions from the control unit 61. The communication unit 62 receives data transmitted from the communication unit of another device and transmits it to at least one of the control unit 61 and the memory unit 63.

[0029] In this embodiment, the generating AI64 includes a speech transcription function, a question and answer generation function, and a question and answer generation function. The speech transcription function outputs text data that transcribes speech based on the input speech data. The speech transcription function is a function that combines, for example, speech recognition, which converts speech data into text, and text mining, which organizes and systematizes the text data to create knowledge, and is also called speech mining. The question and answer generation function generates text data that includes a question and an answer to that question based on the output text data. The question and answer generation function generates text data that includes a question and an answer to that question based on the output text data.

[0030] The generation AI 64 is not limited to one installed on the generation AI server 60 managed by the administrator; for example, it may be a commercial generation AI located outside the generation AI server 60. In this case, the external generation AI and the management terminal 30 and management server 20 only need to be connected via the communication network 70 to enable communication. Examples of commercial generation AIs include GPT-4(registered trademark), Llama2, or PaLM2.

[0031] Next, we will explain the overview of the on-demand lecture delivery service provided by the management server 20. The management server 20 provides on-demand lectures to students by transmitting lecture data stored in the storage unit 23 to the student terminal 50 in response to access from the student terminal 50.

[0032] The lecture data to be transmitted includes video data and audio data, and is generated through the collaboration of the management terminal 30 and the generation AI server 60. In addition to the lecture data generation process, other characteristic processes of this embodiment include processing related to questions presented during on-demand lectures and processing related to answers to questions submitted by students during on-demand lectures. Each process will be described in turn below.

[0033] <On-demand lecture delivery processing> First, let me explain the process for delivering on-demand lectures. This process is carried out through the cooperation of the student terminal 50 and the management server 20.

[0034] Figure 2 is a flowchart showing the steps of the distribution process.

[0035] In step S10, the communication unit 52 of the trainee terminal 50 acquires input operation information from the input unit 54 operated by the trainee and transmits the acquired information to the management server 20.

[0036] In step S20, the control unit 21 of the management server 20 determines whether or not there is an access request to the management server 20 based on the input operation information received via the communication unit 22.

[0037] If the control unit 21 determines that there is an access request, in step S21 it transmits the lecture data stored in the storage unit 23 to the student terminal 50 via the communication unit 22 and the communication network 70.

[0038] In step S11, the reception of lecture data begins via the communication unit 52 of the student terminal 50. Based on the received lecture data, the control unit 51 of the student terminal 50 controls the display unit 55 and the speaker 57, etc., to sequentially switch the lecture slides to be displayed on the display unit 55 in accordance with the progress of the on-demand lecture, and to output lecture audio from the speaker 57.

[0039] Figure 3 shows an example of a lecture screen displayed on the display unit 55 of the student terminal 50. The lecture screen displays an avatar 80, a virtual person modeled after the instructor. The avatar 80 explains the contents of the lecture slide 81, which is displayed in the center of the lecture screen, to the student. The explanation given by the avatar 80 to the student is displayed in the subtitle display area 82 of the lecture screen, along with audio output from the speaker 57. In the example shown in Figure 3, the subtitle display area 82 is located above the lecture slide 81 on the lecture screen. The lecture screen also displays a date and time display area 83 showing the date and current time.

[0040] Returning to the explanation of Figure 2, during the on-demand lecture, the student can ask the avatar 80 questions about the lecture content. The processing related to these questions is the process in steps S12-14, S22, and S23. In this way, this embodiment makes it possible to create an environment in the on-demand lecture that makes it easy for students to ask questions. In step S12, the control unit 51 of the student terminal 50 acquires the input operation information from the input unit 54 and determines whether or not a question has been entered based on the acquired information. The processes in steps S12-14, S22, and S23 will be described in detail later.

[0041] At various points during the on-demand lecture, the avatar 80 presents the student with questions related to the lecture content explained up to that point. The processing related to this question presentation is carried out in steps S15-17, S24, and S25. Specifically, in step S12, if the control unit 51 determines that no question has been entered, it proceeds to step S15. In step S15, the control unit 51 determines whether or not the question panel 90 containing the question is displayed on the display unit 55.

[0042] Figure 4 shows an example of a question display screen shown on the display unit 55 of the participant terminal 50. The control unit 51 causes the question panel 90 to pop up on the display unit 55.

[0043] The question panel 90 includes a question display panel 91 on which multiple-choice questions are displayed, an answer selection button 92, and an answer confirmation button 93. In this embodiment, the multiple-choice questions are three-choice questions. The display unit 55 also displays a seek bar 94 and a slider 95. The seek bar 94 is an icon that indicates the time from the start to the end of the on-demand lecture. The slider 95 is an icon that indicates the current position on the time axis in the on-demand lecture.

[0044] If the control unit 51 determines that the question panel 90 is being displayed, it performs a process to interrupt the progress of the on-demand lecture.

[0045] Subsequently, the participant operates the input unit 54 to select one of the three selection buttons 92 (specifically, by clipping or tapping). Then, the participant operates the input unit 54 again to select the answer confirmation button 93 (specifically, by clipping or tapping). In step S16, if the control unit 51 determines that the answer confirmation button 93 has been selected, it transmits answer selection information indicating which selection button 92 was selected to the communication unit 22 of the management server 20 via the communication unit 52 and the communication network 70. In step S24, the control unit 21 of the management server 20 determines whether or not the answer selection information has been received by the communication unit 22. If the control unit 21 determines that the answer selection information has been received, it proceeds to step S25 and transmits the correct answer information stored in the storage unit 23 to the communication unit 52 of the participant terminal 50 via the communication unit 22 and the communication network 70.

[0046] In step S17, the control unit 51 of the student terminal 50 acquires the correct answer information received by the communication unit 22, and based on the acquired correct answer information, displays on the display unit 55 whether the student's answer is correct or incorrect. Figure 5 shows an example of the display screen when the answer is correct.

