阅读说明：本技术 视频实验书籍环境 (Video experiment book environment ) 是由 R·P·梅代罗斯 D·M·纳瓦尼 J·J·彻尼 M·普利茨克 于 2020-02-11 设计创作，主要内容包括：视频实验书籍环境提供在线实验材料。实验材料包括视频内容。学生可以经由计算设备远程访问实验材料。教师版本使得教师能够组织实验材料、修改实验材料并且与学生互动。教师可以生成可以由学生在线进行并且自动评分的测验。实验报告可以在线被完成和提交。教师可以针对学生在线提供成绩报告。剽窃检查器可以检查实验报告的任何部分是否被剽窃。(Video lab book environment provides on-line experimental materials. The experimental material includes video content. The student may remotely access the experimental material via the computing device. The teacher version enables the teacher to organize the experimental material, modify the experimental material, and interact with the students. The teacher may generate a quiz that may be taken online by the students and scored automatically. The experimental report may be completed and submitted on-line. The teacher may provide a performance report for the student online. A plagiarism checker can check whether any part of the experimental report is plagiarized.)

1. A method performed by a processor of a computing device, comprising:

transmitting a user interface element for display as part of a user interface for a video lab book, wherein the user interface element is to modify experiments of the video lab book;

receiving an indication that the user interface element has been activated and receiving at least one modification to the experiment;

updating the experiment to include the modification; and

transmitting information about the updated experiment for display.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the modification is an addition or deletion step from an experimental procedure for the experiment.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: in response to activation of the user interface element, transmitting an additional user interface element for adding or deleting the step from the experimental program.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the modification is a step of modifying an experimental procedure.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: in response to activation of the user interface element, transmitting an additional user interface element for modifying the step of the experimental procedure.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the modification is one of: modifying the materials used in the experiment, or modifying the amount of materials used in the experiment.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: transmitting, in response to activation of the user interface element, another user interface element for modifying the material used in the experiment or modifying the amount of the material used in the experiment.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the modification is adding, deleting, and/or modifying annotations for the experiment.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: in response to activation of the user interface element, transmitting another user interface element for adding, deleting, and/or modifying the annotation for the experiment.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed by a server, and wherein the communication of the user interface element and the communication of the information are communicated to a client.

11. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a computing device, perform the steps of:

transmitting a user interface element for display as part of a user interface for a video lab book, wherein the user interface element is to modify experiments of the video lab book;

receiving an indication that the user interface element has been activated and receiving at least one modification to the experiment;

updating the experiment to include the modification; and

transmitting information about the updated experiment for display.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the modification is an addition or deletion of a step from an experimental program for the experiment.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, further storing instructions to: in response to activation of the user interface element, transmitting an additional user interface element for adding or removing the step from the experimental program.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the modifying is a step of modifying an experimental procedure.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, further storing instructions to: further comprising transmitting, in response to activation of the user interface element, an additional user interface element for modifying the step of the experimental procedure.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the modification is one of: modifying the materials used in the experiment or modifying the amount of materials used in the experiment.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, further storing instructions to: transmitting, in response to activation of the user interface element, another user interface element for modifying the material used in the experiment or modifying the amount of the material used in the experiment.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the modification is adding, deleting, and/or modifying annotations for the experiment.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, further storing instructions to: in response to activation of the user interface element, transmitting another user interface element for adding, deleting, and/or modifying the annotation for the experiment.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the method is performed by a server, and wherein the transmission of the user interface element and the transmission of the information are transmitted to a client.

21. A method performed by a processor of a computing device, comprising:

receiving an experiment report in a video experiment book environment;

analyzing the experimental report to identify any possible instances of plagiarism; and

if the analysis indicates that there is at least one possible hacking instance, outputting information indicating that this is at least one possible hacking instance.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the analyzing comprises: the content in the experimental report is compared to other sources to identify any potential plagiarism portions of the experimental report.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising: generating an output identifying the possible pirating portions of the experimental report.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising: if the analysis indicates that the identified potential instances of piracy are not present in the experimental report, generating an output indicating that there are no intentionally potential instances of piracy in the experimental report.

25. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a computing device, perform the steps of:

receiving an experiment report in a video experiment book environment;

analyzing the experimental report to identify any possible instances of plagiarism; and

if the analysis indicates that there is at least one possible hacking instance, outputting information indicating that this is at least one possible hacking instance.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 25, wherein the analyzing comprises: the content in the experimental report is compared to other sources to identify any potential plagiarism portions of the experimental report.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 26, further storing instructions to: generating an output identifying the possible pirating portions of the experimental report.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 25, further storing instructions to: if the analysis indicates that the identified possible instances of piracy are not present in the experimental report, generating an output indicating that the identified possible instances of piracy are not present in the experimental report.

29. A method performed by a processor of a computing device, comprising:

transmitting a user interface for a video lab book environment, wherein the user interface supports setting or modifying of online permissions for teachers of lessons in the video lab manual environment;

receiving a setting or modification of one selected of the online permissions of a given one of the teachers of the lesson, wherein the setting or modification is received via the user interface; and

in response to receiving the settings or the modifications, updating the selected online permissions for the given teacher for the lesson to reflect the received settings or the modifications.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the received setting or modification relates to one of: the authority to send electronic messages to students, the authority to add content for online testing, the authority to add experimental content online, the authority to add online resources, or the authority to add additional teachers.

31. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a computing device, perform the steps of:

transmitting a user interface for a video lab book environment, wherein the user interface supports setting or modifying of online permissions for teachers of lessons in the video lab manual environment;

receiving a setting or modification of one selected of the online permissions of a given one of the teachers of the lesson, wherein the setting or modification is received via the user interface; and

in response to receiving the settings or the modifications, updating the selected online permissions for the given teacher for the lesson to reflect the received settings or the modifications.

32. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 31, wherein the setting or the modification received relates to one of: the authority to send electronic messages to students, the authority to add content for online testing, the authority to add experimental content online, the authority to add online resources, or the authority to add additional teachers.

Background

Scientific courses, such as biology, chemistry or physics, often include classroom instruction supplemented with laboratory experiments (experiments). Laboratory experiments may require students to follow a prescribed procedure for performing the experiment. The experiment may involve the use of materials and laboratory instruments. In most cases, students generate an experimental report (lab report) that captures the results of performing an experiment, including some quantitative data. The laboratory report may also ask the student to submit a written answer to the question or to summarize the findings. Traditionally, experimental reports have been written and submitted in written form.

Disclosure of Invention

According to an aspect of the exemplary embodiments, a method is performed by a processor of a computing device. In the method, user interface elements are communicated for display as part of a user interface for a video lab book. The user interface elements are used to modify the experiments of the video lab book. An indication that the user interface element has been activated is received, and at least one modification to the experiment is received. The experiment is updated to include the modifications. Information about the updated experiment is transmitted for display.

Modifications may include adding or deleting steps from the experimental procedure for an experiment. Additional user interface elements may be provided for adding or deleting steps from the experimental program. Another type of modification may be to modify the steps of the experimental procedure. In response to activation of the user interface element, the additional user interface element may be communicated for modifying the step of the experimental procedure. Alternatively, the modification is one of: modifying the materials used in the experiment, or modifying the amounts of materials used in the experiment. In response to activation of a user interface element, another user interface element may be communicated for modifying a material used in the experiment or modifying an amount of a material used in the experiment. Rather, modifying may include adding, deleting, and/or modifying annotations regarding the experiment. In response to activation of a user interface element, another user interface element may be communicated for adding, deleting, and/or modifying annotations for the experiment.

The method is performed by a server, and wherein the transmission of the user interface element and the transmission of the information are transmitted to the client.

Instructions for performing the method may be stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The instructions may be executable by a processor of a computing device to perform the method.

According to another aspect of the exemplary embodiments, a method is performed by a processor of a computing device. In this method, an experimental report is received in a video lab book environment. The experimental report is analyzed to identify any possible instances of plagiarism. If the analysis indicates that there is at least one possible hacking instance, information indicating that this is at least one possible hacking instance is output. The analysis may include comparing the content in the experimental report with other sources to identify any potential plagiarism portions of the experimental report. An output identifying possible plagiarism portions of the experimental report may be generated. If the analysis indicates that the identified potential hacked instances do not exist in the experimental report, an output is generated indicating that the identified potential hacked instances do not exist in the experimental report.

Instructions for performing the method may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for execution on a processor of a computing device.

