Information sharing system, method, and program

Abstract

The present invention relates to an information sharing system, method, and program. An information sharing device (16) constituting part of an information sharing system (10) is provided with: a classification processing unit (40) which classifies a plurality of users into groups on the basis of the result of evaluation of stroke data (70) indicating hand-written content (62) by a terminal device (12) user; and a display instruction unit (48) which instructs terminal devices (12) respectively corresponding to two or more constituent members belonging to a group as classified by the classification processing unit (40) to display a status information field (84) indicating the statuses of the constituent members.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information sharing system, method, and program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, information sharing systems for sharing various information among multiple users have been known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a web conference system in which multiple information processing devices and a server device are communicably connected. More specifically, the server device controls the display of images of the web conference participants on divided screens based on information about the order in which the participants will join the web conference. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-144725 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] This type of information sharing system is not limited to the web conferences mentioned above, but can also be applied to online group work, for example. However, as the size of the group increases, the number of members also increases, and there is a tendency for mutual interest to decrease. As a result, even though group work is expected to have a synergistic effect through collaboration, there is a problem in that individual members are not very motivated.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its object is to provide an information sharing system, method, and program that can increase the motivation of members in online group work. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The information sharing system of the first aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of terminal devices and an information sharing device configured to be able to communicate with each of the terminal devices, wherein the terminal devices comprise a display unit that displays content and a display control unit that controls display on the display unit, and the information sharing device comprises a user classification unit that classifies a plurality of users into groups based on evaluation results of stroke data indicating content handwritten by users of the terminal devices, and a display instruction unit that instructs each of the terminal devices corresponding to the members to display a status information column that indicates the status of two or more members belonging to the group classified by the user classification unit.

[0007] The information sharing method of the second invention is a method carried out by an information sharing system comprising a plurality of terminal devices each having a display unit for displaying content, and an information sharing device configured to be able to communicate with each of the terminal devices, wherein the information sharing device executes a classification step in which the plurality of users are classified into groups based on evaluation results of stroke data indicating content handwritten by users of the terminal devices, and an instruction step in which the terminal devices corresponding to the members are instructed to display a status information column indicating the status of two or more members belonging to the classified group.

[0008] The information sharing program of the third aspect of the present invention is a program applied to an information sharing system comprising a plurality of terminal devices each having a display unit for displaying content, and an information sharing device configured to be able to communicate with each of the terminal devices, and causes the information sharing device to execute a classification step of classifying a plurality of users into groups based on evaluation results of stroke data representing handwritten content created by users of the terminal devices, and an instruction step of instructing each of the terminal devices corresponding to the members to display a status information column showing the status of two or more members belonging to the classified group. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the motivation of members in online group work. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating the overall configuration of an information sharing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a server device in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation of the information sharing system. [Figure 4] 2 is a diagram showing an example of content created using the student terminal of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of the digital ink in FIG. 1. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the results of classifying answer writing patterns. [Figure 7] 3 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of the user information in FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 8] 3 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of group information in FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a first form of screen display during self-study. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a second form of screen display during self-study. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a first form of screen display during practice. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a second form of screen display during practice. [Figure 13] 3 is a detailed block diagram of the classification processing unit and analysis information of FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a functional block diagram of a tag generation unit shown in FIG. [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart showing a classification operation performed by the server device. [Figure 16] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of the tag set of FIG. 13. [Figure 17]FIG. 17 is a conceptual diagram of a graph structure indicated by the graph structure data of FIG. 16. [Figure 18] 14 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of the evaluation result information of FIG. 13. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. To facilitate understanding of the description, the same components in the drawings will be denoted by the same reference numerals as much as possible, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted.

[0012] [Configuration of Information Sharing System 10] <Overall structure> 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an information sharing system 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The information sharing system 10 is provided to provide a "learning support service" for supporting online learning through information sharing among multiple users. These users are, for example, people receiving education at school, specifically children, pupils, and students.

[0013] Specifically, this information sharing system 10 is composed of one or more student terminals 12 (corresponding to "terminal devices"), one or more electronic pens 14, a server device 16 (corresponding to "information sharing devices"), and a teacher terminal 18.

[0014] The student terminal 12 generates ink data (i.e., digital ink Ink) for expressing handwritten content, and can supply the digital ink Ink to the server device 16 via the network NT. Examples of the data format of the digital ink Ink, or what is called an "ink description language," include WILL (Wacom Ink Layer Language), InkML (Ink Markup Language), and ISF (Ink Serialized Format).

[0015] The student terminal 12 is a computer owned by a user (here, a student) who uses the learning support service, and has a function of detecting a position indicated by an electronic pen 14. The student terminal 12 is configured, for example, as a tablet, a smartphone, a personal computer, etc. Specifically, the student terminal 12 is configured to include a processor 21, a memory 22, a communication unit 23, a display unit 24, and a touch sensor 25.

[0016] The processor 21 is configured with an arithmetic processing device including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit). The processor 21 reads out programs and data stored in the memory 22, and performs a generation process for generating digital ink (Ink), a rendering process for displaying the drawing content indicated by the digital ink (i.e., handwritten content), and a display control process for performing the "mutual display function" described below.

[0017] The memory 22 stores programs and data necessary for the processor 21 to control each component. The memory 22 is non-transitory and is composed of a computer-readable storage medium. Here, the computer-readable storage medium is composed of [1] a storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SSD) built into the computer system, or [2] a portable medium such as a magneto-optical disk, ROM, CD-ROM, or flash memory.

[0018] The communication unit 23 has a communication function for performing wired or wireless communication with an external device, which allows the student terminal 12 to exchange various data including digital ink (Ink) with the server device 16, for example.