[0047] Furthermore, the control unit 51 may, instead of presenting one question, present multiple questions consecutively each time it makes a positive determination in step S15.

[0048] After processing in step S17, the control unit 51 resumes the on-demand lecture that was interrupted. Furthermore, even if the control unit 51 determines that the student's answer was incorrect, it will still resume the lecture after processing in step S17.

[0049] In step S26, the control unit 21 of the management server 20 determines whether the lecture has ended based on the lecture data stored in the storage unit 23. If the control unit 21 determines that the lecture is still ongoing, it proceeds to step S22. On the other hand, if the control unit 21 determines that the lecture has ended, it proceeds to step S27 and transmits lecture completion notification information to the communication unit 52 of the student terminal 50 via the communication unit 22 and the communication network 70.

[0050] In step S18, the control unit 51 of the participant terminal 50 determines whether or not the termination notification information sent from the management server 20 has been received by the communication unit 22. If the control unit 51 determines that it has not received the termination notification information, it proceeds to step S12. On the other hand, if the control unit 51 determines that it has received the termination notification information, it terminates this series of processes.

[0051] <Lecture data generation process> Next, I will explain the process for generating lecture data for on-demand lectures. This process is performed through collaboration between the management terminal 30 and the generation AI server 60.

[0052] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure for generating lecture data.

[0053] In step S30, the control unit 31 of the management terminal 30 acquires data for multiple lecture slides to be displayed on the display unit 55 of the student terminal 50, information on the display order of each lecture slide in the on-demand lecture, and recorded lecture audio data explaining each lecture slide. The control unit 31 stores the acquired lecture slide data and recorded lecture audio data in the storage unit 33. The recorded data is, for example, audio data recorded by the microphone 36. The lecture slide data and recorded data correspond to "slide data".

[0054] In step S31, the control unit 31 obtains the timing for switching lecture slides in the on-demand lecture. The switching timing is the timing at which the second or later lecture slides are displayed, within the period from the start to the end of the lecture. The control unit 31 can obtain the switching timing manually entered by the administrator via the input unit 34, for example. Alternatively, the control unit 31 may automatically set the switching timing based on the lecture slide data and recorded data, for example.

[0055] In step S32, the control unit 31 transmits the acquired lecture audio recording data and the timing of the lecture slide changes to the communication unit 62 of the generation AI server 60 via the communication unit 32.

[0056] In step S40, the control unit 61 of the generation AI server 60 determines whether or not the recorded lecture audio data and the timing of the lecture slide switching have been received by the communication unit 62.

[0057] If the control unit 61 determines that it has received recorded lecture audio data and the timing of the lecture slide transitions, it proceeds to step S41. In step S41, the control unit 61 acquires the received recorded lecture audio data and inputs the acquired recorded data to the generation AI 64 to generate text data that transcribes the lecture audio sentence by sentence, and time codes associated with the text data for each sentence. The generation AI 64 is trained to take the recorded lecture audio data as input and output the above text data and time codes.

[0058] The control unit 61 stores the generated text data and timecode in the storage unit 63. Based on the acquired lecture audio recording data, the control unit 61 determines, for example, that a predetermined period (e.g., 1 to 2 seconds) has been reached during which the lecture audio is interrupted, and recognizes a sentence using the interrupted period as a delimiter. The control unit 61 inserts timecodes at the start and end timings of the interrupted period of the lecture audio. In this embodiment, a sentence is, for example, a sentence that can be separated by a period or a sentence containing multiple sentences. The timecode indicates the elapsed time from a reference timing (e.g., the start timing of the lecture). The timecode is time information used to synchronize the video data of the lecture slides and the recorded lecture audio data during the generation of lecture data.

[0059] In step S42, the control unit 61 generates questions and answers to be displayed on the question panel 90 using the question and answer generation function. In this embodiment, the control unit 61 generates multiple questions and answers by inputting the text data transcribed in step S41 into the generation AI. Specifically, the control unit 61 extracts frequently occurring keywords from the transcribed text data and generates multiple questions and answers by inputting the extracted keywords into the generation AI. This enables software processing that does not depend on the format of the lecture slides (e.g., PowerPoint®) for input to the generation AI. Therefore, the workload required for designing the question generation process can be reduced. The generation AI 64 is trained, for example, to take the extracted keywords as input and output questions related to the lecture content and answers to those questions.

[0060] Figure 9 shows an example of the text data editing screen displayed on the display unit 35 of the management terminal 30. On this editing screen, the text data and timecode generated in step S41 can be viewed and edited. Specifically, the control unit 31 corrects the text data on the editing screen when the administrator operates the input unit 34, for example, if there are errors or omissions in the text data. The editing screen in Figure 9 displays each sentence that makes up the text data, a display field 100 for the timecode associated with each sentence, a seek bar 101, and a slider 102.

[0061] Returning to the explanation of Figure 6, in step S43, the control unit 61 sets the display start timing of the question panel 90, which includes the question generated in step S42, within the silent period, which is the period between the start and end of the lecture when no lecture audio is playing, based on the start and end timings of the time codes for each sentence generated in step S41 and the switching timing of the lecture slides acquired in step S40.

[0062] The process for setting the display start timing will be explained using Figures 7 and 8. In Figures 7 and 8, (a) shows the transition between the audio period, during which the lecture audio is played, and the silent period, during which the lecture audio is not played, and (b) shows the transition of the lecture slides displayed in the display unit 55.

[0063] To explain using a portion of Figure 7 as an example, the start timings ta and tc of the solid line extending along the time axis represent the start timing of the timecode for the lecture audio for each sentence, and the start timing of the text data transcribed for each sentence. The end timing tb of the solid line extending along the time axis represents the end timing of the timecode for the lecture audio for each sentence, and the end timing of the text data transcribed for each sentence. In other words, the period from ta to tb is the audio period containing the text data for one transcribed sentence. The period from tb to tc is the silent period. ts1, ts2, ts3, and ts4 are the timings for switching lecture slides.