According to another aspect of an exemplary embodiment, a method is performed by a processor of a computing device to cause a user interface for a video lab book environment to be communicated, wherein the user interface enables online permissions of a teacher for a lesson in the video lab manual environment to be set or modified. A setting or modification of a selected one of the online permissions of a given one of the teachers of the lesson is received, wherein the setting or modification is received via the user interface. In response to receiving the settings or modifications, the selected online permissions for the given teacher for the lesson are updated to reflect the received settings or modifications. The received settings or modifications may relate to one of the following rights: the authority to send electronic messages to students, the authority to add content for online testing, the authority to add experimental content online, the authority to add online resources, or the authority to add additional teachers.

Drawings

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative user interface for a teacher version of a video lab book environment.

Fig. 2A shows an example of display of student information in various sections in an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2B illustrates an additional portion of the user interface of FIG. 2A showing information for all portions associated with the teacher.

Fig. 3A shows an example of a user interface in an exemplary embodiment resulting from selecting the option to shuffle and edit an experiment in a video experiment manual.

FIG. 3B shows an additional portion of the user interface of FIG. 3A, where an inactive experiment is displayed.

FIG. 4A illustrates an example of a user interface depicting teacher resources in an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4B shows the user interface of FIG. 4A including additional teacher resources.

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative user interface related to a quiz in an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative user interface relating to a laboratory report and to scores associated with a laboratory report in an exemplary embodiment.

Figure 7A shows an illustrative user interface for setting up an examination in an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 7B illustrates additional portions of the user interface of FIG. 7A showing additional questions.

FIG. 7C shows an example in which the teacher has requested that additional questions be added via the user interface of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 8 depicts an illustrative user interface in which performance information for a student is shown and editable in part of an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows an illustrative user interface for setting or modifying an instructor's online privileges for a given lesson in an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 10A shows an illustrative user interface for resources, including teacher resources that are accessible online by a teacher in an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 10B shows an illustrative user interface of a student resource that can be accessed online by a student.

FIG. 11 shows an illustrative user interface through which the announcements in the exemplary embodiment may be accessed.

FIG. 12A depicts an illustrative user interface in which a process for an experiment in an exemplary embodiment is depicted and editable.

FIG. 12B illustrates an example of providing additional user interface elements to add annotations to the program of the experiment in an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 12C illustrates an exemplary user interface in which a material list of experiments in an exemplary embodiment is displayed and editable.

Fig. 12D illustrates an exemplary user interface in which the instructor guide is depicted and editable.

FIG. 12E is a flow diagram illustrating steps that may be performed in exemplary embodiments to compile an experiment.

FIG. 13 depicts an illustrative distributed environment that may be suitable for practicing the illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 14 depicts an example of a computing system that may be used in exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram illustrating steps that may be performed in an exemplary embodiment to identify potential piracy in an experimental report.

Fig. 16A depicts an illustrative initial login screen that may be provided for a student version of a video lab book environment.

FIG. 16B illustrates on-screen follow-up that may be displayed after the user provides the information in the initial screen of FIG. 16A.

FIG. 17 depicts an initial illustrative user interface that may be provided to a student after completion of the login of the video lab book environment in an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 18 depicts an illustrative user interface showing an experiment in an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 19 depicts an example of the contents of a particular experiment in an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 20A depicts a quiz section of a video lab book environment available to students in an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 20B depicts an illustrative quiz in an exemplary embodiment.

Figure 20C depicts a scored version of the test of figure 20B.

Fig. 21 depicts an example of an illustrative experimental procedure available to a student in an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 22A depicts an illustrative user interface in an exemplary embodiment in which a student may enter an experimental report into the user interface.

Fig. 22B shows an example of an experiment that has been selected in an exemplary embodiment and a student prompted to drag a file associated with the experimental report for uploading the experimental report.

FIG. 22C illustrates a subsequent user interface element shown after the experimental report has been uploaded in an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 23 depicts achievement information for a student in an exemplary embodiment.

Detailed Description

Exemplary embodiments herein relate to a video lab book environment. Video lab book environment experimental material is provided online, including video content explaining the procedures and concepts for each experiment. The video lab book environment may be accessible via a computing device. Thus, a student may remotely access a video experiment using a computing device that may communicate with a server computing device holding the contents of the video experiment book environment.