[0019] The display unit 24 can visibly display content including images or videos, and is configured with, for example, a liquid crystal panel, an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) panel, or electronic paper. By making the display unit 24 flexible, the user can perform various writing operations while keeping the touch surface of the student terminal 12 curved or bent.

[0020] The touch sensor 25 is a capacitance-type sensor having a plurality of sensor electrodes arranged in a plane. The touch sensor 25 includes, for example, a plurality of X-line electrodes for detecting the position of the X axis of a sensor coordinate system and a plurality of Y-line electrodes for detecting the position of the Y axis. Note that the touch sensor 25 may be a self-capacitance-type sensor in which block-shaped electrodes are arranged in a two-dimensional lattice pattern, instead of the mutual capacitance-type sensor described above.

[0021] The electronic pen 14 is a pen-type pointing device configured to be capable of one-way or two-way communication with the student terminal 12. The electronic pen 14 is, for example, an active electrostatic coupling (AES) or electromagnetic induction (EMR) stylus. A student as a user can write pictures, letters, etc. on the student terminal 12 by holding the electronic pen 14 and moving the pen tip while pressing it against the touch surface of the student terminal 12.

[0022] The server device 16 is a computer that performs overall control of learning support, and may be either a cloud-based or on-premise type. Although the server device 16 is illustrated as a single computer, the server device 16 may instead be a group of computers that form a distributed system.

[0023] The teacher terminal 18 is a computer owned by a user (here, a teacher) who uses the learning support service, and is configured, for example, as a personal computer, tablet, smartphone, etc. The teacher terminal 18 can communicate bidirectionally with the server device 16 via the network NT.

[0024] <Block diagram of server device 16> Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the server device 16 appearing in Fig. 1. Specifically, the server device 16 includes a communication unit 30, a control unit 32, and a storage unit .

[0025] The communication unit 30 is an interface that transmits and receives electrical signals to and from external devices, allowing the server device 16 to acquire status data 58 generated by each student terminal 12 and provide the shared data 60 that it has generated to the student terminal 12.

[0026] The control unit 32 is configured by a processor such as a CPU, a GPU, etc. The control unit 32 functions as a classification processing unit 40 and a shared processing unit 42 by reading and executing programs and data stored in the storage unit 34.

[0027] The classification processing unit 40 classifies a plurality of users into groups based on the evaluation results of stroke data indicating handwritten content created by the users of the student terminals 12. The specific configuration and operation of the classification processing unit 40 will be described in detail later with reference to Figs. 13 to 18.

[0028] The sharing processing unit 42 performs information processing (hereinafter referred to as sharing processing) for sharing various information for supporting learning among multiple users. Specifically, the sharing processing unit 42 includes a state acquisition unit 44, a data generation unit 46, and a display instruction unit 48.

[0029] The status acquisition unit 44 acquires the status of two or more members belonging to the group classified by the sharing processing unit 42. Specifically, the status acquisition unit 44 acquires the status of members in various learning situations by analyzing status data 58 transmitted periodically or irregularly from the student terminal 12. For example, the "status" during self-study includes whether they are present / absent, studying, taking a break, the subject / course they are studying, and the study time (e.g., start time, end time, elapsed time). Furthermore, the "status" during practice includes whether they are present / absent, the number of the problem being worked on, the progress relative to the whole, and the progress relative to each problem (e.g., not started, practicing, completed, etc.).

[0030] The data generation unit 46 generates shared data 60 including the status of the members acquired by the status acquisition unit 44. The data generation unit 46 may generate shared data 60 that is common to multiple destinations, or may generate shared data 60 customized for each destination. The data generation unit 46 may evaluate the relationships between the members in the group and generate shared data 60 including information indicating combinations of members with relatively strong relationships (hereinafter referred to as "relationship information"). Examples of evaluation items for this relationship include objective items such as level of understanding, grades, and pairing history, and subjective items such as competitive spirit, admiration, liking, and personality.

[0031] The display instruction unit 48 instructs the display of status information columns 84 (FIG. 9), 93 (FIG. 11) that indicate the status of two or more members belonging to the group classified by the classification processing unit 40. Specifically, the display instruction unit 48 instructs each of the student terminals 12 corresponding to the members to display the status information columns 84, 93 by transmitting the above-mentioned shared data 60 in a lump sum.

[0032] The storage unit 34 stores programs and data necessary for the control unit 32 to control each component. The storage unit 34 is a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium. In the example of Fig. 2, the storage unit 34 stores a database (hereinafter referred to as ink DB 50) related to digital ink Ink (Fig. 1), as well as analysis information 52, user information 54, multiple pieces of group information 56, multiple pieces of status data 58, and shared data 60.

[0033] The analysis information 52 includes data related to the analysis of the digital ink Ink, such as parameters for evaluating the content 62 and the evaluation results of the content 62. The specific configuration of the analysis information 52 will be described in detail later with reference to Figs. 13 and 16 to 18.

[0034] The user information 54 includes various information about the user, such as [1] user identification information, [2] user personal information, or [3] learning group classification information. Examples of "user identification information" include a service account, identification information of the student terminal 12 (i.e., device ID), and identification information of the electronic pen 14 (i.e., pen ID). Examples of "user personal information" include real name information including name, anonymous information including nickname, affiliation including school name, grade, and class, gender, and grades. Examples of "classification information" include a group ID, type of subject and course, and proficiency level.

[0035] The group information 56 includes various information related to the group, such as [1] group identification information, [2] member information related to the members, or [3] status information indicating various statuses. identification An example of "information" is the classification information described above. An example of "member information" is the identification information and personal information of members. "Status information" includes not only the status of members, but also the status of student terminals 12, the status of electronic pens 14, etc.