[0064] The control unit 61 of the generating AI server 60 sets the start timing for displaying the question panel 90 during the periods described in (A) and (B) below.

[0065] (A) Period 1 To explain using Figure 7 as an example, in the lecture data generation process, lecture data is generated in which, for the silent transition timings ts2, ts3, and ts4 that appear during the silent periods tv1-tv2, tv3-tv4, and tv5-tv6, multiple silent periods appear in the preceding slide, which is the lecture slide adjacent to the silent transition timings ts2, ts3, and ts4 in terms of time, and multiple silent periods appear in the following slide, which is the lecture slide adjacent to the silent transition timings ts2, ts3, and ts4 in terms of time.

[0066] To explain using ts2 as an example, the control unit 61, based on the generated timecode and the acquired switching timing, sets the timing included in the first period TCOK1, which is from the end timing tv1 of the lecture audio that appears immediately before the silent switching timing ts2 to the start timing tv2 of the lecture audio that appears immediately after the silent switching timing ts2, among the silent periods that appear during the display period of the preceding slide A and the following slide B, as the display start timing of the question panel 90.

[0067] This allows the display period of the question panel 90 to be set to an appropriate period that does not hinder the learner's understanding. Furthermore, the display period of the question panel 90 can be set by effectively utilizing the time codes and switching timings used in the generation of the lecture data. This reduces the workload on the person (e.g., the instructor) required to set the display period of the question panel 90.

[0068] In on-demand lectures, each lecture slide typically provides a concise summary of the topic, and each slide presents a cohesive series of explanations. Displaying question panel 90 before the explanation of a lecture slide is complete interrupts this cohesive series of explanations, potentially hindering the learner's understanding.

[0069] Therefore, in this embodiment, the control unit 61 sets the display start timing of the question panel 90 to a timing included in the first period TCOK1 described above. As a result, after a cohesive series of explanations for each lecture slide is completed, students can be asked to answer questions related to the lecture content that has already been explained. This makes it possible to provide on-demand lectures that can promote students' understanding of the lecture content.

[0070] The topic on slide B may shift significantly from the topic on slide A. In this case, if a question panel 90 containing questions related to the content of slide A is displayed on the participant's terminal 50 after the switch to slide B, it may cause the participant to feel confused.

[0071] Therefore, in this embodiment, the control unit 61 sets the timing included in the TA period from the end timing tv1 of the lecture audio that appears immediately before the silent audio switching timing ts2 within the first period TCOK1, to the silent audio switching timing ts2, as the start timing for displaying the question panel 90. As a result, the question panel 90, which includes questions related to the lecture content already explained, is displayed on the student terminal 50 before the lecture slides are switched and the topic displayed on the student terminal 50 changes significantly. This helps to prevent situations that may cause discomfort to the student.

[0072] (B) Second period To explain using Figure 8 as an example, in the lecture data generation process, lecture data is generated in which, for the audio switching timings ts2 and ts3 that occur during the periods when the lecture audio is played (tv1-tv2, tv4-tv5), multiple silent periods appear in the preceding slides, which are lecture slides that are temporally adjacent to the audio switching timings ts2 and ts3, and multiple silent periods appear in the succeeding slides, which are lecture slides that are temporally adjacent to the audio switching timings ts2 and ts3.

[0073] To explain using ts2 as an example, the control unit 61, based on the generated timecode and the acquired switching timing, sets the timing included in the second period TCOK2, which is the silent period tv2~tv3 that appears immediately after the audio switching timing ts2 among the silent periods that appear during the display period of the earlier slide A1 and the later slide A2, as the start timing for displaying the question panel 90.

[0074] In on-demand lectures, a cohesive series of explanations is sometimes presented using two lecture slides that are adjacent in time. In this case, the lecture audio continues to play across the slide transition. Displaying question panel 90 during the silent period immediately preceding the slide transition would interrupt the cohesive series of explanations, potentially hindering the learner's understanding.

[0075] Therefore, in this embodiment, the control unit 61 sets the timing for starting the display of the question panel 90 to a timing included in the second period TCOK2 described above. As a result, after a coherent series of explanations has been completed, the student can be asked to answer questions on the question panel 90, which includes questions related to the lecture content that has already been explained. This makes it possible to provide on-demand lectures that can promote the student's understanding of the lecture content.

[0076] Next, a specific example of the start timing for displaying the question panel 90 will be explained. The control unit 31 of the management terminal 30 acquires the specified number of display units for the question panel 90 entered by the administrator using the input unit 34, and transmits the acquired specified number of display units to the generation AI server 60. The control unit 61 of the generation AI server 60 selects a period (for example, randomly selected) from among a plurality of first periods TCOK1 (for example, period TA) and a plurality of second periods TCOK2 set based on the time code and switching timing, which corresponds to the number of units to be displayed. The control unit 61 sets the timing included in each selected period as the start timing for displaying the question panel 90. As a result, the start timing for displaying the questions is set for each unit to be displayed.

[0077] In step S44, the control unit 61 transmits the question and answer data generated in step S42 and the display start timing information generated in step S43 to the communication unit 32 of the management terminal 30 via the communication unit 62.

[0078] In step S33, the control unit 31 of the management terminal 30 determines whether the question and answer data and the display start timing information have been received by the communication unit 32.

[0079] If the control unit 31 determines that the data has been received, it proceeds to step S34 to determine whether the answers and questions generated by the generation AI server 60 are appropriate. The appropriateness can be determined, for example, as follows: The control unit 31 displays a graphical user interface on the display unit 35 of the management terminal 30, prompting the administrator to input whether the answers and questions are appropriate. The control unit 31 then determines whether the answers and questions are appropriate based on the information entered into this interface through the operation of the input unit 34. Incidentally, step S34 may also be a step in which the administrator checks the generated answers and questions, rather than a process performed by the control unit 31.

