Online education systems and computer programs

Abstract

To provide an online education system and a computer program that contribute to a high-quality educational outcome.SOLUTION: An online education system in which an instructor terminal used by an instructor and a student terminal used by a student are connected via a communication network to provide online classes and lectures includes: a first fee calculation unit that calculates a question fee paid by the student based on information on a question to the instructor obtained from the student terminal and a preregistered question unit price; a second fee calculation unit that calculates an instructor reply fee paid by the student based on information on a reply to the question obtained from the instructor terminal and a preregistered reply unit price; and a use fee calculation unit that calculates a use fee paid by the student based on the question fee and the instructor reply fee. A computer program causes a computer to function as the online education system.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an online education system and a computer program. [Background technology]

[0002] Various educational systems have been proposed for conducting classes and lectures, such as online cram schools, using the Internet. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an online learning reservation system that uses a general-purpose online tool. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7126232 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In conventional online cram school education systems, including those in Patent Document 1, students or participants ask instructors questions about points they do not understand during or after class, and the instructors respond with solutions. However, tuition fees are high and only a limited number of people can use these systems. As a result, many of the classes are long and involve instructors unilaterally explaining solutions, which does not improve the effectiveness of education.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an online education system and computer program that contribute to high-quality educational effects. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] [1] An online education system that connects a lecturer's terminal used by a lecturer and a student's terminal used by a student via a communication network to conduct online classes and lectures, a first fee calculation unit that calculates a fee for a question to be paid by the student based on information regarding the question to the instructor acquired from the student terminal and a pre-registered question unit price; a second fee calculation unit that calculates a fee for an answer by the student based on information about the answer to the question acquired from the instructor terminal and a pre-registered answer unit price; a usage fee calculation unit that calculates a usage fee to be paid by the student based on the question fee and the instructor's answer fee. An online education system characterized by:

[0007] [2] A computer program for causing a computer to function as the online education system described in [1]. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an online education system and a computer program that contribute to high-quality educational effects. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1. An example of the configuration of an online education system according to an embodiment of the present invention [Figure 2] 1 is an example of the software configuration of a business system included in the online education system of this embodiment. [Figure 3] An example of information stored in a database included in the business system according to this embodiment is (a) instructor data, (b) student data, and (c) schedule data. [Figure 4] (a) An example of the configuration of a first fee calculation unit, (b) an example of the configuration of a second fee calculation unit, and (c) an example of the configuration of a third fee calculation unit included in the business operator system according to this embodiment [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of information processing by the online education system of this embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The online education system of this embodiment is comprised of one or more computers and is used by businesses operating various educational and counseling businesses when they provide various online education services to students and clients (hereinafter, in this specification and drawings, these individuals will be collectively referred to as "students") via the Internet.

[0011] As one embodiment, an online education system is provided in which an educational business operator, for example, a cram school, provides online lessons and lectures to students by instructors belonging to the educational business operator.

[0012] Such an online education system is a system that is constructed and managed by the above-mentioned business operator using one or more computers.

[0013] In one embodiment, an online education system can be constructed in which an instructor terminal used by a teacher or counselor (collectively referred to as "instructor" in this specification and drawings) belonging to the operator is connected to a communication network so that the instructor terminal and the student terminal used by the student can be communicated with the operator system managed by the operator, and a general-purpose online meeting tool is used between the instructor terminal and the student terminal to provide lessons and lectures to the students.

[0014] In the configuration shown in Figure 1, the online education system 1 is constructed by connecting instructor terminals 3 used by multiple instructors and student terminals 4 used by multiple students to an operator system 2 managed by an operator so that they can communicate with each other via a communication network 5 that includes an Internet communication network and a wireless communication network defined by wireless communication standards.

[0015] Application software relating to the online education service of this embodiment is installed on the instructor terminal 3 and the student terminal 4, and by executing this application software, online classes and lectures can be conducted between the instructor terminal 3 and the student terminal 4. Note that online classes and lectures in this embodiment can be conducted in a format where one instructor teaches one or more students, or multiple instructors teach one or more students.

[0016] This embodiment also includes a computer program for causing a computer to function as the online education system described in this embodiment.

[0017] [Teacher's device] The instructor terminal 3 is a terminal used by an instructor belonging to the above-mentioned business, and may be a personal computer, smartphone, tablet, or other terminal. Although not shown, the instructor terminal 3 has a hardware configuration including a CPU that executes various computer programs and performs arithmetic operations, memory such as RAM and ROM that stores various data, auxiliary storage devices such as internal storage, a communication module that transmits and receives various information to and from the operator system 2 and the student terminals 4 via the communication network 5, input devices such as a mouse, keyboard, and touch panel, output devices such as an LCD display, a camera module such as a webcam, and a microphone module. The camera module and microphone module may be replaced with photographic equipment such as a camera or microphone connected to the instructor terminal 3.

[0018] [Students' devices] The student terminal 4 is a terminal used by a student, and may be a personal computer, smartphone, tablet, or other such terminal. Although not shown, the student terminal 4 has a hardware configuration including a CPU that executes various computer programs and performs arithmetic operations, memory such as RAM and ROM that stores various data, auxiliary storage devices such as internal storage, a communication module that transmits and receives various information to and from the provider system 2 and the instructor terminal 3 via the communication network 5, input devices such as a mouse, keyboard, and touch panel, output devices such as an LCD display, a camera module such as a webcam, and a microphone module. The camera module and microphone module may be replaced with photographic equipment such as a camera or microphone connected to the student terminal 4.

[0019] [Business operator system] The provider system 2 is a system consisting of one or more computers and server devices used and managed by the provider described above. Although not shown, the computer and server devices constituting the provider system 2 are equipped, as hardware components, with a CPU that executes various computer programs and performs arithmetic operations, memory such as RAM and ROM that stores various data, auxiliary storage devices such as internal storage, and a communication module that transmits and receives various information to and from the instructor terminal 3 and student terminal 4 via a communication network 5. The server may be composed of one or more devices, or may be a server realized on the cloud.