[0036] The status data 58 includes various information that can identify the status of the member, student terminal 12, or electronic pen 14, such as [1] input information entered by the user himself / herself, and [2] detection information that indicates the detection results of various statuses. Examples of "input information" include operation information of user controls and currently displayed content. Examples of "detection information" include the on / off status of the device, whether or not a user is logged in, and images captured by a webcam.

[0037] The shared data 60 includes information shared among members of a group (hereinafter referred to as shared information). The shared information includes group identification information, member information, status information, relationship information, etc. The shared data 60 may include personal information (such as name or student ID) that can identify an individual, or may include only anonymous information (such as nickname or handle name) that cannot identify an individual.

[0038] <Operation of Information Sharing System 10> The information sharing system 10 in this embodiment is configured as described above. Next, the operation of the information sharing system 10 will be described with reference to the sequence of Fig. 3 and Figs. 4 to 8. Here, the explanation will be given taking as an example a case where information is shared within a group to which member A belongs.

[0039] In step SP10 of FIG. 3, the classification processing unit 40 of the server device 16 performs evaluation processing on the stroke data 70 (FIG. 5), and classifies a plurality of users into groups based on the obtained evaluation results.

[0040] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of content 62 created using the student terminal 12 of Fig. 1. This handwritten content 62 shows an answer to a mathematical problem asking for the length of the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle. The content 62 includes a content element 64 showing a shape, a content element 66 showing a formula related to Pythagoras' theorem, and a content element 68 showing the calculation process.

[0041] Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the digital ink Ink in Figure 1. The digital ink Ink has a data structure in which [1] document metadata, [2] ink semantics, [3] device data, [4] stroke data, [5] group data, and [6] context data are sequentially arranged.

[0042] The stroke data 70 is data for describing each stroke that constitutes the content 62. As can be seen from FIG. 5, one stroke is <trace>It is described by a plurality of point data arranged sequentially within a tag. Each point data consists of at least a designated position (X coordinate, Y coordinate) and is separated by a delimiter such as a comma. For convenience of illustration, only the point data indicating the start and end points of the stroke is shown, and point data indicating multiple intermediate points is omitted. In addition to the designated position described above, this point data may also include the writing order, the writing pressure of the electronic pen 14, the posture, etc.

[0043] FIG. 6 shows an example of the classification results of answer sheet creation patterns. Here, five creation patterns are prepared: P1, P2, P3, P4, and P5. Pattern "P1" corresponds to the creation pattern of a student with the lowest level of understanding. On the other hand, pattern "P5" corresponds to the creation pattern of a student with the highest level of understanding.

[0044] For example, when a math problem is asked to find the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle, the answer creation pattern can be divided into three solution steps, numbered 1 to 3. Step 1 corresponds to the process of creating an auxiliary figure. Step 2 corresponds to the process of formulating an equation according to a formula. Step 3 corresponds to the process of finding the solution from the equation.

[0045] Each step has the items "Whether there is a description" and "Correctness of the content." In other words, the performance level of each step is divided into three levels: [1] There is no description, [2] There is a description but the content is incorrect, and [3] There is a description and the content is correct. The reasons for "not having a description" include not being able to write it because you do not remember the content, or not writing it because you fully understand the content. The reason for not having a description is determined according to the performance level of the next step.

[0046] 3, the sharing processing unit 42 of the server device 16 starts a control mode (i.e., a sharing mode) for sharing information within one group. With the start of this sharing mode, the sharing processing unit 42 acquires and refers to the user information 54 to identify the group and members to which the sharing mode is applied.

[0047] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the user information 54 in FIG. 2. The user information 54 is data in a table format that shows the correspondence between [1] a "user ID" that is the user's identification information, [2] the user's "personal information," and [3] the "classification information" of the study group. In the example of this figure, the personal information includes the name, nickname, affiliation (school name, grade, class), etc. In the example of this figure, the classification information includes group names for each subject or course (for example, mathematics groups M1 to M3).

[0048] In step SP14 of FIG. 3, the sharing processing unit 42 (more specifically, the data generating unit 46) uses the group information 56 to generate shared data 60 including information to be shared within the group.

[0049] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the group information 56 in FIG. 2. The group information 56 is data in a table format, and is provided for each group. In the example shown in this figure, the group information 56 indicates the correspondence between the "user ID" that is the member's identification information, the member's "nickname," the member's "status," and the "ink file name" being created. In the initial state of the shared mode, the status acquisition unit 44 has not acquired the status data 58, so default values ​​are stored in the "status" and "ink file name" of the shared data 60.

[0050] 3, the sharing processing unit 42 instructs each of the student terminals 12 corresponding to the members to display a status information column 84 (FIG. 9) indicating the status of the two or more members belonging to the group. Specifically, the server device 16 collectively transmits the shared data 60 generated in step SP14 to the two or more corresponding student terminals 12. As a result, the shared data 60 is received by each of the student terminals 12 owned by the members of the group (member A and the other members).

[0051] In step SP18, the student terminal 12 uses the shared data 60 transmitted in step SP16 to display the status information field 84 (see FIG. 9) together with the content 82. Specifically, the processor 21 generates a display signal including the status information field 84 using the shared data 60, and supplies this display signal to the display unit 24 to perform desired display control.

[0052] In step SP20, the processor 21 of the student terminal 12 acquires the status data 58 indicating the current status of the members.

[0053] In step SP22, the student terminal 12 transmits the latest status data 58 acquired in step SP20 to the server device 16. As a result, the status acquisition unit 44 of the server device 16 acquires the latest status of each member through the reception of the status data 58. Through this acquisition, the group information 56 is updated to the latest status. Here, since the status acquisition unit 44 has acquired the status data 58, the "status" and "ink file name" of the shared data 60 are overwritten from their default values ​​to the latest values.