[0080] If the control unit 31 determines that it is appropriate, it proceeds to step S37 and generates lecture data for the on-demand lecture based on the acquired lecture slide data, acquired lecture audio recording data, generated time codes, generated questions and answers, and the display start timing of the generated question panel 90.

[0081] In step S38, the control unit 31 transmits the generated lecture data to the communication unit 22 of the management server 20 via the communication unit 32. The control unit 21 of the management server 20 stores the received lecture data in the storage unit 23. As a result, the generated lecture data is uploaded to the storage unit 23 of the management server 20.

[0082] On the other hand, in step S34, if the control unit 31 of the management terminal 30 determines that the generated answer is inappropriate, it proceeds to step S35 and displays an editing screen, which is a graphical user interface for correcting the answer and question, on the display unit 35. Figure 10 is an example of this editing screen. On this editing screen, the question and answer generated in step S42 can be corrected. Specifically, the control unit 31 corrects at least one of the question and answer on the editing screen when the input unit 34 is operated by the administrator. The editing screen in Figure 10 displays a question display field 120 where the question is displayed, an answer display field 121 where the answer is displayed, a seek bar 122, and a slider 123.

[0083] The editing screen also displays an add button 124 for adding questions and answers. When the add button 124 is selected (specifically, by clipping or tapping) by the input unit 34, the control unit 31 adds a new question display field 120 and an answer display field 121 to the editing screen. Then, the question and answer are entered into each display field 120 and 121 by the input unit 34.

[0084] In step S36, the control unit 31 sends the modified question and answer combination to the generation AI server 60 as training data.

[0085] In step S45, the control unit 61 of the generation AI server 60 determines whether or not training data has been received. If the control unit 61 determines that training data has been received, it proceeds to step S46 and inputs the received training data into the generation AI 64, thereby performing fine-tuning (specifically supervised fine-tuning) to allow the generation AI 64 to learn (machine learn) the training data. This improves the accuracy of the questions and answers generated by the generation AI 64.

[0086] Furthermore, after the processing in step S36 is completed, in step S37, the control unit 31 may use the modified questions and answers to generate the lecture data.

[0087] <Question and Answer Processing> Next, we will explain the question answering process in steps S12-S14, S22, and S23 of Figure 2.

[0088] The process in step S12 will now be explained. On the student terminal 50, in on-demand lectures, the settings display panel 140 shown in Figure 11 can be displayed as a pop-up at the student's desired timing. The settings display panel 140 displays a lecture rewind button 141, a lecture pause button 142, a double-speed button 143 to adjust the lecture's progress speed, a lecture fast-forward button 144, a memo list button 145, and a question button 146.

[0089] The participant operates the input unit 54, which selects the question button 146 (specifically, by clipping or tapping). When the control unit 51 determines that the question button 146 has been selected, it displays the question input panel 150, which is the question input interface shown in Figure 12, as a pop-up on the display unit 55. The question input panel 150 is a graphical user interface for the participant to input questions. The question input panel 150 displays a question input field 151, a start button 152, an OK button 153, and a cancel button 154. The question input field 151 allows the participant to input questions in text format by operating the input unit 54. In addition, after the start button 152 is selected (specifically, by clipping or tapping) by the input unit 54, the participant can input questions by voice using the microphone 56. When the cancel button 154 is selected (specifically, by clipping or tapping), the question input panel 150 switches to the settings display panel 140 shown in Figure 11.

[0090] The control unit 51 of the participant terminal 50 determines that a participant has entered a question if it determines that the OK button 153 has been selected (specifically, clipped or tapped) after a question has been entered into the question input field 151. In step S17, the control unit 51 acquires the input question, which is the question entered into the question input panel 150, and transmits the acquired input question to the communication unit 22 of the management server 20 via the communication unit 52 and the communication network 70.

[0091] In step S22, the control unit 21 of the management server 20 determines whether or not an input question has been received. The storage unit 23 of the management server 20 stores multiple candidate questions related to the content of the on-demand lecture, and candidate answers associated with each candidate question. If the control unit 21 determines that an input question has been received, it proceeds to step S23 and searches the storage unit 23 for a candidate answer associated with a candidate question that is similar to the content of the acquired input question. The control unit 21 transmits the searched candidate answer to the communication unit 52 of the student terminal 50 via the communication unit 22.

[0092] Figure 13 shows the procedure for receiving the response in step S14 of Figure 2.

[0093] In step S50, the control unit 51 of the student terminal 50 receives the transmitted candidate answer. The control unit 51 displays the received candidate answer as the answer to the input question on the display unit 55 of the student terminal 50. Specifically, as shown in Figure 15, the control unit 51 pops up the answer display panel 160 and displays the candidate answer in the answer field 161 of the answer display panel 160.

[0094] After the participant checks their answer in the answer field 161, they select the next button 162 displayed on the answer display panel 160 by operating the input unit 54 (specifically, by clipping or tapping). If the control unit 51 determines that the next button 162 has been selected, it displays the answer panel 170, which is the answer interface, as a pop-up on the display unit 55, as shown in Figure 16. The answer panel 170 is a graphical user interface that allows the participant to input whether the answer displayed in the answer field 161 was appropriate as an answer to the input question.

[0095] The answer panel 170 displays an affirmative button 171 indicating that the answer was appropriate, a negative button 172 indicating that the answer was inappropriate, and a back button 173. When the back button 173 is selected (specifically, by clipping or tapping), the answer panel 170 disappears from the display unit 55, and the screen returns to the one shown in Figure 15.