[0020] As shown in Figure 2, the software configuration of the provider system 2 includes a memory unit 6, a lecturer data management unit 7, a student data management unit 8, a schedule management unit 9, a lesson / lecture time measurement unit 10, a first fee calculation unit 11, a second fee calculation unit 12, a third fee calculation unit 13, a tuition / lecture fee calculation unit 14, a lecture fee calculation unit 15, and a billing / payment management unit 16.

[0021] The storage unit 6 performs processing to construct the following database (hereinafter, in this specification and drawings, "database" will be referred to as "DB").

[0022] Instructor DB6a The instructor DB 6a stores data such as the name, gender, age, attributes, field of expertise, tuition and lecture fee unit price, schedule ID, instructor fee, and whether or not the instructor fee has been paid, all of which are linked to the instructor ID, as shown in Figure 3(a).

[0023] Examples of attributes include seniors with a particular specialty, university students, housewives, freelancers, foreigners, and the like.

[0024] Areas of expertise include various subjects in elementary school, junior high school, high school and university education, language education, qualification courses, hobbies, physical and mental counseling, etc.

[0025] In this embodiment, the tuition / lecture fee unit price is set for each question time, answer time, thinking time, question character count, answer character count, and thought character count. The tuition / lecture fee unit price also varies depending on various factors, such as the subject and difficulty level. The unit price is set so that there is a difference in the subject price between, for example, arithmetic in an elementary school curriculum and English conversation in language education, and so that there is a difference in the difficulty level between, for example, supplementary lessons in an elementary school curriculum and junior high school entrance exams.

[0026] Participant DB6b The student DB 6b records data such as the name, gender, age, attributes, schedule ID, tuition fees, lecture fees, whether or not payment has been made, etc., linked to the student ID as shown in FIG. 3(b) as an example.

[0027] Examples of the attributes include elementary school student, junior high school student, high school student, university student, working adult, senior citizen, and foreigner.

[0028] Schedule DB6c The schedule DB 6c records data such as the date and time of the class or lecture linked to the schedule ID, URL, instructor ID, student ID, special circumstances, question time, answer time, thinking time, number of characters in the question, number of characters in the answer, number of characters in the thinking, confirmation of effectiveness, tuition / lecture fees, instructor fees and whether or not they have been paid, as shown in Figure 3(c) as an example.

[0029] The instructor data management unit 7 manages instructor data based on information input by the instructor terminal 3 and the business system 2.

[0030] In this embodiment, the lecturer data management unit 7 displays a lecturer registration site to the lecturer terminal 3 that has accessed the business system 2, accepts input of information such as the above-mentioned name, gender, age, attributes, field of expertise, tuition and lecture fee unit price, and other contact information, and registers it in the lecturer DB 6a, creates a specified account, and sends information about the account to the lecture terminal 3.

[0031] In addition, the schedule management unit 9, which will be described later, associates a schedule ID based on the lesson / lecture schedule input with the lecturer ID and registers it in the lecturer DB 6a.

[0032] In addition, the instructor fee calculated by the instructor fee calculation unit 15 (described later) is linked to the instructor ID and the schedule ID and registered in the instructor DB 6a.

[0033] In addition, the status of payment of the lecturer fee by the billing and payment management unit 16 (to be described later) is linked to the lecturer ID and schedule ID and registered in the lecturer DB 6a.

[0034] The student data management unit 8 manages student data based on information input from the student terminal 4 and the business system 2.

[0035] In this embodiment, the student data management unit 8 displays a student registration site to the student terminal 4 that has accessed the provider system 2, accepts input of information such as the above-mentioned name, gender, age, attributes, and other contact information, and registers it in the student DB 6b, creates a specified account, and sends information about the account to the student terminal 4.

[0036] In addition, the schedule management unit 9, which will be described later, associates a schedule ID based on the lesson / lecture schedule input with the student ID and registers it in the student DB 6b.

[0037] In addition, the tuition and lecture fees calculated by the tuition and lecture fee calculation unit 14 (to be described later) are linked to the student ID and schedule ID and registered in the student DB 6b.

[0038] In addition, the payment status of tuition and lecture fees by the billing and payment management unit 16 (to be described later) is linked to the student ID and schedule ID and registered in the student DB 6b.

[0039] The schedule management unit 9 manages student data based on information input from the instructor terminal 3, student terminal 4, and business system 2.

[0040] In this embodiment, the schedule management unit 9 displays a class / lecture schedule registration site to the lecturer terminal 3 that has accessed the provider system 2, accepts input of information such as the lecturer ID, available dates and times for classes / lectures, etc., and registers this information in the schedule DB 6c. It also creates a specified schedule ID and transmits this schedule ID to the lecture terminal 3.

[0041] In addition, the schedule management unit 9 displays a class / lecture schedule reservation site to the student terminal 4 that has accessed the provider system 2, accepts input of information such as the student ID and the reservation date and time of the class / lecture, registers it in the schedule DB 6c, and sends the schedule ID to the student terminal 4.

[0042] In addition, the schedule management unit 9 creates a URL for the online education to be conducted on the date and time of the class / lecture for which the reservation has been accepted, links it to the schedule ID, lecturer ID, and student ID, registers it in the schedule DB 6c, and sends the URL to the lecturer terminal 3 and the student terminal 4.

[0043] In addition, the schedule management unit 9 accepts from the instructor terminal 3 or the student terminal 4 whether or not there are any special circumstances as a condition for incurring tuition, lecture fees, and instructor fees in online education conducted using the above schedule ID and URL, and registers this in the schedule DB 6c, linking it to the schedule ID.