[0054] Thereafter, the information sharing system 10 sequentially repeats the steps of generating shared data 60 (SP24), issuing a display instruction (SP26), displaying the status information column 84 (SP28), obtaining status data 58 (SP30), and transmitting status data 58 (SP32), thereby sharing information within the group.

[0055] [An example of the mutual display function] Next, an example of the mutual display function of the student terminal 12 will be described with reference to Figs. 9 to 12. Here, the "mutual display function" refers to a function that allows students belonging to the same group to mutually display their status. This function allows students to become aware of the learning status of students with similar abilities and levels of understanding, which is expected to have the effect of promoting motivation to learn.

[0056] <Self-study behavior> First, the mutual display function, which is intended for self-study within a class, will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG.

[0057] (A. Operation of Processor 21) The processor 21 in FIG. 1 functions as a "display control unit" that controls display on the display unit 24. The processor 21 controls display so as to display a status information field 84 that indicates the status of two or more members of the group to which the user of the student terminal 12 belongs. "Two or more members" can mean [1] all members, [2] all other members excluding the relevant user, or [3] some of the other members excluding the relevant user. "Some of the other members" may be determined according to a predetermined rule or randomly.

[0058] The processor 21 may perform display control to place the status information column 84 anywhere within the display area 80 of the display unit 24, for example, on the periphery of the display area 80. The status information column 84 is, for example, a collection of individual information columns 86-88 that show the individual statuses of the members. The individual information columns 86-88 may be provided as an inseparable column, or may be provided as independent columns. Each of the individual information columns 86-88 displays member information and status information in a manner that correlates them. From the perspective of protecting personal information, it is desirable that the member information be content that cannot identify an individual (for example, a nickname).

[0059] The processor 21 uses the individual information fields 86 to 88 described above. 8 The display may be controlled so that the display mode of the status information column 84 can be changed for each member. In this case, the processor 21 may control the display so that one or more individual information columns 88 of the status information column 84 are emphasized more than the other individual information columns 86, 87. Examples of the emphasis method include: [1] relatively increasing the contrast of the display color; [2] relatively thickening the line width; [3] relatively increasing the size of the characters or frame; [4] adding a special mark; and [5] arranging the information in a position that is more easily visible to the user.

[0060] Processor 21 may perform display control in response to a predetermined user operation to highlight one or more of individual information fields 86-88. Examples of such operations include clicking, touching, and dragging the relevant portion. Processor 21 may also perform display control in response to a predetermined user operation to return the display state of individual information fields 86-88 that have been manually highlighted to their original state.

[0061] The processor 21 may perform display control to highlight one or more of the individual information columns 86-88 in response to an instruction from the server device 16. This instruction is performed by receiving the shared data 60 including the relationship information. The processor 21 may also perform display control to change the display mode of the automatically highlighted individual information columns 86-88 in response to a predetermined operation by the user.

[0062] (B. Screen display example) FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a first form of screen display during self-study. Here, it is assumed that four students are classified into the same group and are registered with the nicknames A, D, G, and K, respectively. Handwritten content 82 (here, a mathematical formula) by student A is displayed within a display area 80 of the display unit 24. A status information field 84 is provided on the right edge of the display area 80. The status information field 84 consists of three individual information fields 86, 87, and 88 arranged vertically. The individual information fields 86, 87, and 88 respectively show the status of students D, G, and K, who belong to the same group as student A.

[0063] At the moment, both Student D and Student K are studying, while Student G is on a break. In this case, the individual information columns 86 and 88 are highlighted by using thicker borders than the other individual information columns 87. For example, assume that Student A has a high interest in Student K (specifically, a competitive spirit, admiration, liking, etc.). When Student A performs a drag operation on the individual information column 88 corresponding to Student K, the display form of the student terminal 12 transitions from FIG. 9 to FIG. 10.

[0064] FIG. 10 shows a second form of screen display during self-study. The status information column 84 in the second form differs from the first form (FIG. 9) in that [1] the individual information column 88e is enlarged and [2] the individual information column 88e is placed at the top. In this way, by customizing the display, Student A can more easily grasp the status of Student K, who is of particular interest to him. As a result, a "chemical reaction" occurs that promotes Student A's motivation to learn.

[0065] <Behavior during practice> Secondly, the mutual display function, which is intended for cases where students in a class are working on the same exercise, will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12.

[0066] (A. Operation of Processor 21) 1 performs display control to display a status information field 93 that indicates the status of two or more members of the group to which the user of the student terminal 12 belongs. This display control is basically the same as in the case of the "self-study operation" described above, except that the display mode of the content 90 is different.

[0067] The processor 21 may switch between a "single display mode" for performing a single display and a "multi-display mode" for performing a multi-display in response to a user operation. During execution of the multi-display mode, the processor 21 divides the display area 80 into two or more sub-areas R1 to R4 (FIG. 12), and performs display control so that the content 90 being displayed on each of the student terminals 12 corresponding to the members is multi-displayed in the corresponding sub-areas R1 to R4. The size, shape, number of divisions, position, or arrangement of the sub-areas may be changed as needed.

[0068] (B. Screen display example) FIG. 11 shows a first form of screen display during an exercise. Here, it is assumed that four students are classified into the same group and are registered with the nicknames A, D, G, and K, respectively. Handwritten content 90 (here, a mathematical formula) by student A is displayed within the display area 80 of the display unit 24. The upper periphery of the display area 80 is provided with a status information field 93 including three individual information fields 92, a button 94 labeled "Show All," and a button 95 labeled "Done." The three individual information fields 92, from left to right, respectively indicate the status of student D, student G, and student K.

