There are undeniable advantages in allowing children to own and use one or more portable computer devices, such as a tablet, a web-enabled wireless cell phone, or any other such computer assisted device. These devices may be equipped with GPS tracking systems, which allows parents to know the geographical location of the device, and by association with its holder, the location of owner (child).
These multiple types of devices often include tools to communicate remotely via voice and/or image over different types of wireless networks, HTML format networks, or other known systems. The devices allow a child/user to communicate with a remote user/parent in cases of need. One other advantage of these devices is their obvious instructional and educational value. Parents and teachers may both be given access to multiple types of applications and software that can serve to develop a child and allow homework to be a less tedious task.
One of the downsides to the portability of these devices (aside from their fragility) is the capacity of children, away from parental control, to misuse the devices and use them for entertainment and recreational purposes. For example, as a teacher allows students in class to use a portable device, some users can play games, thwarting the intended purpose of the educator and creating an additional burden on the keeper. The use of systems and methods to help parents, teachers, educators, or any adult control and monitor the use of the communication device of a child, a protégé, or even a team member is of great importance. As is generally the case with educational tools, the careful mastering of tools, if done in a nonobvious way, can result in an important improvement to society.
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/959,761 entitled Content Viewing as an Incentive for Educational Activities, published as U.S. Publication No. US 2009/0165033, on Jun. 25, 2009 teaches a system and method of limiting television viewing of a child while using such limited television viewing privileges as a conditional incentive to encourage television viewers to engage in educational activities. This application teaches a way to halt the viewing of normal network or cable programming watched by a child. The system will then interrupt the normal stream and insert educational content and require a child to enter either orally or via some hand held keyboard answers to questions. This system requires educational content to be available, and requires the use of this content as the basis for returning to ordinary television programming. While useful, this technology is limited in that interruption of the primary content at random moments is extremely unpleasant and can be a source of frustration for a child, transforming the watching of television into a painful learning experience.
Two years after the publication of this first reference from the prior art, International Patent Application No. PCT/AU2010/000293, entitled Method and System for Managing Recreational Use of Personal Electronic Devices, was published Mar. 3, 2011. This reference describes a wireless device system called EducateMe. EducateMe is a remote way for a user to sever the link between a video game and a remote system until a user performs a task of merit or receives tokens from the system administrator. The system is only a large, remote switch which once again uses video game playing privileges as a painful leverage to force a child into performing desired tasks.
Finally, FIG. 1 shows one of the illustrations of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/246,892, entitled Broker-Based Management of Mobile Devices, which was published as U.S. Publication No. US 2013/0080522, from the prior art. This third prior art reference describes a remote system on a webserver connected routinely via wireless systems and networks to the portable device, which contains multiple Apps. The remote system allows at routine intervals the uploading of usage data to monitor use and track information. The system provides bulk data as to usage of the different Apps in the list. FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of this prior art disclosure. A parent can ask for a child's phone at night, look at the data and police his child.
Problems with each of these solutions are multifold. Each requires tracking technology, the processing of large volumes of data, and a two-tier layer system residing both on the child's device and the parent's remote computer. Furthermore, each of these three tools only increases the burden on a child already faced with performing in the educational system and trying to escape parental supervision and authority for entertainment purposes. Most importantly, all of these solutions are rather black-and-white in their approach of forcing an ingenious child to find technical ways to bypass the system or not to use his system.
What is needed is a system located on the wireless or portable device of a user, such as a child, which is designed to encourage the focus toward educational or desired software applications, without creating what is felt by the user as an extension of the educational system in a private area, but instead implements a healthy reward system that encourages use, performance and compliance. What is also needed is a simple single-tier system.