Systems and methods for monitoring learner engagement during a learning event

Abstract

According to some aspects there is provided a learning system including at least one capture device for monitoring activity of at least one learner and at least one processor configured to: monitor the activity of the at least one learner during a learning event using the at least one capture device to generate learner activity data associated with the at least one learner; generate learner engagement data based upon the learner activity data associated with of the at least one learner, the learner engagement data being indicative of how engaged the learner is during the learning event; generate at least one learner engagement report based upon the learner engagement data; and provide the at least one learner engagement report to a computing device associated with an instructor.

1 . A learning system comprising:
 (a) at least one capture device for monitoring activity of at least one learner;   (b) at least one processor configured to:
 (i) monitor the activity of the at least one learner during a learning event using the at least one capture device to capture images or videos of the at least one learner, extract features indicative of activities of the at least one learner from the captured images or videos and generate learner activity data associated with the at least one learner based on the extracted features indicative of activities of the at least one learner; 
 (ii) generate learner engagement data based upon the learner activity data associated with of the at least one learner, the learner engagement data being indicative of how engaged the learner is during the learning event; 
 (iii) generate at least one learner engagement report based upon the learner engagement data; and 
 (iv) provide the at least one learner engagement report to a computing device associated with an instructor. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to provide the at least one learner engagement report to the instructor in real-time or near real-time such that the instructor is able to determine the current engagement level of the at least one learner from the learner engagement report. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one capture device includes a video capture device and the learner activity data includes video learner activity data. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one capture device includes a video capture device for capturing three-dimensional video data and the learner activity data includes three-dimensional video learner activity data. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to analyse at least one facial feature of the at least one learner to determine whether that learner is engaged, and generated the learner engagement data based upon that analysis. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to analyse at least one posture of the at least one learner to determine whether that learner is engaged, and generated the learner engagement data based upon that analysis. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one capture device includes an audio capture device and the learner activity data includes audio learner activity data. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one capture device includes at least one processor configured to capture learner input and the learner activity data includes learner input activity data. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one learner comprises a plurality of learners, and the processor is configured to generate the at least one learner engagement report based upon learner engagement date from the plurality of learners. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one learner comprises a plurality of learners who are located at different geographical locations. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured generate at least one alert on at least one computing device being used to access the learning event to draw attention to the learning event. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one alert is generated automatically based upon the learner engagement data. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one alert is targeted to the at least one learner who is identified as being not engaged. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one alert is targeted to the at least one learner who is identified as being at risk of not being engaged. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one alert is targeted to the at least one learner selected by the instructor. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine learner comprehension of the at least one learner based upon at least one of the learner activity data and the learner engagement data. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to provide learning materials to the at least one learner based upon the determined learner comprehension. 
     
     
         18 . A learning method, the method comprising:
 (a) monitoring activity of at least one learner during a learning event using the at least one capture device to capture images or videos of the at least one learner, extract features indicative of activities of the at least one learner from the captured images or videos and generate learner activity data associated with the at least one learner based on the extracted features indicative of activities of the at least one learner;   (b) generating learner engagement data based upon the learner activity data associated with of the at least one learner, the learner engagement data being indicative of how engaged the learner is during the learning event;   (c) generating at least one learner engagement report based upon the learner engagement data; and   (d) providing the at least one learner engagement report to a computing device associated with an instructor.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the at least one learner engagement report is provided to the instructor in real-time or near real-time such that the instructor is able to determine the current engagement level of the at least one learner from the learner engagement report. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the at least one capture device includes a video capture device and the learner activity data includes video learner activity data. 
     
     
         21 - 34 . (canceled)