[0069] At this time, both Student D and Student G are in the middle of the exercise, while Student K's The exercise is completed. In this case, the student K The individual information column 92 of this student is highlighted by a thicker border than the other individual information columns 92. For example, student A touches the [Full Display] button 94 to check the progress of other students. When this happens, the processor 21 switches to the multi-display mode, and the display form of the student terminal 12 transitions from FIG. 11 to FIG. 12.

[0070] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a second form of screen display during self-study. Within the display area 80 of the display unit 24, multi-display is performed for each of sub-areas R1 to R4 arranged in two rows and two columns. The lower left sub-area R1 displays the content 90 displayed on Student A's student terminal 12 together with an individual information field 92 corresponding to Student A. The upper left sub-area R2 displays the content 90 displayed on Student D's student terminal 12 together with an individual information field 92 corresponding to Student D. The upper right sub-area R3 displays the content 90 displayed on Student G's student terminal 12 together with an individual information field 92 corresponding to Student G. The lower right sub-area R4 displays the content 90 displayed on Student K's student terminal 12 together with an individual information field 92 corresponding to Student K. This allows Student A to grasp the progress of the other students at a glance.

[0071] Student A presses the back button 9 6 When the touch operation is performed, the processor 21 switches to the single display mode, and the display form of the student terminal 12 transitions from Fig. 12 to Fig. 11. When student A finishes the exercise, he or she taps the [Done] button 95 (Fig. 11), and the status of student A transitions from "exercise in progress" to "completed."

[0072] [Effects of Information Sharing System 10] As described above, the information sharing system 10 in this embodiment includes a plurality of terminal devices (here, student terminals 12) and an information sharing device (here, server device 16) configured to be able to communicate with each of the student terminals 12. The student terminal 12 includes a display unit 24 that displays content within a display area 80, and a processor 21 that performs display control on the display unit 24.

[0073] The server device 16 is equipped with a classification processing unit 40 that classifies multiple users into groups based on the evaluation results of stroke data 70 indicating content 62 handwritten by users of the student terminals 12, and a display instruction unit 48 that instructs each of the student terminals 12 corresponding to the members to display status information columns 84, 93 indicating the status of two or more members belonging to the group classified by the classification processing unit 40.

[0074] Furthermore, according to the information sharing method and program of this embodiment, a computer (here, the server device 16) executes a classification step (SP10 in FIG. 3) of classifying multiple users into groups based on the evaluation results of stroke data 70 indicating content 62 handwritten by users of the student terminals 12, and instruction steps (SP16, SP26) of instructing each of the student terminals 12 corresponding to the members to display status information columns 84, 93 indicating the status of two or more members belonging to the classified group.

[0075] In this way, by classifying multiple users into groups based on the evaluation results of the stroke data 70 and instructing each of the student terminals 12 corresponding to the members to display status information columns 84, 93 indicating the status of two or more members belonging to the group, the status of the group members can be easily seen through the display of the status information columns 84, 93. This makes it possible to make members aware of the current status of each other when some commonality is found in the handwritten content, and can improve the motivation of members in online group work.

[0076] Furthermore, when the status information column 84 (93) is a collection of individual information columns 86 to 88 (92) that show the status of each member, the processor 21 may perform display control so that the display mode of the individual information columns 86 to 88 (92) can be changed for each member. This allows the visibility of the individual information columns 86 to 88 (92) to be customized for each member.

[0077] Furthermore, processor 21 may perform display control so as to emphasize one or more individual information columns 88e of status information column 84 more than the other individual information columns 86, 87. This makes it easier to grasp the status of a specific member compared to when a uniform display is performed regardless of the individual information columns 86 to 88.

[0078] Furthermore, processor 21 may perform display control to highlight one or more individual information fields 88e in response to a user operation. Alternatively, processor 21 may perform display control to highlight one or more individual information fields 88e in response to an instruction from server device 16.

[0079] Furthermore, the display instruction unit 48 may instruct each of the student terminals 12 corresponding to the members to display the status information columns 84, 93 by transmitting the shared data 60 including the statuses of two or more members at once. By standardizing the data to be transmitted to the student terminals 12, the time required for transmission can be further shortened.

[0080] Furthermore, if the shared data 60 includes anonymous information about members, the processor 21 may perform display control so that the anonymous information is displayed together with the status of the members in the status information fields 84, 93. This reduces the awareness that one's own status is being displayed on other student terminals 12, making it easier for students to accept the display function of the status information fields 84, 93.

[0081] Furthermore, the processor 21 may perform display control to display status information columns 84, 93 that show the statuses of other members excluding the user of the student terminal 12 among the two or more members specified by the shared data 60. This reduces the awareness that one's own status is being displayed on the other student terminals 12, making it easier for the student to accept the display function of the status information columns 84, 93.

[0082] Furthermore, the processor 21 may perform display control so that the status information columns 84, 93 are arranged on the periphery of the display area 80. This makes it less likely that interference will occur between the status information columns 84, 93 and the contents 82, 90 when they are displayed.

[0083] In addition, the processor 21 may divide the display area 80 into two or more sub-areas R1 to R4, and perform display control so that the content 90 being displayed on each student terminal 12 corresponding to each member is multi-displayed in the corresponding sub-areas R1 to R4.

[0084] Furthermore, if a member is currently enrolled, the member's status may include the amount of time the member has spent studying. Alternatively, if a member is currently enrolled, the member's status may include the degree of progress the member has made in practicing. By visualizing the amount of time spent studying or the degree of progress, awareness of other students can be increased.