[0044] For example, in online education conducted using the above schedule ID and URL, if the instructor's class or lecture is not appropriate for the student (e.g., the student provided an incorrect answer to a question), the schedule management unit 9 will accept a confirmation from the student terminal 4 via the above URL after the class or lecture has ended as to whether the class or lecture was appropriate. If the class or lecture was not appropriate, the schedule management unit 9 will register information indicating "class / lecture inappropriate" in the special circumstances field shown in Figure 3(c), and if the class or lecture was appropriate, it will register information indicating "none" in the special circumstances field. If information indicating "class / lecture inappropriate" is registered, the tuition / lecture fees will not be calculated by the tuition / lecture fee calculation unit 14 described below, and the instructor fees will not be calculated by the instructor fee calculation unit 15 described below. If information indicating "none" is registered, the tuition / lecture fees and instructor fees will be calculated.

[0045] The schedule management unit 9 also accepts cancellations of classes and lectures in online education conducted using the above schedule ID and URL from the instructor terminal 3 or student terminal 4, and registers the cancellations in the schedule DB 6c in association with the schedule ID.

[0046] For example, the schedule management unit 9 receives a cancellation request for a class / lecture related to the schedule ID from the student terminal 4 on the class / lecture schedule reservation site, and registers information indicating "cancellation due to student's circumstances" in the special circumstances item shown in Figure 3(c). In this case, the tuition / lecture fees are calculated by the tuition / lecture fee calculation unit 14 (described later) and the lecture fees are calculated by the lecture fee calculation unit 15 (described later), but these fees are treated as cancellation fees.

[0047] Furthermore, the schedule management unit 9 receives a cancellation request for a class / lecture related to the schedule ID from the instructor terminal 3, for example, on a class / lecture schedule registration site, and registers information indicating "cancellation due to instructor's circumstances" in the special circumstances item shown in Fig. 3(c). In this case, the tuition / lecture fee calculation unit 14 (described later) and the instructor fee calculation unit 15 (described later) do not calculate the tuition / lecture fee, and the schedule management unit 9 creates course ticket data equivalent to XX minutes, links it to the student ID and schedule ID, and registers it in the tuition / lecture fee item of the student DB 6b.

[0048] In the case of cancellation due to the student's or instructor's reasons, the schedule management unit 9 accepts a change in the date and time associated with the schedule ID at the class / lecture schedule reservation site or class / lecture schedule registration site, and updates the information in the schedule DB 6c.

[0049] In addition, the schedule management unit 9 links the question time or the number of question characters counted by the first fee calculation unit 11 described later, the answer time or the number of answer characters counted by the second fee calculation unit 12 described later, and the instructor thinking time or the number of instructor thinking characters counted by the third fee calculation unit 13 described later to the schedule ID, instructor ID, and student ID, and registers them in the schedule DB 6c.

[0050] The schedule management unit 9 also manages the provision of effectiveness check questions from instructors to students to check their understanding of lessons and lectures in the online education conducted using the above schedule ID and URL.

[0051] For example, in online education conducted using the above schedule ID and URL, the instructor sends the data of the above effectiveness confirmation question to the student terminal 4 via the URL in response to a student's request. The student solves the effectiveness confirmation question and sends the answer data to the instructor terminal 3 via the URL. The instructor checks whether the answer data is correct and sends the result to the student terminal 4 via the URL. The schedule management unit 9 links the history between the instructor terminal 3 and the student terminal 4 to the schedule ID and registers it in the effectiveness confirmation item of the schedule DB 6c.

[0052] The fee for the effect confirmation is calculated by the tuition and lecture fee calculation unit 14, which will be described later.

[0053] Furthermore, the schedule management unit 9 links the tuition fees and lecture fees calculated by the tuition fee and lecture fee calculation unit 14 (described later) with the schedule ID and student ID, and registers them in the schedule DB 6c.

[0054] Furthermore, the schedule management unit 9 links the instructor fee calculated by the instructor fee calculation unit 15 (described later) with the schedule ID and the instructor ID and registers the same in the schedule DB 6c.

[0055] The schedule management unit 9 also registers the status of payments of tuition fees, lecture fees, etc. and lecture fees made by the billing and payment management unit 16 (described later) in the schedule DB 6c, linking them with the schedule ID, lecturer ID and student ID.

[0056] The class / lecture time measurement unit 10 measures the class / lecture time in the online education conducted using the above schedule ID and URL. The measured class / lecture time is used for fee calculation by the first fee calculation unit 11, the second fee calculation unit 12, and the third fee calculation unit 13, which will be described later.

[0057] 4(a), the first fee calculation unit 11 includes a question time measurement unit 11a, a question character count unit 11b, and a question character time conversion unit 11c, and calculates the fee for questions to be paid by the student based on information about questions to the instructor acquired from the student terminal 4 in the online education conducted using the schedule ID and URL and a pre-registered question unit price. In this embodiment, the fee for questions is calculated by the following process.

[0058] (Calculation based on question time) The question time measurement unit 11a detects the student's voice input to the student terminal 4 and measures the detection time of the student's voice. In this embodiment, the student's voice input to the microphone module of the student terminal 4 is detected and the detection time is measured as the question time (t1). The detection condition may be a student's voice above a predetermined volume, for example, above 50 dB.

[0059] The first fee calculation unit 11 calculates the question fee to be paid by the student based on the detected time of the measured student voice and the pre-registered question unit price. In this embodiment, the first fee calculation unit 11 multiplies the student's question time (t1) measured by the question time measurement unit 11a by the question time unit price A yen (e.g., 80 yen) / minute registered in the instructor DB 6a to calculate the question fee (c1) per minute to be paid by the student.

[0060] (Calculation based on question character count) The question character counting unit 11b counts the number of characters input to the student terminal 4 as the number of question characters. In this embodiment, it accepts characters input by the input device of the student terminal 4 as question characters and counts the number (w1) of such characters. Alternatively, it detects the student's voice input to the microphone module of the student terminal 4, converts the student's voice into characters, accepts them as question characters, and counts the number (w1) of such characters.

[0061] The first fee calculation unit 11 calculates the question fee to be paid by the student based on the counted number of question characters and the pre-registered price per question. In this embodiment, the first fee calculation unit 11 multiplies the number of question characters (w1) counted by the question character count unit 11b by the price per question character (D yen, for example, 4 yen) per character registered in the instructor DB 6a to calculate the question fee (c2) to be paid by the student according to the number of question characters.