In some example embodiments, the server is accessed using a web browser on the client computing device. The student enters a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the video lab book environment via a web browser. The web page content may include web pages similar to those described below. The web page may include active components and static content as well as dynamic content. The web page may be encoded in a markup language such as hypertext markup language (HTML) or extensible markup language (XML). The serving of the web page may be under the control of executable programming language code running at the server computing device. The server computing device may store the network content, program code, and other data in an associated storage device.

Although only a single client and a single server are discussed herein, a single server may serve multiple client computing devices for multiple parties, and multiple servers may exist.

The video lab book environment provides a set of a first version for teachers and a second version for students. The teacher version enables the teacher to set up the experiment, modify the experiment content, and provide the student access to the experiment. The teacher version also enables teachers to develop online tests, score such tests, and keep track of the student's performance during a given session of the associated lesson. The teacher may also provide resources to the students, and provide announcements and other information to the students. Still further, the teacher version enables a professor or other teacher to set and modify online rights of the assistant teacher, such as for teaching assistance. The video lab book environment may also identify potential piracy in lab reports submitted by students.

The student version of the lab book enables students to review the lab material and provide instructions for performing the lab. Further, the student version enables users to generate and submit experimental reports after the experiment is completed. The student may get an opportunity to access his achievements, may be provided with information and perform a quiz via the video lab book environment. The test may be scored and the student may review the test to obtain information about correcting the wrong answer.

The following discussion will focus first on the teacher version, then the distributed environment for practicing the exemplary embodiments, and finally the student version.

Fig. 1 depicts an example user interface 100 for a teacher version of a video lab book environment. The user interface may be part of a web page that the teacher retrieves after logging into the video lab book environment. This may include opening a web browser and directing the web browser to a specified URL. The teacher may be prompted to log in to obtain the initial user interface 100 shown in fig. 1. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in some exemplary embodiments, the video lab book environment need not be accessed via a web browser, but may be implemented as a distributed application running on a local network.

As shown in FIG. 1, in an illustrative user interface 100, a video experiment 102 is identified and displayed as part of a lesson. In the example shown in fig. 1, there were 16 experiments, numbered from 1 to 16. Notably, laboratory number 5 (see 103) is shaded to indicate that the experiment is not activated and therefore the experiment is not used. The video lab book environment may be pre-populated with lab content for certain courses. This experimental content of experiment 102 may be included or excluded as desired by the teacher. Each tab may be selected to show more about the selected experiment, as described below.

The illustrative user interface 100 includes a parts list 126 of parts 1002 of the lesson, the parts list 126 listing students in the part and providing performance information to the students. Typically, a course is divided into a plurality of parts that comprise a portion of the student. Thus, for example, the student "Garth Algar" is shown in section 1002 and is currently performing at 89.4%.

The illustrative user interface 100 includes a plurality of user interface elements 104, 106, 108, 110, and 112 that can be activated to gain access to related content in a video lab book environment. In the example shown in fig. 1, these user interface elements 104, 106, 108, 110, and 112 may be buttons that may be selected using an input device such as a mouse or keyboard to activate the user interface elements. The user interface element 104 can access roster and performance information for the course. The user interface element 106 enables editing of the experimental content. The user interface element 108 may be capable of creating or modifying a quiz. User interface element 110 provides information related to the lab report and user interface element 112 enables the addition of new online resources.

In the example user interface 100 shown in FIG. 1, there is a second row of buttons 114, 116, 118, 120, 122, and 124 located at the top of the page. Button 114 has access to experimental information and button 116 has access to quiz information. Button 118 can access the lab report and button 120 can access information about rosters and achievements. Button 122 can access information about the user in the form of a teacher, and button 124 can access online resources.

FIG. 2A depicts an illustrative user interface 200 that is part of a web page that may be displayed when the teacher selects the roster and achievement button 104. As shown, there is a roster of parts being processed by the teacher. In the illustrative case shown in fig. 2A, portion 1002 exists in roster 202 and portion 1003 exists in roster 204. Drop down list 201 identifies the scholarly to which information is provided. Each roster 202 and 204 contains information for the student. For example, row 206 contains information for student "Garth Algar". This information includes a text box 208 for an alphabetical performance specification or a field 210 showing a numerical average. Information regarding the particular test 212 and associated achievements may also be provided. The information contained in the partial rosters 202 and 204 may be retrieved from a database provided to the video lab book environment, which will be discussed in more detail below. Icon 213 may be selected to add students to the roster and icon 215 may be selected to remove students from the roster.