[0085] [User classification behavior] Next, the user classification operation executed by the server device 16 will be described in detail with reference to Figures 13 to 18. This classification operation is executed in step SP10 of Figure 3.

[0086] <Detailed block diagram> Fig. 13 is a detailed block diagram of the classification processing unit 40 and the analysis information 52 of Fig. 2. The classification processing unit 40 includes a data acquisition unit 130, a tag generation unit 132, a content evaluation unit 134, a creator classification unit 136, and an output processing unit 138.

[0087] The data acquisition unit 130 acquires stroke data 70 (FIG. 5) that indicates the shapes of strokes that make up handwritten content 62 (FIG. 4) and the stroke order of the strokes. The stroke data 70 is included, for example, in digital ink (Ink) stored in the ink DB 50. The content 62 is a collection of content elements such as graphics, text, and mathematical formulas, and is, for example, an answer to a mathematics or arithmetic problem.

[0088] The tag generation unit 132 generates a tag information group (hereinafter referred to as a "tag set 142") indicating the type of tag indicating the semantic attribute of a group of strokes and the order in which the tags appear, from the stroke data 70 acquired by the data acquisition unit 130. The detailed function of the tag generation unit 132 will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0089] The content evaluation unit 134 evaluates the content 62 (FIG. 4) based on the relationship between the types of tags constituting the tag set 142 generated by the tag generation unit 132 or the relationship between the order of appearance of the tags. The evaluation target of the content evaluation unit 134 may be a creation pattern related to the creation process of the content 62, or a step-by-step understanding of how to solve a problem.

[0090] Further, as an example of the evaluation index, the similarity between the graph structure data included in the tag set 142 (for example, the graph distance based on the Graph Edit Distance method, the graph distance based on the Maximum Common Subgraph method, the Adamic / Ada r In this case, not only the similarity of the structure such as the number of nodes, the number and density of links, and the depth and width of the hierarchy, but also the similarity of the tag information (type, appearance order, etc.) linked to each node are taken into consideration. Specifically, the evaluation index is weighted so that the more the rate at which the tag types match or are similar, the higher the similarity between the contents 62, and vice versa. Furthermore, the evaluation index is weighted so that the closer the order in which tags of the same or similar type appear, the higher the similarity between the contents 62, and vice versa.

[0091] The creator classification unit 136 classifies the creators of the content 62 into a plurality of groups according to the evaluation results by the content evaluation unit 134. For example, when the content evaluation unit 134 evaluates creation patterns related to the creation process of the content 62, the creator classification unit 136 classifies the creators of the content 62 into groups for each creation pattern. Also, when the content evaluation unit 134 evaluates the stages of understanding related to the solution to a problem, the creator classification unit 136 classifies the creators of the content 62 into groups for each level of understanding.

[0092] The output processing unit 138 outputs information indicating the evaluation result by the content evaluation unit 134 (i.e., evaluation result information 146) to the outside. This "output" includes output as visible information or audible information to an output device (not shown) of the server device 16, as well as transmission to an external device such as the student terminal 12 or the teacher terminal 18 in FIG. 1.

[0093] On the other hand, the analysis information 52 includes a plurality of tag sets 142, a reference tag set 144, and evaluation result information 146. These pieces of information will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS.

[0094] <Functional Blocks of Tag Generation Unit 132> Fig. 14 is a functional block diagram of the tag generation unit 132 shown in Fig. 13. The tag generation unit 132 includes an attribute estimator 150, a switch 152, a graphic classifier 154, a text classifier 156, a mathematical expression classifier 158, and a tag integrator 160.

[0095] The attribute estimator 150 is a learning device that receives stroke data representing a collection of strokes and outputs semantic attributes of the group of strokes. Attribute estimation is performed, for example, using the method disclosed in International Publication No. 2020 / 090356. Types of attributes include, for example, graphics, text, mathematical formulas, chemical formulas, and non-applicability.

[0096] The switch 152 has one input terminal and three output terminals, and switches the output destination depending on the attribute supplied from the attribute estimator 150. Specifically, if the attribute is "graphic", the stroke data is supplied to the input side of the graphic classifier 154 via the switch 152. If the attribute is "text", the stroke data is supplied to the input side of the text classifier 156 via the switch 152. If the attribute is "mathematical formula", the stroke data is supplied to the input side of the mathematical formula classifier 158 via the switch 152.

[0097] The figure classifier 154 is a learning device that receives stroke data as input and outputs a figure tag indicating the identification information of the figure. Various artificial intelligence techniques, including hierarchical neural networks and convolutional neural networks, may be used to identify figures. The figure tag may be, for example, a figure element such as a circle, a triangulation scale, or a line segment, or an object such as a dog, a cat, a tree, or a pencil.

[0098] The text classifier 156 is a learning device that receives stroke data as input and outputs text tags that indicate the identification information of the text. Various artificial intelligence techniques, including hierarchical neural networks and convolutional neural networks, may be used to identify the text. The text tag may be, for example, a character such as "A," "B," or "C," or a word or sentence consisting of multiple characters, or may be in a language such as Japanese, English, or Chinese.

[0099] The mathematical formula classifier 158 receives stroke data as input and generates a mathematical formula classifier that identifies the mathematical formula. Formula This is a learning machine that outputs tags. Various artificial intelligence techniques, including hierarchical neural networks and convolutional neural networks, may be used to identify mathematical formulas. Formula tags may be, for example, letters such as "X" and "Y," numbers such as "1," "2," and "3," operators such as "+" and "=", or formula types such as theorem, transformation, and final solution.

[0100] The tag integrator 160 sequentially integrates the "graphic tags" from the graphic identifier 154, the "text tags" from the text identifier 156, and the "mathematical formula tags" from the mathematical formula identifier 158, and outputs the result as a tag set 142 in association with the order in which the tags appear. If there is some relationship between consecutive tags, the result may be output as graph structure data with each tag as a node.