[0062] (Calculation based on the number of characters in the question converted into time) The question character-to-time conversion unit 11c converts the counted number of question characters into question time, and calculates the question fee to be paid by the student based on the time-converted number of question characters and the pre-registered question unit price. In this embodiment, the question character-to-time conversion unit 11c converts the number of question characters into time based on the following data:

[0063] The lesson / lecture time (T) measured by the lesson / lecture time measurement unit 10 The number of question characters (w1) counted by the question character counting unit 11b The number of answer characters (w2) counted by the answer character counting unit 12b described later The thinking time (t3) measured by the thinking time measurement unit 13a (to be described later) The number of thought characters (w3) counted by the thought character counting unit 13b (described later) - Question time rate registered in instructor DB6a (A yen / minute) Time conversion of question character count 1: (T-t3) x {w1 / (w1+w2)} Time conversion of question character count 2: T × {w1 / (w1+w2+w3)}

[0064] The first fee calculation unit 11 calculates the question fee to be paid by the student based on the time-converted number of question characters and the pre-registered question unit price. In this embodiment, the question fee is calculated based on the above data. Question fee (c3) = (T-t3) × {w1 / (w1+w2)} × (A yen / minute) Question fee (c4) = T × {w1 / (w1+w2+w3)} × (A yen / minute)

[0065] As shown in Figure 4(b), the second fee calculation unit 12 includes an answer time measurement unit 12a, an answer character count unit 12b, and an answer character count-time conversion unit 12c, and calculates the tutor answer fee to be paid by the student based on information about answers acquired from the tutor terminal 3 to questions from the student terminal 4 and a pre-registered answer unit price in the online education implemented using the above schedule ID and URL. In this embodiment, the tutor answer fee is calculated by the following process.

[0066] (Calculation based on response time) The response time measurement unit 12a detects the instructor voice input to the instructor terminal 3 and measures the detection time of the instructor voice. In this embodiment, the instructor voice input to the microphone module of the instructor terminal 3 is detected and the detection time is measured as the response time (t2). The detection condition may be an instructor voice of a predetermined volume or more, for example, 50 dB or more.

[0067] The second fee calculation unit 12 calculates the tutor response fee to be paid by the student based on the measured detection time of the tutor voice and the pre-registered unit price for each response. In this embodiment, the tutor response time (t2) measured by the response time measurement unit 12a is multiplied by the unit price for each response time, B yen (e.g., 100 yen) per minute, registered in the tutor DB 6a, to calculate the tutor response fee (c5) per minute to be paid by the student.

[0068] (Calculation based on the number of characters in the answer) The answer character counting unit 12b counts the number of characters input to the instructor terminal 3 as the number of answer characters. In this embodiment, characters input by the input device of the instructor terminal 3 are accepted as answer characters, and the number (w2) of these characters is counted. Alternatively, the unit detects the instructor's voice input to the microphone module of the instructor terminal 3, converts the instructor's voice into characters, accepts the characters as answer characters, and counts the number (w2) of these characters.

[0069] The second fee calculation unit 12 calculates the tutor response fee to be paid by the student based on the counted number of answer characters and the pre-registered answer unit price. In this embodiment, the number of answer characters (w2) counted by the answer character counting unit 12b is multiplied by the answer character unit price E yen (e.g., 5 yen) / character registered in the tutor DB6a to calculate the tutor response fee (c6) to be paid by the student according to the number of answer characters.

[0070] (Calculation based on the number of characters in the answer converted into time) The answer character count-time conversion unit 12c converts the counted answer character count into answer time, and calculates the instructor answer fee to be paid by the student based on the time-converted answer character count and the pre-registered answer unit price. In this embodiment, the answer character count-time conversion unit 12c converts the answer character count into time based on the following data:

[0071] The lesson / lecture time (T) measured by the lesson / lecture time measurement unit 10 The number of question characters (w1) counted by the question character counting unit 11b The number of answer characters counted by the answer character counting unit 12b (w2) The thinking time (t3) measured by the thinking time measurement unit 13a (to be described later) The number of thought characters (w3) counted by the thought character counting unit 13b (described later) - Answer hourly rate registered in instructor DB6a (B yen / minute) Time conversion of answer characters 1: (T-t3) x {w2 / (w1+w2)} Time conversion of the number of characters in the answer 2: T × {w2 / (w1+w2+w3)}

[0072] The second fee calculation unit 12 calculates the instructor response fee to be paid by the student based on the time-converted number of answer characters and the pre-registered answer unit price. In this embodiment, the instructor response fee is calculated based on the above data. Instructor response fee (c7) = (T-t3) × {w2 / (w1+w2)} × (B yen / min) Instructor response fee (c8) = T × {w2 / (w1+w2+w3)} × (B yen / min)

[0073] As shown in Fig. 4(c), the third fee calculation unit 13 includes a thinking time measurement unit 13a, a thought character counting unit 13b, and a thought character count-to-hour conversion unit 13c, and calculates the instructor thinking fee to be paid by the student based on information about the instructor's thoughts leading up to the instructor's answer to the question in the online education implemented using the schedule ID and URL, and the pre-registered thinking cost. In this embodiment, the instructor thinking fee is calculated by the following process.

[0074] (Calculation based on think time) The thinking time measurement unit 13a measures the time from the end of inputting information into the student terminal 4 to the start of inputting information into the instructor terminal 3 as the instructor thinking time. In this embodiment, after the end of measurement of the detection time of the student's voice from the student terminal 4, the time until the instructor's voice is input into the instructor terminal 3 is measured as the instructor thinking time (t3) from the end of the question to the start of the instructor's answer. Alternatively, the instructor thinking time (t3) is measured from the input of question text from the student terminal 4 to the input of answer text into the instructor terminal 3. The detection condition may be voice below a predetermined volume, for example, below 50 dB.