[0096] The participant selects either the affirmative button 171 or the negative button 172 (specifically, by clipping or tapping) by operating the input unit 54. If the control unit 51 determines in step S51 that the affirmative button 171 has been selected, it proceeds to the process in step S15 of Figure 2. On the other hand, if the control unit 51 determines that the negative button 172 has been selected, it proceeds to step S52 and displays the online bulletin board 180, which is the participant interface, on the display unit 55. The online bulletin board 180 is a graphical user interface for correcting answers that have been determined to be inappropriate. Figure 17 shows an example of the online bulletin board 180. The online bulletin board 180 displays an answer correction field 181 for entering the corrected answer. In this embodiment, the online bulletin board 180 also displays a question correction field 182 for correcting the question. The control unit 51 of the participant terminal 50 enters the answers received from the management server 20 (i.e., the answers to the input questions) into the answer modification field 181, and also enters the input questions entered by the participant into the question modification field 182.

[0097] The online bulletin board 180 is accessible from multiple student terminals 50. Therefore, students other than those who judged the answer to the question to be inappropriate (i.e., those who selected the negative button 172) can also see the question and answer that the student who selected the negative button 172 judged to be inappropriate. Furthermore, because it is accessible from multiple student terminals 50, the online bulletin board 180 actually displays questions and answers that multiple students have judged to be inappropriate. In other words, the online bulletin board 180 displays multiple answer correction fields 181 and question correction fields 182.

[0098] The participant enters the corrected answer in the answer correction field 181 by operating the input unit 54. In some cases, the participant enters the corrected question in the question correction field 182 by operating the input unit 54.

[0099] Even if the essential content of the question is the same, the way the question is phrased may differ among multiple participants. Therefore, by having multiple participants input revised questions and answers into the online bulletin board 180, the options for selecting candidate questions and answers in the revision process shown in Figure 20 (described later) are broadened, allowing for the selection of appropriate candidate questions that correspond to the questions entered by the participants.

[0100] In step S53, the control unit 51 of the participant terminal 50 obtains the participant's corrected answer, which is the answer entered in the answer correction field 181, and the participant's corrected question, which is the question entered in the question correction field 182. Note that the question entered in the question correction field 182 may not be corrected by the participant.

[0101] In step S54, the control unit 51 transmits the acquired corrected answers and corrected questions from the student, along with an inappropriate notification indicating that there were inappropriate answers, to the communication unit 32 of the management terminal 30 via the communication unit 52 and the communication network 70. After that, the control unit 51 proceeds to step S15 in Figure 2.

[0102] It is possible that the generating AI 64 may not be able to generate candidate questions and candidate answers. In this case, no answer will be displayed in the answer field 161 of the answer display panel 160 shown in Figure 15, and for example, "No suitable answer is available" will be displayed. In this case, the participant selects the negative button 172 by operating the input unit 54. The control unit 51 determines in step S51 that the negative button 172 has been selected and proceeds to step S52. The participant enters the answer in the answer correction field 181 of the online bulletin board 180 by operating the input unit 54.

[0103] Figure 14 shows a flowchart illustrating the steps of the process performed by the management server 20.

[0104] In step S55, the control unit 21 of the management server 20 determines whether or not a modification has been made to at least one of the modification fields 181 and 182 of the online bulletin board 180. If the control unit 21 determines that a modification has been made, in step S56, it sends a modification notification to the communication unit 32 of the management terminal 30 via the communication unit 52 and the communication network 70. After that, the control unit 51 proceeds to step S15 in Figure 2.

[0105] <Question and Answer Generation Process> Next, the question and answer generation process, which generates candidate questions and candidate answers to be stored in the memory unit 23, will be described. This process is performed in cooperation with the management terminal 30 and the generation AI server 60.

[0106] Figure 18 is a flowchart showing the steps involved in the question and answer generation process.

[0107] In step S60, the control unit 31 of the management terminal 30 acquires recorded audio data of lectures explaining each lecture slide. In step S61, the control unit 31 transmits the acquired recorded data to the communication unit 62 of the generation AI server 60 via the communication unit 32.

[0108] In step S70, the control unit 61 of the generating AI server 60 determines whether or not the recorded lecture audio data has been received by the communication unit 62.

[0109] If the control unit 61 determines that recorded lecture audio data has been received, it proceeds to step S71. In step S71, the control unit 61 inputs the received recorded lecture audio data to the generation AI 64, thereby generating text data that transcribes the lecture audio sentence by sentence, similar to step S41 in Figure 6. The control unit 61 stores the generated text data in the storage unit 63.

[0110] In step S72, the control unit 61 generates multiple candidate questions and candidate answers for each candidate question related to the on-demand lecture content. In this embodiment, the control unit 61 generates multiple candidate questions and candidate answers by inputting the text data transcribed in step S71 into the generation AI 64. Specifically, the control unit 61 extracts frequently occurring keywords from the transcribed text data, and uses the extracted keywords as input to generate multiple candidate questions and candidate answers using the generation AI 64. The generation AI 64 is trained, for example, to output candidate questions related to the lecture content and candidate answers for the candidate questions, using the extracted keywords as input.

[0111] On-demand lectures can be accessed by a large number of students. Therefore, it is expected that there will be a wide variety of questions regarding the lecture content. In this embodiment, the recorded audio data of the lectures used to generate the lecture data is effectively utilized, and the AI64 generates multiple candidate answers linked to candidate questions. This reduces the workload on administrators (e.g., instructors) required for generating candidate questions and answers.

[0112] Furthermore, by using transcribed text data, software processing can be achieved where the input format to the generating AI64 is independent of the lecture slide file format (e.g., PowerPoint). This reduces the workload required to design the question and answer generation process.

[0113] Furthermore, the generating AI64 may, for example, generate multiple candidate questions and associated candidate answers for each topic group that makes up the on-demand lecture, based on the transcribed text data. For example, if the subject of the lecture is a motor control system, candidate questions and answers should be generated for each topic group: the topic of motors, the topic of inverters connected to motors, and the topic of control devices that control inverters. This makes it possible to generate questions that are easy for learners to understand.

[0114] In step S73, the control unit 61 transmits the candidate question and candidate answer data generated in step S72 to the communication unit 32 of the management terminal 30 via the communication unit 62.

[0115] In step S62, the control unit 31 of the management terminal 30 determines whether or not the data of the candidate questions and candidate answers has been received by the communication unit 32.