[0101] The calculation rules of the tag generation unit 132 may be uniform regardless of the student who created the content 62 (FIG. 4), or may be customized for each student. In the latter case, it is desirable that a group of learning parameters that defines the calculation rules of the tag generation unit 132 is pre-stored in association with identification information that can identify the student, and is read out at an appropriate time using the identification information included in the digital ink Ink. As the identification information, for example, a usage account for the learning support service, various IDs related to the electronic pen 14, or the student terminal 12 are used.

[0102] <Classification operation description> Next, the classification operation by the server device 16 will be described with reference to the configuration diagram of FIG. 13, the flowchart of FIG. 15, and FIGS.

[0103] In step SP40 of FIG. 15, the data acquisition unit 130 acquires the ink DB 5 0 (FIG. 2) to extract the digital ink to be evaluated, and obtain the stroke data 70 (FIG. 5) included in the digital ink.

[0104] When the digital ink Ink is generated, the document metadata, device data, stroke data, and context data have already been determined, but the semantic data and classification data have not yet been determined. In other words, when step SP40 is executed, the strokes of the digital ink Ink have not yet been classified and semantic attributes have not yet been assigned.

[0105] In step SP42, the tag generation unit 132 performs an analysis process on the stroke data 70 acquired in step SP40. Specifically, the attribute estimator 150 in Fig. 14 classifies the strokes (step SP42A), various classifiers assign tags (step SP42B), and the tag integrator 160 integrates the tags (step SP42C) in this order. As a result, a tag set 142 corresponding to the content 62 is generated, and, if necessary, this tag set 142 is stored in a predetermined location (semantic data and classification data) in the digital ink.

[0106] 16 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the tag set 142 of FIG. 13. The tag set 142 is data in a table format that indicates the correspondence between the order of appearance of tags, tag information, and graph structure data. The tag information includes the tag content (e.g., "X") and the tag type (e.g., "alphabet" for a mathematical expression tag). The reference tag set 144 (FIG. 13) also has a data structure similar to that of the tag set 142.

[0107] Fig. 17 is a conceptual diagram of a graph structure 170 shown in the graph structure data of Fig. 16. Here, the graph structure 170 is a tree structure that branches out as the hierarchy gets deeper. This graph structure 170 shows the formula for Pythagoras' theorem, i.e., the content element 66 of Fig. 4.

[0108] 15, the content evaluation unit 134 uses the tag set 142 generated in step SP42 to evaluate a creation pattern related to the creation process of the content 62. Specifically, the content evaluation unit 134 calculates the similarity of the graph structure 170 between the tag set 142 and the reference tag set 144.

[0109] In step SP46, the creator classification unit 136 classifies the creators of the content 62 into groups for each creation pattern using the multiple similarities calculated in step SP44. After the series of analysis processes is completed, the control unit 32 (FIG. 2) generates evaluation result information 146 that indicates the evaluation results by the content evaluation unit 134 and the classification results by the creator classification unit 136.

[0110] Figure 18 shows the 3 1 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of evaluation result information 146. Evaluation result information 146 is data in a table format showing, for example, the correspondence between the "creator" of an answer sheet, the "similarity" of each created pattern, and the "group" into which it is classified. Here, group names (here, groups M1 to M5) corresponding to the stages of the created pattern (patterns P1 to P5) are assigned.

[0111] For example, suppose that student Y has created content 62 (i.e., an answer sheet) shown in Figure 4. This answer sheet is "includes information and is correct" in the first and second steps of Figure 6, but "includes information but is incorrect" in the third step (the correct answer is z=5). In this case, it is evaluated as being closest to creation pattern "P3" in Figure 6. In other words, if the similarity in student Y's answer sheet is (P1 / P2 / P3 / P4 / P5)=(0.3 / 0.5 / 0.7 / 0.6 / 0.4), student Y is classified into group "M3," which has the highest similarity.

[0112] In this way, in arithmetic or mathematics classes, students with similar abilities, thought patterns, and levels of understanding can be grouped together based on the content of their answers to given problems, making peer learning more efficient.

[0113] <Effects of classification> As described above, the classification processing unit 40 of the server device 16 includes a data acquisition unit 130 that acquires stroke data 70 indicating the shapes of strokes constituting handwritten content 62 and the order in which the strokes are written; a tag generation unit 132 that uses the stroke data 70 acquired by the data acquisition unit 130 to generate a tag set 142 that indicates the types of tags that indicate the semantic attributes of a group of strokes and the order in which the tags appear; and a content evaluation unit 134 that evaluates the content 62 using the tag set 142 generated by the tag generation unit 132.

[0114] In this way, by evaluating content 62 using tag set 142 that indicates the type of tag that indicates the semantic attributes of a group of strokes and the order in which the tags appear, useful evaluations can be made for various types of content 62 that take into account the type of tag or the order in which the tags appear.

[0115] Furthermore, the content evaluation unit 134 may evaluate the content 62 based on the relationship between the types of tags constituting the tag set 142 generated by the tag generation unit 132 and / or the relationship between the order of appearance of the tags. Furthermore, when the storage unit 34 stores a reference tag set 144 indicating the reference of the tag set 142, the content evaluation unit 134 may evaluate the content 62 using the similarity between the graph structure of the tag set 142 generated by the tag generation unit 132 and the graph structure of the reference tag set 144 stored in the storage unit 34.

[0116] [Variations] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be freely modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Alternatively, the respective configurations may be arbitrarily combined within the scope of no technical contradiction. Alternatively, the execution order of the steps constituting the flowchart may be changed within the scope of no technical contradiction.