[0075] The third fee calculation unit 13 calculates the tutor thinking fee to be paid by the student based on the measured tutor thinking time and the pre-registered thinking unit price. In this embodiment, the tutor thinking time (t3) measured by the thinking time measurement unit 13a is multiplied by the thinking time unit price C yen (e.g., 50 yen) / minute registered in the tutor DB 6a to calculate the tutor thinking fee (c9) per minute to be paid by the student.

[0076] (Calculation based on the number of characters thought) The thought character number counting unit 13b counts the number of characters output from the instructor terminal 3 as the number of instructor thought characters from the time when the input of information to the student terminal 4 is completed until the time when the input of information to the instructor terminal 3 is started. In this embodiment, for example, when a class or lecture is about English conversation or music, an external voice different from the instructor's voice, such as a machine voice output from the instructor terminal 3, is detected, the external voice is converted into characters, accepted as thought characters, and the number (w3) of these characters is counted.

[0077] The third fee calculation unit 13 calculates the tutor thought fee to be paid by the student based on the counted number of tutor thought characters and the pre-registered thought unit price. In this embodiment, the tutor thought character count (w3) counted by the thought character count unit 13b is multiplied by the thought character unit price F yen (for example, 2.5 yen) / 1 character registered in the tutor DB6a to calculate the tutor thought fee (c 10 ) is calculated.

[0078] (Calculation based on the number of characters thought over time) The thought character number-hour conversion unit 13c converts the counted number of instructor thought characters into instructor thought time, and calculates the instructor thought fee to be paid by the student based on the hourly converted number of instructor thought characters and the pre-registered thought unit price. In this embodiment, the thought character number-hour conversion unit 13c converts the number of instructor thought characters into hours based on the following data:

[0079] The lesson / lecture time (T) measured by the lesson / lecture time measurement unit 10 The number of question characters (w1) counted by the question character counting unit 11b The number of answer characters counted by the answer character counting unit 12b (w2) The instructor's thinking time (t3) measured by the thinking time measurement unit 13a The number of thought characters of the instructor counted by the thought character counting unit 13b (w3) - Thinking time rate registered in instructor DB6a (C yen / minute) Time conversion of instructor's thought characters: T x {w3 / (w1+w2+w3)}

[0080] The third fee calculation unit 13 calculates the instructor's thinking fee to be paid by the student based on the number of instructor's thinking characters converted into time and the pre-registered thinking unit price. In this embodiment, the instructor's thinking fee is calculated based on the above data. Instructor's fee (c 11 )=T×{w3 / (w1+w2+w3)}×(C yen / min)

[0081] If the thinking time measurement unit 13a detects that the time from when the information is input to the student terminal 4 until when the information is input to the instructor terminal 3 exceeds a predetermined time (for example, 10 minutes), the third fee calculation unit 13 may not calculate the instructor thinking fee. In this case, the schedule management unit 9 accepts a change in the date and time related to the schedule ID at the class / lecture schedule reservation site or the class / lecture schedule registration site, and updates the information in the schedule DB 6c.

[0082] The tuition and lecture fee calculation unit 14 calculates tuition and lecture fees, which are one aspect of the usage fees for the online education service of this embodiment, based on either the question fee, the lecturer's response fee, or the lecturer's thinking fee. In this embodiment, the tuition and lecture fees are calculated, for example, in the following manner using a combination of the question fee, the lecturer's response fee, and the lecturer's thinking fee.

[0083] (Tuition and Lecture Fee A) Question fee per minute (c1) + Instructor answer fee per minute (c5)

[0084] (Tuition and lecture fee B) Question fee per minute (c1) + Instructor answer fee per minute (c5) + Instructor thinking fee per minute (c9)

[0085] (Tuition and Lecture Fees C) The above-mentioned question fee per minute (c1) + the above-mentioned instructor answer fee per minute (c5) + the instructor thought fee according to the number of characters of the above-mentioned thought (c 10 )

[0086] (Tuition and lecture fees D) The above-mentioned minute-by-minute question fee (c1) + the instructor's answer fee according to the number of characters in the answer (c6)

[0087] (Tuition and lecture fees E) The above-mentioned minute-by-minute question fee (c1) + the above-mentioned instructor answer fee according to the number of characters in the answer (c6) + the above-mentioned instructor thinking fee (c9)

[0088] (Tuition and lecture fees F) The above-mentioned minute-by-minute question fee (c1) + the instructor's answer fee according to the number of characters in the answer (c6) + the instructor's thought fee according to the number of characters in the thought (c 10 )

[0089] (Tuition and lecture fees G) Question fee according to the number of characters in the question (c2) + Instructor answer fee per minute (c5)

[0090] (Tuition and lecture fees H) Question fee according to the number of characters in the question (c2) + Instructor answer fee per minute (c5) + Instructor thinking fee per minute (c9)

[0091] (Tuition and Lecture Fees I) Question fee according to the number of characters in the question (c2) + Instructor answer fee per minute (c5) + Instructor thinking fee according to the number of characters in the thought (c 10 )

[0092] (Tuition and lecture fees) Question fee according to the number of characters in the question (c2) + Teacher response fee according to the number of characters in the answer (c6)

[0093] (Tuition and lecture fees K) Question fee according to the number of characters in the question (c2) + Instructor answer fee according to the number of characters in the answer (c6) + Instructor thinking fee per minute (c9)

[0094] (Tuition and lecture fees) Question fee according to the number of characters in the question (c2) + Teacher answer fee according to the number of characters in the answer (c6) + Teacher thought fee according to the number of characters in the thought (c 10 )

[0095] (Tuition and lecture fees M) Question fee according to the number of characters in the question converted into the time above (c3) + Instructor answer fee according to the number of characters in the answer converted into the time above (c7) + Instructor thinking fee per minute above (c9)

[0096] (Tuition and lecture fees N) The question fee according to the number of characters in the question converted into the time (c4) + the teacher's answer fee according to the number of characters in the answer converted into the time (c8) + the teacher's thinking fee according to the number of characters in the thought converted into the time (c 11 )

[0097] In addition, if the thinking time measurement unit 13a detects that the time from when the information is input to the student terminal 4 until when the information is input to the instructor terminal 3 exceeds a predetermined time (for example, 10 minutes), the tuition / lecture fee calculation unit 14 may not calculate the tuition / lecture fee.