[0116] If the control unit 31 determines that a message has been received, it proceeds to step S63 to determine whether the candidate answer generated by the generation AI server 60 is an appropriate answer to the generated candidate question. The determination of appropriateness can be made, for example, as follows: The control unit 31 displays a graphical user interface on the display unit 35 of the management terminal 30, which allows the administrator to input whether the answer is appropriate or not. The control unit 31 then determines whether the answer is appropriate or not based on the information entered into this interface by the operation of the input unit 34. Incidentally, step S63 may also be a step in which the administrator checks the generated candidate question and candidate answer.

[0117] If the control unit 31 determines that it is appropriate, it proceeds to step S66 and transmits the acquired candidate question and candidate answer data to the communication unit 22 of the management server 20 via the communication unit 32. The control unit 21 of the management server 20 stores the received candidate question and candidate answer data in the storage unit 23. As a result, the generated candidate question and candidate answer are uploaded to the storage unit 23 of the management server 20.

[0118] On the other hand, in step S63, if the control unit 31 of the management terminal 30 determines that the generated candidate answer is inappropriate, it proceeds to step S64 and displays an editing screen, which is a graphical user interface for correcting the candidate answer and candidate question, on the display unit 35. Figure 19 is an example of this editing screen. On this editing screen, the candidate question and candidate answer generated in step S72 can be corrected. Specifically, the control unit 31 corrects at least one of the candidate question and candidate answer on the editing screen when the input unit 34 is operated by the administrator. The editing screen in Figure 19 displays a candidate question display field 190 where the candidate question is displayed, a candidate answer display field 191 where the candidate answer is displayed, a seek bar 192, and a slider 193.

[0119] Returning to the explanation of Figure 18, in step S65, the control unit 31 sends the modified candidate question and candidate answer combination to the generation AI server 60 as training data.

[0120] In step S74, the control unit 61 of the generation AI server 60 determines whether or not training data has been received. If the control unit 61 determines that training data has been received, it proceeds to step S75 and inputs the received training data into the generation AI 64, thereby performing fine-tuning (specifically supervised fine-tuning) to allow the generation AI 64 to learn (machine learn) the training data. This improves the accuracy of the candidate questions and candidate answers generated by the generation AI 64.

[0121] Furthermore, after the processing in step S65 is completed, in step S66, the control unit 31 may upload the modified candidate questions and candidate answers to the management server 20.

[0122] <Question and Answer Correction Process> Next, we will explain the correction process for modifying candidate questions and candidate answers. This process is performed in cooperation with the management terminal 30 and the generation AI server 60.

[0123] Figure 20 is a flowchart showing the steps for the correction process.

[0124] In step S80, the control unit 31 of the management terminal 30 determines whether or not the inappropriate notification transmitted by the process in step S54 of Figure 13 has been received by the communication unit 32.

[0125] If the control unit 31 determines that an inappropriate notification has been received, in step S81, it displays the correction screen 200 on the display unit 35. Figure 21 shows an example of the correction screen 200. The correction screen 200 is a graphical user interface for correcting candidate questions and candidate answers, and corresponds to the correction interface. The correction screen 200 displays a corrected answer field 201 where candidate answers for which the negative button 172 has been selected are displayed, and a corrected question field 202 where candidate questions associated with those candidate answers are displayed. In the correction screen 200, the candidate answers displayed in the corrected answer field 201 and the candidate questions displayed in the corrected question field 202 can be corrected by operating the input unit 34. If the generated candidate questions are inappropriate, the candidate answers are also likely to be inappropriate. Therefore, according to this embodiment, both candidate questions and candidate answers can be appropriately corrected.

[0126] The administrator modifies the text data in at least one of the modified answer field 201 and the modified question field 202 by operating the input unit 34. The control unit 31 may also display the participant's input question on the modification screen 200. In this case, the administrator can make modifications that take the participant's intentions into account as much as possible.

[0127] The editing screen 200 displays an edit button 203. After the administrator edits the text data in at least one of the edit answer field 201 and the edit question field 202, they select the edit button 203 by operating the input unit 34 (specifically, by clipping or tapping). If the control unit 31 determines that the edit button 203 has been selected, in step S82, it transmits the edited answer (corresponding to "edited item"), which is the candidate answer entered in the edit answer field 201, and the edited question (corresponding to "edited item"), which is the candidate question entered in the edit question field 202, to the communication unit 22 of the management server 20 via the communication unit 32 and the communication network 70.

[0128] The control unit 21 of the management server 20 updates the uncorrected candidate questions stored in the memory unit 23 with the received corrected questions, and also updates the uncorrected candidate answers stored in the memory unit 23 with the received corrected answers. This prevents situations where inappropriate candidate questions and candidate answers continue to be used during the distribution of lecture data, and improves the accuracy of answers to students' questions.

[0129] For example, if the content of the input question is not included in the lecture audio, or if the content of the input question is not sufficiently explained in the lecture audio, it is possible that no candidate question similar to the input question can be found at all. Therefore, an add button 204 is displayed on the correction screen 200 shown in Figure 21. After the administrator corrects the text data in at least one of the corrected answer field 201 and the corrected question field 202, they select the add button 204 by operating the input unit 34 (specifically, by clipping or tapping). If the control unit 31 determines that the add button 204 has been selected, in step S82, it transmits the corrected answer, which is the candidate answer entered in the corrected answer field 201, and the corrected question, which is the candidate question entered in the corrected question field 202, to the communication unit 22 of the management server 20 via the communication unit 32 and the communication network 70.

[0130] The control unit 21 of the management server 20 newly stores the received corrected questions and corrected answers in the storage unit 23. This increases the number of candidate questions and candidate answers stored in the storage unit 23, thereby improving the accuracy of the answers to the learner's questions.

[0131] In the example described above, both the candidate answer and the candidate question could be edited on the editing screen 200, but this is not the only example.