[0117] In the above-described embodiments, the content 62, 82, 90 has been described as an example of an answer to an arithmetic or mathematics problem, but the type of content is not limited to this. For example, the content may be an answer or report to a general science problem such as science, physics, or chemistry, or may be various deliverables including notes for the user to summarize their own thoughts. The data format of the content may be either vector or raster. The type of content is not limited to handwritten images, but may also be e-books, videos, etc.

[0118] 13 is stored in advance, the location of the reference tag set 144 is not limited to this. For example, the content evaluation unit 134 may perform a clustering process on multiple tag sets 142 to create a reference tag set 144 that is suitable for that population.

[0119] 13 evaluates the content 62 using the tag set 142, the input information used for the evaluation is not limited to this. For example, by including measured values ​​such as the creator's heart rate, pulse rate, body temperature, and grip pressure of the electronic pen 14 in the input information, the creator's physical state, psychological state, or changes in these states can also be evaluated.

[0120] [Explanation of symbols] 10...information sharing system, 12...student terminal (terminal device), 16...server device (information sharing device), 21...processor, 24...display unit, 40...classification processing unit, 44...status acquisition unit, 46...data generation unit, 48...display instruction unit, 62, 82, 90...content, 70...stroke data, 80...display area, 84, 93...status information column< / trace>

Claims

1. a plurality of terminal devices; an information sharing device configured to be able to communicate with each of the terminal devices; Equipped with The terminal device a display unit for displaying content within a display area; a processor that controls display of the display unit; Equipped with The information sharing device a classification processing unit that classifies a plurality of users into groups based on evaluation results obtained by users of the terminal devices evaluating the content handwritten by the users; a display instruction unit that instructs each of the terminal devices corresponding to the members to display a status information column that indicates the status of two or more members belonging to the group classified by the classification processing unit; and Equipped with The classification processing unit a data acquisition unit that acquires stroke data indicating the shapes of strokes that constitute the content and the stroke stroke order; a tag generation unit that generates, from the stroke data acquired by the data acquisition unit, a tag set that indicates the type of tag that indicates a semantic attribute of the group of strokes and the order in which the tag appears; a content evaluation unit that evaluates the content using the tag set generated by the tag generation unit and obtains the evaluation result; An information sharing system that includes:

2. The status information field is a collection of individual information fields that indicate the individual statuses of the members, the processor performs the display control so that the display mode of the individual information field can be changed for each of the members. The information sharing system according to claim 1 .

3. the processor performs the display control so as to emphasize one or more individual information columns among the status information columns more than the other individual information columns. The information sharing system according to claim 2 .

4. the processor performs the display control in response to an operation by the user so as to highlight the one or more individual information fields. The information sharing system according to claim 3 .

5. the processor performs the display control in response to an instruction from the information sharing device so as to highlight the one or more individual information columns. The information sharing system according to claim 3 .

6. the display instruction unit instructs each of the terminal devices corresponding to the members to display the status information column by collectively transmitting shared data including the statuses of the two or more members; The information sharing system according to claim 1 .

7. The shared data includes anonymous information about the members; the processor performs the display control so as to display the anonymous information together with the status of the member in the status information column. The information sharing system according to claim 6.

8. the processor performs the display control to display the status information column indicating the status of other members, excluding the user of the terminal device, among the two or more members specified by the shared data. The information sharing system according to claim 6.

9. the processor performs the display control so as to arrange the status information column on the periphery of the display area. The information sharing system according to claim 1 .

10. the processor divides the display area into two or more sub-areas, and performs the display control so that the content currently being displayed by each of the terminal devices corresponding to the members is multi-displayed within the corresponding sub-areas. The information sharing system according to claim 9.

11. The members are students, The member's status includes the student's study time. The information sharing system according to claim 1 .

12. The members are students, The member status includes the progress of the student's training. The information sharing system according to claim 1 .

13. the information sharing device further includes a storage unit that stores a reference tag set that indicates a reference for the tag set; the content evaluation unit evaluates the content using a similarity between a graph structure of the tag set generated by the tag generation unit and a graph structure of the reference tag set stored in the storage unit. The information sharing system according to claim 1 .

14. An information sharing method performed by an information sharing system including a plurality of terminal devices each having a display unit for displaying content, and an information sharing device configured to be able to communicate with each of the terminal devices, The information sharing device, a classification step of classifying a plurality of users into groups based on evaluation results obtained by users of the terminal devices evaluating the handwritten content; an instruction step of instructing each of the terminal devices corresponding to the members to display a status information column indicating the status of two or more members belonging to the classified group; Run The classification step comprises: acquiring stroke data indicating the shapes of strokes constituting the content and the stroke stroke order; generating a tag set indicating the type of tag indicating the semantic attribute of the group of strokes and the order of appearance of the tag from the acquired stroke data; evaluating the content using the generated tag set to obtain the evaluation result; How information is shared, including:

15. An information sharing program applied to an information sharing system including a plurality of terminal devices each having a display unit for displaying content, and an information sharing device configured to be able to communicate with each of the terminal devices, The information sharing device, a classification step of classifying a plurality of users into groups based on evaluation results obtained by users of the terminal devices evaluating the handwritten content; an instruction step of instructing each of the terminal devices corresponding to the members to display a status information column indicating the status of two or more members belonging to the classified group; Execute The classification step comprises: acquiring stroke data indicating the shapes of strokes constituting the content and the stroke stroke order; generating a tag set indicating the type of tag indicating the semantic attribute of the group of strokes and the order of appearance of the tag from the acquired stroke data; evaluating the content using the generated tag set to obtain the evaluation result; Information sharing programs, including:

Images