FIG. 2B shows additional portions of the illustrative user interface 200 of FIG. 2A. Rosters and achievements may also be available for all portions 200 of the associated course. In the example shown in fig. 2B, the roster of portions 1001 through 1007 is shown in a folded form. These rosters may be expanded by selecting a user interface element 223 among the elements of the respective section.

Selection of edit experiment button 106 may cause display of user interface 300, such as shown in FIG. 3A. Elements may be displayed, such as element 302 for each experiment. The elements may be displayed in sequence and selected to edit or move the laboratory. In the example shown in FIG. 3A, experiment 2 has been moved, as evidenced by user interface element 304 containing the text "laboratory moved". As shown in fig. 3B, a user interface element associated with an experiment may be dragged into the inactive experiment portion 310 to deactivate the laboratory rather than the current portion of the curriculum for the course. In the example shown in FIG. 3B, the experiment has been dragged to the inactive experiment area 310 and has an associated user interface element 312.

FIG. 4A depicts an illustrative user interface 400 that is displayed when the user selects the add new resource button 112. User interface 400 depicts teacher resource 402. In the illustrative case, this includes slides and presentation assets. The teacher may use the user interface 400 to add or remove these resources. In addition, the teacher may select the download icon 405 to download the teacher's resources. As shown in fig. 4B, student resources may also be depicted in the user interface 400. In the example shown in fig. 4B, classroom material 408 can be included and lectures 409 and additional resources 412 can be included. These student resources may be accessed by students on demand, while teacher resources are provided for teachers of the class, including teaching aids or other associated teachers. Plus icon 413 may be selected to add the student resource to a particular category of student resource.

Fig. 5 depicts an illustrative user interface 500 provided in the context of a video lab manual when the teacher selects the set up quiz button 108. A create quiz button 502 is provided to create a new quiz. The video lab book environment will provide templates from which tests can be built, such as multiple choice questions that can provide content and possible answers to the questions. The illustrative user interface shows an unassigned exam 504, an assigned exam 506, and a past exam 510. Past exams may include information for the exam such as an average score 512.

Fig. 6 depicts an illustrative user interface 600 that may be displayed when experiment report button 110 is selected. User interface 600 lists various experimental reports 602. In the example shown in FIG. 6, experiments 2-7 are shown in a folded form 616, while laboratory 1604 is shown in an unfolded form. The teacher has the option to specify the total score for the test by entering the value in block 606. Block 608 can establish an expiration date for the experiment report, and block 610 can specify a time for the experiment report to expire. Button 611 enables the teacher to download all reports uploaded by the students. Element 613 lists student rosters that have uploaded the experimental reports and allows the teacher to download a particular experimental report by selecting download element 615. The teacher may assign performance to the laboratory report by entering values in block 614.

As described above, the teacher has the ability to modify the test. FIG. 7A shows an example of an illustrative user interface 700 for modifying a test. In drop down list 702, the teacher may select a particular experiment and may then activate button 704 to preview the test associated with the laboratory. Switches 706 and 708 are provided to randomize the order of the questions and the order of the randomized answers, respectively. The switches 706 and 708 may be set to a first position to be randomized or set to a second position to be not randomized. This allows the teacher to randomize the sequence of questions and/or the sequence of answers to prevent a significant inattentive pattern or relationship from appearing on the test. As shown in fig. 7A, the user interface 700 includes a question, which is in an expanded form, where the subject of the question 710 may be displayed along with answers 712, 714, etc. Each answer choice may be provided by the teacher. Using button 716, the teacher may add additional answers that may be provided. Answer 712 is darkened to indicate that it is the correct answer. Once the question is properly constructed, the teacher may activate the fold and continue button 718 to continue with the next question.

FIG. 7B shows additional portions of illustrative user interface 700 containing additional questions 720, 722, 724, and 726. Questions may be added by activating the add questions button 728. An all clear option 736 is provided to clear all questions and answers for restart. An expand all option 738 is provided for expanding all questions. Instead, a fold all option 740 is provided to fold all questions and answers. A preview test option 734 is provided to initiate a preview of the currently constructed test. When the teacher is satisfied with the test or wishes to stop working with the test, the content may be saved to the storage device by activating the save button 730. Assignment button 732 assigns the exam to the student in a particular portion or portions of the class.