[0098] The fee for the effectiveness check is calculated as a predetermined percentage (for example, 30%) of the tuition and lecture fees calculated above, and is incorporated into the usage fee.

[0099] The instructor fee calculation unit 15 calculates an instructor fee, which is one aspect of the usage fee for the online education service of this embodiment, based on either the question fee, the instructor's answer fee, or the instructor's thinking fee. In this embodiment, the instructor fee is calculated by subtracting a predetermined commission (e.g., 20%) received by the business operator from each of the tuition / lecture fee and the fee for effect confirmation.

[0100] In addition, if the thinking time measurement unit 13a detects that the time from inputting information into the student terminal 4 to inputting information into the instructor terminal 3 exceeds a predetermined time (e.g., 10 minutes), the instructor fee calculation unit 15 may not calculate the instructor fee.

[0101] The billing and payment management unit 16 creates billing information for the calculated tuition fees, lecture fees, etc. and sends it to the student terminal 4, and creates detailed information for the calculated lecture fees and sends it to the lecturer terminal 3.

[0102] The billing and payment management unit 16 also manages the payment status of the tuition fees, lecture fees, etc. from the students and the lecture fees to the lecturers.

[0103] [Information processing flow by online education system] Referring to FIG. 5, the process of calculating the tuition and lecture fee B will be described as an example of information processing by the online education system 1 of this embodiment.

[0104] (S101, S102) The instructor data management unit 7 displays an instructor registration site to the instructor terminal 3 that has accessed the business system 2, accepts input of information such as name, gender, age, attributes, field of expertise, tuition and lecture fee unit price, and other contact information, and registers it in the instructor DB 6a, creates a specified account, and sends information about the account to the instructor terminal 3. The schedule management unit 9 displays a class / lecture schedule registration site to the lecturer terminal 3 that has accessed the provider system 2, accepts input of information such as the lecturer ID, available dates and times for classes / lectures, etc., and registers this information in the schedule DB 6c. It also creates a specified schedule ID and sends this schedule ID to the lecture terminal 3. The instructor data management unit 7 associates a schedule ID based on the lesson / lecture schedule inputted by the schedule management unit 9 with the instructor ID and registers the schedule ID in the instructor DB 6a.

[0105] (S103, S104) The student data management unit 8 displays a student registration site to the student terminal 4 that has accessed the business system 2, accepts input of information such as name, gender, age, attributes, and other contact information, and registers it in the student DB 6b, creates a specified account, and sends information about the account to the student terminal 4. The schedule management unit 9 displays a class / lecture schedule reservation site to the student terminal 4 that has accessed the provider system 2, accepts input of information such as the student ID and the reservation date and time of the class / lecture, registers it in the schedule DB 6c, and sends the schedule ID described in S102 to the student terminal 4. The student data management unit 8 associates a schedule ID based on the lesson / lecture schedule input received by the schedule management unit 9 with the student ID and registers the schedule ID in the student DB 6b.

[0106] (S105) The schedule management unit 9 creates a URL for the online education on the date and time of the class or lecture for which the reservation has been accepted, links it to the schedule ID, lecturer ID, and student ID, registers it in the schedule DB 6c, and sends the URL to the lecturer terminal 3 and the student terminal 4.

[0107] (S106) In the online education conducted using the schedule ID and URL, the class / lecture time measurement unit 10 measures the class / lecture time. The question time measurement unit 11a detects the voice of the student input to the student terminal 4, and measures the detection time as the question time (t1). The response time measurement unit 12a detects the instructor voice input to the instructor terminal 3, and measures the detection time as the response time (t2). The thinking time measurement unit 13a measures the time from when the student's voice is detected from the student terminal 4 until the instructor's voice is input to the instructor terminal 3 as the instructor thinking time (t3). The schedule management unit 9 links the question time measured by the question time measurement unit 11a, the answer time measured by the answer time measurement unit 12a, and the instructor thinking time measured by the thinking time measurement unit 13a to the schedule ID, instructor ID, and student ID, and registers them in the schedule DB 6c.

[0108] (S107) The first fee calculation unit 11 multiplies the student's question time (t1) measured by the question time measurement unit 11a by the question time unit price A yen (e.g., 80 yen) per minute registered in the instructor DB 6a to calculate the question fee (c1) per minute to be paid by the student. The second fee calculation unit 12 multiplies the instructor's response time (t2) measured by the response time measurement unit 12a by the response time unit price B yen (e.g., 100 yen) per minute registered in the instructor DB 6a to calculate the instructor response fee (c5) per minute to be paid by the student. The third fee calculation unit 13 multiplies the instructor thinking time (t3) measured by the thinking time measurement unit 13a by the thinking time unit price C yen (e.g., 50 yen) per minute registered in the instructor DB 6a to calculate the instructor thinking fee (c9) per minute to be paid by the student. The tuition / lecture fee calculation unit 14 calculates the tuition / lecture fee B, which is one aspect of the usage fee for the online education service, based on the question fee, the lecturer's answer fee, and the lecturer's thinking fee. The student data management unit 8 links the tuition and lecture fees B calculated by the tuition and lecture fee calculation unit 14 to the student ID and schedule ID and registers them in the student DB 6b. The schedule management unit 9 links the tuition and lecture fees B calculated by the tuition and lecture fee calculation unit 14 with the schedule ID and the student ID, and registers them in the schedule DB 6c. The lecture fee calculation unit 15 calculates the lecture fee by subtracting a predetermined commission (for example, 20%) received by the business from the tuition / lecture fee B. The instructor data management unit 7 links the instructor fee calculated by the instructor fee calculation unit 15 with the instructor ID and schedule ID and registers the fee in the instructor DB 6a. The schedule management unit 9 links the lecturer fee calculated by the lecturer fee calculation unit 15 with the schedule ID and the lecturer ID and registers the same in the schedule DB 6c. The billing and payment management unit 16 creates billing information for the calculated tuition and lecture fee B and sends it to the student terminal 4, and creates detailed information for the calculated lecture fee and sends it to the lecturer terminal 3. The billing and payment management unit 16 manages the payment status of the tuition and lecture fees B from the students and the lecture fees to the lecturers. The student data management unit 8 links the payment status of tuition and lecture fees B made by the billing and payment management unit 16 to the student ID and schedule ID and registers them in the student DB 6b. The instructor data management unit 7 links the status of the payment of the instructor fee by the billing and payment management unit 16 with the instructor ID and schedule ID and registers it in the instructor DB 6a. The schedule management unit 9 links the payment status of the tuition / lecture fee B and the lecture fee by the billing / payment management unit 16 with the schedule ID, lecturer ID, and student ID, and registers them in the schedule DB 6c.