[0132] For example, in the editing screen 200, only the candidate answers may be editable among the candidate answers and candidate questions. For instance, if the content of the input question is included in the lecture audio, but the content of the answer to the input question is not included in the lecture audio or is not sufficiently explained in the lecture audio, the expression of the candidate answer may be inappropriate for the expression of the input question. In this case, a configuration that allows only the candidate answers to be editable is effective.

[0133] Furthermore, for example, in the editing screen 200, only the candidate questions among the candidate answers and candidate questions may be editable. For example, if the content of a candidate answer is included in the lecture audio, but the content of the input question corresponding to the candidate answer is not included in the lecture audio or is not sufficiently explained in the lecture audio, the expression of the candidate answer may be inappropriate for the expression of the input question. In this case, a configuration in which only the candidate questions can be edited is effective.

[0134] In step S83, the control unit 31 sends the combination of the corrected question and corrected answer to the AI ​​server 60 as training data.

[0135] In step S90, the control unit 61 of the generation AI server 60 determines whether or not training data has been received. If the control unit 61 determines that training data has been received, it proceeds to step S91 and inputs the received training data into the generation AI 64, thereby performing fine-tuning (specifically supervised fine-tuning) to allow the generation AI 64 to learn (machine learn) the training data. This improves the accuracy of the candidate questions and candidate answers generated by the generation AI 64. As a result, the accuracy of the answers to the learner's questions can be improved.

[0136] In step S84, the control unit 31 of the management terminal 30 determines whether or not the correction notification transmitted by the process in step S56 of Figure 14 has been received by the communication unit 32.

[0137] If the control unit 31 determines that a correction notification has been received, in step S85, it displays the correction screen 210 on the display unit 35. Figure 22 shows an example of the correction screen 210. The correction screen 210 is a graphical user interface for correcting candidate questions and candidate answers, and corresponds to the correction interface.

[0138] The editing screen 210 displays a pre-correction display field 211, a correction response field 212 that displays the student's correction response obtained from the online bulletin board 180, and a correction question field 213 that displays the student's correction question obtained from the online bulletin board 180. The pre-correction display field 211 displays the candidate question and candidate answer before correction. On the editing screen 210, the student's correction response displayed in the correction response field 212 and the student's correction question displayed in the correction question field 213 can be corrected by operating the input unit 34. In reality, multiple pre-correction display fields 211, correction response fields 212, and correction question fields 213 are displayed.

[0139] The editing screen 210 displays an adoption button 214, which corresponds to the adoption interface. The administrator selects the adoption button 214 by operating the input unit 34 (specifically, by clipping or tapping). If the control unit 31 determines in steps S86 and S87 that the adoption button 214 has been selected, in step S88 it transmits the student's revised response entered in the revised response field 212 and the student's revised question entered in the revised question field 213 to the communication unit 22 of the management server 20 via the communication unit 32 and the communication network 70.

[0140] The control unit 21 of the management server 20 updates the uncorrected candidate questions stored in the memory unit 23 with the corrected questions received from the students, and also updates the uncorrected candidate answers stored in the memory unit 23 with the corrected answers received from the students. This prevents situations where inappropriate candidate questions and candidate answers continue to be used during the distribution of lecture data, and improves the accuracy of answers to students' questions. Furthermore, it is possible to improve the accuracy of answers to students' questions by leveraging the efforts of a large number of students.

[0141] In step S89, the control unit 31 sends the combination of the student's corrected question and the student's corrected answer as training data to the AI ​​server 60.

[0142] In step S90, the control unit 61 of the generation AI server 60 determines whether or not training data has been received. If the control unit 61 determines that training data has been received, it proceeds to step S91 and inputs the received training data into the generation AI 64, thereby performing fine-tuning to train the generation AI 64 with the training data. This improves the accuracy of the candidate questions and candidate answers generated by the generation AI 64. As a result, the accuracy of the answers to the learner's questions can be improved.

[0143] <Other Embodiments> The above embodiment may be implemented with the following modifications.

[0144] In the above embodiment, the questions displayed at each display start timing of the question panel 90 were the questions determined at the stage when the lecture data was generated, but this is not limited to this. For example, the control unit 21 of the management server 20 may select (for example, randomly select) from among the multiple questions generated to be displayed at the display start timing each time the student terminal 50 accesses the management server 20.

[0145] In this case, the questions displayed on the student's terminal 50 at each display start time may change each time they access it. Therefore, even if one student is told the questions and answers to be asked in the lecture by another student, the answers they are given may be inappropriate as answers to the displayed questions. This provides an environment in which students can concentrate on the lecture.

[0146] The control unit 21 of the management server 20 counts the elapsed time from the time the question panel 90 shown in Figure 4 is displayed until the answer confirmation button 93 is selected. If it determines that the counted elapsed time exceeds the judgment time, it may perform a process to make the difficulty level of the question to be presented at the next display start timing higher than the difficulty level of the current question, or to increase the frequency of appearance of the question panel 90 thereafter (i.e., the frequency of questions being presented).

[0147] If a long time has passed, there is a possibility that the student is not paying attention to the lecture due to dozing off or leaving their seat. Therefore, by increasing the difficulty level or frequency of appearance, an environment can be provided in which students can concentrate on the lecture. In addition, even if the control unit 21 has initially increased the difficulty level or frequency of appearance, if it determines that the elapsed time for subsequent question presentations is less than the judgment time, it may revert the difficulty level or frequency of appearance to its original level.

[0148] The control unit 61 of the generating AI server 60 may set the timing included in the period from the silent audio switching timings ts2, ts3 to the lecture audio start timings tv2, tv4 that appear immediately after the silent audio switching timings ts2, ts3 within the first period TCOK1 shown in Figure 7 as the start timing for displaying the question panel 90.

[0149] The control unit 61 of the generation AI server 60 may, in step S42 of Figure 6, generate questions and answers based on lecture slide data, either in place of or in addition to text data.