As described above, questions may be added in the test. As shown in fig. 7C, a new question has been added, question 6. The user interface element 740 is provided and has a space for text of questions and answers added by the teacher.

The teacher also has the option of selecting button 120 (FIG. 1) to review rosters and achievements. Fig. 8 shows an example of an illustrative interface 800 in which titles 802 and 804 are provided to respective portions 1002 and 1003. Each line, such as line 806, is associated with a particular student and includes performance information as well as the student's name.

The teacher may select user option 122 to display the user of the teacher version of the video lab book environment. FIG. 9 shows an example of an illustrative user interface 900 for establishing online privileges for a user, such as an associated teacher, such as an assistant. Typically in a college environment, professors have many helpers to assist in teaching lessons. As can be seen, roster 902 lists each teacher and provides information 906 about what portions they teach, and provides a number of check boxes 908, 910, 912, 914 and 916 regarding the online privileges of the associated teacher. An add teacher checkbox 908 determines whether the user is able to add additional teachers to the roster. Message all checkbox 910 enables the user to send messages to all students and teachers. The add tests checkbox 912 determines whether the user is able to add tests for the course. The add experiment checkbox 914 determines whether the user is able to add experiments in the online experiments provided for the course. Still further, an add resource checkbox 916 is provided to enable a user to add or not add resources.

The teacher may obtain an opportunity to access the currently available resources by selecting the resources button 124. FIG. 10A shows an example of an illustrative user interface 1000 for showing resources. Resources include teacher resources 1002 and student resources 1012. In this example, the teacher resources include slides 1004, such as slides 1006 of chapters 1-3, and presentation assets 1008, such as those of chapters 1-3 1012.

Fig. 10B shows an example of some student resources 1012 in an illustrative user interface 1000. These examples include classroom materials 1014, lectures 1016, and additional resources 1018. The resource may include a designation, such as designation 1020, that specifies what type of information the resource is.

The teacher has the ability to view both the received announcements and the announcements sent, as shown in FIG. 11. The illustrative user interface 1100 includes a tab 1102 for showing received announcements in the inbox and a tab 1104 for showing announcements that were sent. Each row 1106 of the ad may contain information such as the sender, subject, and date the ad was sent. The teacher may send the announcements to the students and/or teachers by selecting to send new announcements 108 and providing the content of the new announcements.

As described above, the teacher may edit the experiment, such as by collecting edit experiment buttons 106, by accessing the experiment via experiment buttons 114, or by double-clicking on displayed experiment elements 102 (fig. 1). Fig. 12A shows an example of a portion of a laboratory displayed in an illustrative user interface 1200. This part of the experiment relates to the procedure to be followed in the experiment. Buttons 1204 are provided for adding annotations before or after the portions (i.e., program portions). This allows the teacher to add comments in the program. An example annotation 1202 is shown in fig. 12A. A button 1206 is provided to restore the experiment to the default format 1206. This provides the teacher with the option to undo experimental changes made to the original default format. As can be seen in fig. 12A, the program lists how the experiment is performed. A step such as step 1206 is identified along with sub-step 1208, the sub-step 1208 including a step such as step 1210 of the process of interpreting the order of organizing the sequence.

Fig. 12B shows an example in which the teacher wishes to add an annotation. In that case, a user interface element 1220 is shown that allows the teacher to add annotations. The teacher is given the option of assigning comments 1226 to all sections by selecting text box 1230 or by selecting a particular section, such as by selecting checkbox 1232 to select section 1002. Option 1238 is provided to delete the note, option 1236 is provided to cancel the addition of the note, and button 1234 is provided to save the note.

FIG. 12B shows an additional portion of the experimental information made visible by the illustrative user interface 1200 by scrolling down. This additional section includes a list of materials 1240. Each row includes an identification and quantity 1244 of material 1242. By selecting icon 1246, the material and/or quantity may be modified.

Fig. 12D shows another portion of the laboratory, including instructor instruction 1250. The instructor guide provides useful information to the instructor. In the example shown in fig. 12D, the first portion 1252 relates to the preparation of a solution for a diffusion depth experiment. These components may be modified as needed.