[0109] (S108, S109) When the student pays the tuition and lecture fee B, the payment status of student DB6b and schedule DB6c is updated. When the lecturer fee is paid by the business, the payment status of the lecturer DB 6a and the schedule DB 6c is updated.

[0110] As described above, the online education system of this embodiment divides classes and lectures into the elements of student questions, instructor thoughts, and instructor answers, and employs a system in which students are charged according to the amount of questions, thoughts, and answers asked in each element. This makes it convenient and effective for students to receive a high-quality education by studying only the parts they do not understand at a time convenient for them at home, and is also economical because they only have to pay for the time spent on each element.

[0111] In addition, it is efficient for instructors as they can teach classes and lectures from home, and they only need to teach the parts that students don't understand, so they can expect to increase their income by educating many students, and they can keep the fees paid to the business operator low.Furthermore, for business operators, they can set the tuition and lecture fees paid by students at extremely low prices compared to the conventional system, so they can expect an increase in the number of students enrolled and an increase in revenue. [Explanation of symbols]

[0112] 1. Online Education System 2. Operator System 3. Teacher's terminal 4. Student terminals 5. Communication Network

Claims

1. An online education system that connects a lecturer terminal used by a lecturer and a student terminal used by a student via a communication network to conduct online classes and lectures, a first fee calculation unit that calculates a fee for a question to be paid by the student based on information regarding the question to the instructor acquired from the student terminal and a pre-registered question unit price; a second fee calculation unit that calculates a fee for an answer by the student based on information about the answer to the question acquired from the instructor terminal and a pre-registered answer unit price; a usage fee calculation unit that calculates a usage fee to be paid by the student based on the question fee and the instructor's answer fee. An online education system characterized by:

2. the first fee calculation unit includes a question time measurement unit that detects the student's voice input to the student terminal and measures the time it takes for the student's voice to be detected; the first fee calculation unit calculates a question fee to be paid by the student based on the measured detection time of the student's voice and a pre-registered question unit price; the second fee calculation unit includes a response time measurement unit that detects a lecturer voice input to the lecturer terminal and measures a detection time of the lecturer voice; The second fee calculation unit calculates a fee for an instructor's response to be paid by the student based on the measured detection time of the instructor's voice and a pre-registered cost per response.

2. The online education system according to claim 1.

3. the first fee calculation unit includes a question time measurement unit that detects a student's voice input to the student terminal at a volume equal to or greater than a predetermined volume and measures a time period during which the student's voice is detected; the first fee calculation unit calculates a question fee to be paid by the student based on the measured detection time of the student's voice and a pre-registered question unit price; the second fee calculation unit includes a response time measurement unit that detects a lecturer voice input to the lecturer terminal and measures a detection time of the lecturer voice; the second fee calculation unit calculates a fee for the instructor's response to be paid by the student based on the measured detection time of the instructor's voice and a pre-registered cost per response; a third fee calculation unit that measures a time period from the end of inputting information into the student terminal to the start of inputting information into the instructor terminal as an instructor thinking time, and the third fee calculation unit calculates an instructor thinking fee to be paid by the student based on the measured instructor thinking time and a pre-registered thinking cost; The usage fee calculation unit calculates the usage fee to be paid by the student based on the question fee, the instructor's answer fee, and the instructor's thinking fee.

2. The online education system according to claim 1.

4. the first fee calculation unit includes a question time measurement unit that detects a student's voice input to the student terminal at a volume equal to or greater than a predetermined volume and measures a time period during which the student's voice is detected; the first fee calculation unit calculates a question fee to be paid by the student based on the measured detection time of the student's voice and a pre-registered question unit price; the second fee calculation unit includes a response time measurement unit that detects a lecturer voice input to the lecturer terminal and measures a detection time of the lecturer voice; the second fee calculation unit calculates a fee for the instructor's response to be paid by the student based on the measured detection time of the instructor's voice and a pre-registered cost per response; a third fee calculation unit that counts the number of characters output from the instructor terminal as the number of instructor thought characters during the period from the end of inputting information to the student terminal to the start of inputting information to the instructor terminal; The third fee calculation unit calculates a lecturer's thought fee to be paid by the student based on the counted number of lecturer's thought characters and a pre-registered thought unit price, The usage fee calculation unit calculates the usage fee to be paid by the student based on the question fee, the instructor's answer fee, and the instructor's thinking fee.

2. The online education system according to claim 1.

5. the first fee calculation unit includes a question character counting unit that counts the number of characters input to the student terminal as the number of question characters; the first fee calculation unit calculates a question fee to be paid by the student based on the counted number of characters in the question and a pre-registered question unit price; the second fee calculation unit includes an answer character number counting unit that counts the number of characters input to the instructor terminal as the number of answer characters; The second fee calculation unit calculates a fee for an instructor's response to be paid by the student based on the counted number of answer characters and a pre-registered cost per answer.

2. The online education system according to claim 1.

6. the first fee calculation unit includes a question time measurement unit that detects the student's voice input to the student terminal and measures the time it takes for the student's voice to be detected; the first fee calculation unit calculates a question fee to be paid by the student based on the measured detection time of the student's voice and a pre-registered question unit price; the second fee calculation unit includes an answer character number counting unit that counts the number of characters input to the instructor terminal as the number of answer characters; The second fee calculation unit calculates a fee for an instructor's response to be paid by the student based on the counted number of answer characters and a pre-registered cost per answer.