[0150] The control unit 61 of the generation AI server 60 may, in step S72 of Figure 18, generate candidate questions and candidate answers based on lecture slide data, either in place of or in addition to text data.

[0151] Any two of the management terminal 20, management server 20, and generation AI server 60 (for example, management server 20 and management terminal 30) may be integrated into a single device, or all three may be integrated into a single device.

[0152] This disclosure is described in accordance with embodiments, but it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to such embodiments or structures. This disclosure also includes various modifications and variations within the scope of equivalents. In addition, various combinations and forms, as well as other combinations and forms that include only one, more, or fewer of those elements, fall within the scope and idea of ​​this disclosure. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0153] 10... Information processing system, 20... Management server, 30... Management terminal, 50... Student terminal, 60... Generation AI server, 70... Communication network.

Claims

1. In an information processing device (20, 30, 60) which is connected to a student terminal (50) via a communication network (70) and distributes lecture data for on-demand lectures to the student terminal in response to access from the student terminal, A process for acquiring slide data including multiple lecture slides and the timing of switching between the lecture slides in the on-demand lecture, The process involves obtaining recording data of the lecture audio explaining the aforementioned lecture slides, Based on the acquired recorded data, a code generation process is performed to generate a time code for each sentence of the lecture audio, Based on the acquired slide data, the acquired recording data, and the generated timecode, a lecture data generation process generates data that outputs the lecture audio from the participant's terminal while sequentially switching the lecture slides to be displayed on the participant's terminal in accordance with the progress of the on-demand lecture, as lecture data; During the distribution of the lecture data, a question display process is performed to display questions related to the lecture content that has already been explained since the start of the distribution of the lecture data on the participant's terminal for the participant to answer. Execute, An information processing device that, in the question display process described above, displays the generated question during the silent period, which is a period when the lecture audio is not being played, based on the generated time code.

2. In the lecture data generation process, the lecture data is generated such that, with respect to the silent switching timing which occurs during the silent period, multiple silent periods appear on the preceding slide, which is the lecture slide adjacent to the silent switching timing which occurs later in time, and multiple silent periods appear on the following slide, which is the lecture slide adjacent to the silent switching timing which occurs later in time. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the question display processing, the timing included in the period (TCOK1) from the end of the lecture audio that appears immediately before the silence switching timing to the start of the lecture audio that appears immediately after the silence switching timing, among the silent periods that appear during the display period of the preceding slide and the succeeding slide, is set as the start timing for displaying the generated question.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein in the question display processing, the timing included in the period (TA) from the end timing of the lecture audio that appears immediately before the silence switching timing to the silence switching timing is set as the start timing for displaying the generated question.

4. In the lecture data generation process, the lecture data is generated such that, with respect to the audio switching timing which occurs during the period in which the lecture audio is played, multiple silent periods appear on the preceding slide, which is the lecture slide adjacent to the audio switching timing which occurs earlier in time, and multiple silent periods appear on the following slide, which is the lecture slide adjacent to the audio switching timing which occurs later in time, The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein in the question display processing, the timing included in the silent period (TCOK2) that appears immediately after the audio switching timing among the silent periods that appear during the display period of the earlier appearing slide and the later appearing slide is set to the start timing of displaying the generated question.

5. In the code generation process described above, based on the acquired recorded data, text data is generated by transcribing the lecture audio sentence by sentence, and a time code is generated that is associated with the text data for each sentence. An information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which performs a process to generate the question to be displayed in the question display process based on the transcribed text data.

6. The information processing device according to claim 5, wherein in the question display processing, the question is displayed within the silent period based on the start timing of the time code for each generated sentence and the end timing of the time code for each generated sentence.

7. The information processing device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein, in the question display process, each time the information processing device is accessed from the participant terminal, the information processing device selects and determines from a plurality of generated questions to be displayed at the set display start timing.

8. In a program applied to an information processing device (20, 30, 60) which is connected to a student terminal (50) via a communication network (70) and distributes lecture data for on-demand lectures to the student terminal in response to access from the student terminal, Processors (21, 31, 61), A process for acquiring slide data including multiple lecture slides and the timing of switching between the lecture slides in the on-demand lecture, The process involves obtaining recording data of the lecture audio explaining the aforementioned lecture slides, Based on the acquired recorded data, a code generation process is performed to generate a time code for each sentence of the lecture audio, Based on the acquired slide data, the acquired recording data, and the generated timecode, a lecture data generation process generates data that outputs the lecture audio from the participant's terminal while sequentially switching the lecture slides to be displayed on the participant's terminal in accordance with the progress of the on-demand lecture, as lecture data; During the distribution of the lecture data, a question display process is performed to display questions related to the lecture content that has already been explained since the start of the distribution of the lecture data on the participant's terminal for the participant to answer. Make it run, A program that, in the question display process described above, displays the generated question during the silent period, which is a period when the lecture audio is not being played, based on the generated time code.

9. An information processing method for an information processing device (20, 30, 60) that is connected to a student terminal (50) via a communication network (70) and distributes lecture data for on-demand lectures to the student terminal in response to access from the student terminal, Processors (21, 31, 61), A process for acquiring slide data including multiple lecture slides and the timing of switching between the lecture slides in the on-demand lecture, The process involves obtaining recording data of the lecture audio explaining the aforementioned lecture slides, Based on the acquired recorded data, a code generation process is performed to generate a time code for each sentence of the lecture audio, Based on the acquired slide data, the acquired recording data, and the generated timecode, a lecture data generation process generates data that outputs the lecture audio from the participant's terminal while sequentially switching the lecture slides to be displayed on the participant's terminal in accordance with the progress of the on-demand lecture, as lecture data; During the distribution of the lecture data, a question display process is performed to display questions related to the lecture content that has already been explained since the start of the distribution of the lecture data on the participant's terminal for the participant to answer. Make it run, An information processing method that, in the question display processing described above, displays the generated question during the silent period, which is a period when the lecture audio is not being played, based on the generated time code.

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