FIG. 12E shows a flow chart 1260 for editing an experiment. As described above, the user interface may be sent with the experiment information (step 1262). User interface 1200 in fig. 12A-12D is an example of such a user interface. User interface elements for editing the experimental component may be received (step 1264). As discussed with respect to fig. 12A-12D, there are many user interface elements that can be activated to modify the experimental content. In some instances another user interface element may be displayed (step 1266). For example, when the user wishes to add an annotation, the user interface 1220 shown in fig. 12B may be displayed. The information altered in step 1270 is received. The experiment is then updated to reflect the change in step 1272. The experimental information is persistently stored in a database and the associated web page may be updated in some embodiments.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a distributed environment 1300 suitable for implementing exemplary embodiments. In accordance with FIG. 13, a client 1302 communicates with a server 1304 over a network 1306. The client may be any of a number of types of computing devices, including but not limited to a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a smart phone, or other computing device. The network 1306 may include various forms of local or wide area networks, such as the internet. The server(s) 1304 can be dedicated server computing devices or can be server processes running on computing devices. The server may access the storage device 1310. The storage device may include a database 1312 in which the web pages and data required by the video lab manual environment are provided. For example, information about courses, systems, students, teachers, achievements, experimental content, etc. may be stored in a relational database that is accessed when needed in a video lab book environment. For example, a separate relationship table may hold information about academic institutions, courses, parts, students, experiments, laboratory reports, resources, teachers, tests, and so forth.

The storage device may also store one or more application programs 1314 that can be executed by the server(s) 1304. These applications include those that provide a video lab book environment. This may include scripting language content, programming language content, such as Java, Javascript, Python, C + +, or other programming languages, for example, and associated web page content, such as web pages written in HTML or XML, for example.

Memory 1310 may include one or more devices and may be implemented in a number of different forms. Memory 1310 may include optical and/or magnetic storage devices. The storage device 1310 may include solid state memory, flash memory, read only memory, random access memory, and the like. The storage device may include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for storing instructions for performing the functions described herein.

The client computer 1302 may include a web browser 1320. The web browser 1320 can understand and be capable of rendering markup language content, such as HTML and XML as well as Java, Javascript, and the like. In addition, browser 1220 may be capable of supporting dynamic content, such as content discovered with Javascript and other techniques. The client computer 1302 includes at least one processor 1322, which processor 1322 may include a plurality of cores or may include a plurality of processing capabilities. Processor 1322 executes instructions for acquiring and transmitting information. The client 1302 can be located remotely from the server 1304. In an exemplary embodiment, the client 1302 accesses the Internet to communicate with a website. The server executes instructions for providing the content of the video lab book environment to the client. The client 1302 may access a display device 1324 for displaying video content. It should be understood that the depiction of fig. 13 is intended to be illustrative only and not limiting of the claimed invention.

Fig. 14 shows an example of a server computing device 1400. The server computing device 1400 may include one or more processors 1402 for executing programs and other executable content. The server 1400 may include a network interface 1404 for connecting to a network 1306. Storage device 1406 may include applications 1410 and databases 1412, as described above. Database management system 1414 may be provided to manage access to a database. As described above, the storage device may also include web pages 1416 and videos 1418 for the video lab book environment.

Among the applications that can be executed by a server computer is one that is part of the video lab book environment for checking if plagiarism exists. In particular, it is checked whether the content of the experimental report is likely to be plagiarized. This may include comparison to known content, including content from related sources and even other students.

FIG. 15 shows a flow chart of the steps performed by the tool. Initially a report of the experiment is received from the student (step 1502). As described above, students have the ability to upload laboratory reports to the video lab manual environment. The contents of the experimental report are then compared to other sources (step 1504). The checks are compared to see how much the content contained in the experimental report differs from the content contained in the other sources. It is then checked whether there is any potential hacking (step 1506). A similarity threshold may exist before any similar parts between the received experimental report and other sources are identified as possible piracy. If there is sufficient similarity, an output is generated indicating possible hacking (step 1508). This output may take the form of a simple flag indicating that there is a problem, or still indicate how much similarity exists between the experimental report and a given source. Still further, the output may take the form of a report highlighting which portions of the experimental report are considered likely to be pirated. Still further, the output may be sent to a teacher or other school officer to indicate that a possible problem exists. In contrast, if no identified potential hacking is detected in step 1506, an output may be generated indicating that no potential hacking is possible (step 1510). Alternative embodiments, when there is no potential hacking of the identity, no output is generated.