2. The online education system according to claim 1.

7. the first fee calculation unit includes a question character counting unit that counts the number of characters input to the student terminal as the number of question characters; the first fee calculation unit calculates a question fee to be paid by the student based on the counted number of characters in the question and a pre-registered question unit price; the second fee calculation unit includes a response time measurement unit that detects a lecturer voice input to the lecturer terminal and measures a detection time of the lecturer voice; The second fee calculation unit calculates a fee for an instructor's response to be paid by the student based on the measured detection time of the instructor's voice and a pre-registered cost per response.

2. The online education system according to claim 1.

8. the first fee calculation unit includes a question character counting unit that detects student voices input to the student terminal, converts the detected voices into characters, and counts the number of characters in the converted student voices as the number of question characters; the first fee calculation unit calculates a question fee to be paid by the student based on the counted number of characters in the question and a pre-registered question unit price; the second fee calculation unit includes an answer character counting unit that detects a lecturer voice input to the lecturer terminal, converts the detected lecturer voice into characters, and counts the number of characters in the converted lecturer voice as the number of answer characters; The second fee calculation unit calculates a fee for an instructor's response to be paid by the student based on the counted number of answer characters and a pre-registered cost per answer.

2. The online education system according to claim 1.

9. the first fee calculation unit includes a question time measurement unit that detects the student's voice input to the student terminal and measures the time it takes for the student's voice to be detected; the first fee calculation unit calculates a question fee to be paid by the student based on the measured detection time of the student's voice and a pre-registered question unit price; the second fee calculation unit includes an answer character counting unit that detects a lecturer voice input to the lecturer terminal, converts the detected lecturer voice into characters, and counts the number of characters in the converted lecturer voice as the number of answer characters; The second fee calculation unit calculates a fee for an instructor's response to be paid by the student based on the counted number of answer characters and a pre-registered cost per answer.

2. The online education system according to claim 1.

10. the first fee calculation unit includes a question character counting unit that detects student voices input to the student terminal, converts the detected voices into characters, and counts the number of characters in the converted student voices as the number of question characters; the first fee calculation unit calculates a question fee to be paid by the student based on the counted number of characters in the question and a pre-registered question unit price; the second fee calculation unit includes a response time measurement unit that detects a lecturer voice input to the lecturer terminal and measures a detection time of the lecturer voice; The second fee calculation unit calculates a fee for an instructor's response to be paid by the student based on the measured detection time of the instructor's voice and a pre-registered cost per response.

2. The online education system according to claim 1.

11. a third fee calculation unit that measures the time from the end of inputting information into the student terminal to the start of inputting information into the instructor terminal as an instructor thinking time; the third fee calculation unit calculates an instructor thinking fee to be paid by the student based on the measured instructor thinking time and a pre-registered thinking cost; The usage fee calculation unit calculates the usage fee to be paid by the student based on the question fee, the instructor's answer fee, and the instructor's thinking fee.

11. The online education system according to claim 5, wherein:

12. a third fee calculation unit that counts the number of characters output from the instructor terminal as the number of instructor thought characters during the period from the end of inputting information to the student terminal to the start of inputting information to the instructor terminal; The third fee calculation unit calculates a lecturer's thought fee to be paid by the student based on the counted number of lecturer's thought characters and a pre-registered thought unit price, The usage fee calculation unit calculates the usage fee to be paid by the student based on the question fee, the instructor's answer fee, and the instructor's thinking fee.

11. The online education system according to claim 5, wherein:

13. the first fee calculation unit includes a question character count time conversion unit that counts the number of characters input to the student terminal as a question character count and converts the counted question character count into question time; the first fee calculation unit calculates a question fee to be paid by the student based on the time-converted number of question characters and a pre-registered question unit price; the second fee calculation unit includes an answer character number-time conversion unit that counts the number of characters input to the instructor terminal as an answer character number and converts the counted answer character number into answer time, the second fee calculation unit calculates a fee for the student's response to be paid by the instructor based on the time-converted number of response characters and a pre-registered cost per response; a third fee calculation unit that measures the time from the end of inputting information into the student terminal to the start of inputting information into the instructor terminal as an instructor thinking time; the third fee calculation unit calculates an instructor thinking fee to be paid by the student based on the measured instructor thinking time and a pre-registered thinking cost; The usage fee calculation unit calculates the usage fee to be paid by the student based on the question fee, the instructor's answer fee, and the instructor's thinking fee.

2. The online education system according to claim 1.

14. the first fee calculation unit includes a question character count time conversion unit that counts the number of characters input to the student terminal as a question character count and converts the counted question character count into question time; the first fee calculation unit calculates a question fee to be paid by the student based on the time-converted number of question characters and a pre-registered question unit price; the second fee calculation unit includes an answer character number-time conversion unit that counts the number of characters input to the instructor terminal as an answer character number and converts the counted answer character number into answer time, the second fee calculation unit calculates a fee for the student's response to be paid by the instructor based on the time-converted number of response characters and a pre-registered cost per response; a third fee calculation unit that counts the number of characters output from the instructor terminal as an instructor thought character count during the period from the end of inputting information to the student terminal to the start of inputting information to the instructor terminal, and converts the counted instructor thought character count into instructor thought time; The third fee calculation unit calculates a lecturer's thought fee to be paid by the student based on the lecturer's thought character count converted into time and a pre-registered thought unit price, The usage fee calculation unit calculates the usage fee to be paid by the student based on the question fee, the instructor's answer fee, and the instructor's thinking fee.

2. The online education system according to claim 1.

15. A computer program for causing a computer to function as the online education system according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

16. A computer program for causing a computer to function as the online education system according to claim 11.

17. A computer program for causing a computer to function as the online education system according to claim 12.

18. A computer program for causing a computer to function as the online education system according to claim 13 or 14.

Images