The above discussion has focused on the teacher version of the video lab manual environment. As described above, there is also a student version that can be accessed by the students of the course.

Fig. 16A shows an example of an initial screen 1600 that may be displayed to a student. The student is prompted to provide their institution email address 1602 and then activates a start button 1604. The institution email address identifies the academic institution as well as the identity of the student. This screen is followed by screen 1610 shown in fig. 16B. Screen 1610 prompts the student to provide information by selecting from a drop-down list to identify portions of university 1604, course 1606, course 1608. Section 1610 identifies the lesson as well as the identity of the teacher. Once the necessary information is provided, the continue button 1612 may be activated.

Fig. 17 shows an example of an initial user interface 1700 that is displayed to the student after login by providing information on screens 1600 and 1610 discussed above. The user interface 1700 may identify a teacher 1704 and an academic institution 1702. An experiment list 1706 may be provided. Experiments that have been completed may be grayed out and contain check boxes, while those that have not been completed are not grayed out and do not contain check boxes. The notification in section 1710 may be provided. The example annotation 1714 specifies that the test has been published and specifies the expiration date for the test as shown in FIG. 17. Announcements 1712 may be provided. Notice 1718 is an example showing that the notice indicates that the course was cancelled due to snow. A "view all" option 1716 may be provided to view all announcements or to view all notifications.

Fig. 18 shows an experiment when the user selects experiment option 1801. As described above, experiments that have been completed, such as experiment one 1802 is shown in gray and has a check box 1803. The active experiments, such as experiment five 1804, did not gray out and did not include checkboxes.

The user may open the experiment by selecting the associated experiment element. For example, as shown in fig. 19, if the user selects element 1804 in fig. 8 for experiment five, the content of the experiment is displayed. The experiment may include video content 1900 that may start and stop using controls 1901. Video content is displayed in a video area 1902. Associated text 1904 may also be displayed. The user may select to view content 1910 related to concepts associated with the experiment or may select to view information about procedures 1912 of the experiment.

The student may access the quiz information by selecting quiz option 2001 as shown in fig. 20A. The illustrative user interface 2000 includes a list of assigned workouts 2002 that have not been attended, and a list of past workouts 2004. The assigned tests include, for example, an entry 2006 identifying the test and an expiration date. If the student wishes to attend the quiz, the student may activate attend quiz button 2008. Past exams include a list 2012 of past exams. Each entry 2010 may include information such as the name of the test and the score 2014 the student received in the test.

Fig. 20B shows an example of a quiz that may be displayed when a student selects the join quiz button 2008. The contents of experiment quad 2020 are shown in illustrative user interface 2018. An expiration date 2022 is shown. The quiz includes a question 2024 and an answer 2026. The student may select one of the answers 2026 to complete the answer to the question 2024. After the student completes the test, the student may request to score the test to produce a scored test as shown in FIG. 20C. An illustrative user interface 2018 shows each question and an indication of whether the question was answered correctly. For example, question one includes a check mark 2030 indicating that the correct answer is selected. The correct answer 2028 has been highlighted. In contrast, question two includes an X marker 2032 indicating that the answer to the question is incorrect.

The student can view experimental information such as that shown in fig. 21. This experimental information may include a program 2102, such as shown in illustrative user interface 2100 in fig. 21. Annotation 2104 may be included and step-by-step procedure 2106 for completing a laboratory experiment may be included. The student may submit a laboratory report, such as by selecting submit laboratory report option 2208 as shown in fig. 22A on user interface 2200. Submit an experiment report title 2201 informs the student that this is the part used to submit the experiment report. Completed experimental report 2202 is shown in faded form with check marks. Experiment 2204 to be completed is not grayed out and does not include a check mark. Each experiment includes an associated user interface element, such as user interface element 2206 for lab five.

A user interface element 2222 (fig. 22B) may be shown that includes an area 2224 in which an experiment report document may be dragged and dropped. Once the experiment report document has been dragged and dropped, the user interface element 2222 changes to identify the name of the file 2230 (fig. 22C) containing the document and the button for submitting the experiment report to the teacher 2232.

Students can get access to their achievements by selecting my achievements option 2301. As shown in fig. 23, the illustrative user interface 2300 displays a list of achievements 2304 for quizzes and lab reports. Each entry may include a name 2306 and a score 2308. Title 2302 identifies a student.

While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the intended scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.