E-books and digital books, as versions of paper books, are becoming more common every year in spite of some objections and resistance to use. It has been recognized that e-book technology presents some advantages over print on paper, and these advantages are starting to be developed as the number of e-books increases.
E-text can be transmitted to computers and more recent e-book devices made for the specific purpose. E-book devices allow readers to purchase books or any text online or through alternate electronic means and may differ in formats determining what other manipulations of data are possible. One popular current format is HTML, the language of most web pages. Also there is AZW, the AMAZON format, and a number of others. These devices allow information manipulation without changing the text in any way. Features include the ability for users to highlight or underline text, to mark pages with “bookmarks”, and to add footnote-like commentary.
Also, in some current examples, embedded hyperlinks can be inserted, and information can be displayed showing the most popular underlinings or highlights of all readers, such as the most marked sections.
Other features in some current readers include features that are imbedded with the transmitted text such as a touch feature to define words, with direct link to WIKIPEDIA for term definitions. In still other examples, terms and people mentioned in the book are statistically summarized and charted. Also links exist to see book reviews. These are built-in features as opposed to tools that a reader can use to actively perform some action, such as note taking. Thus, features or built-in features are of two types: those that are user tools, and those that present pre-loaded information or searches.
The current disclosure is directed to “add on” programs to e-text of two types of systems, those that create an “editing interface”, and those that add an “informational” or “enhancement” type interface.
The “enhancement” systems create an “enhanced” book, offering more and more about any part of the book, often the diagrams or pictures. Textbooks are the books that benefit most from this enhancement. In such examples, a picture may become scores of pictures with the touch of the hand. A picture may show a video and an icon may allow one to listen to music when reading about it. INKLING is developing textbooks with this format at lower, not higher, prices, and the process creates the book from the start rather than being an add-on to an existing book. INKLING is an example of a system that expands the amount of information that is loaded by choosing a topic or picture to enhance. Such a system may operate to enhance text books and children's books in the pursuit of enhanced reading. For example, this type of system competes with the paper version, being a different type of text book. E-book technology also allows sales of individual chapters of text books without buying the whole book at one time. This technology is especially useful in the development of textbooks and children's books.
Essentially, enhanced books offer ever more information in a “book” format by adding video and audio features, along with the ability to manipulate figures by expanding and even rotating them. Enhanced books also facilitate word definitions and links to encyclopedias like WIKIPEDIA.
The other basic type of program for e-text might be called an “editing program”or “social reading” when the notations and ideas noted are shared with others. Such a system may have a home page to facilitate communication amongst readers. The programs allow highlighting of text, making marginal notes, and making collections of notes taken as one would do in the margin of a paper book. COPIA is an example of this type of add-on system to e-text. The ability to use video is shared with “enhanced” programs but a quote from the web page titled “Live in the margins” is descriptive as it reads, “Copia, a social eReading platform, connects you and your friends inside the books you need. Buy books, take and share notes, start study groups, join discussions, and read better together. All inside the margins.”
Other prior systems exist such as U.S. Pat. No. 8,126,878 to Krasnow entitled “Academic study tool utilizing e-book technology” which is a software interface to increase the efficiency of reading, abstracting of information and locating material within an electronic publication, pursuant to which author content and/or researcher content may be quickly searched, addressed and stored on an academic tool utilizing e-book technology. This system is similar to the reader-initiated type discussed above, relying on the note taking of the reader along with reader-generated annotations. As described in the patent, “This invention relates generally to the field of portable devices for viewing books and written materials, and more specifically to an apparatus configured with software for assisting a reader to abstract and organize information as a learning tool and/or for professional use.”
As described in more detail herein, the inventor has devised systems and methods which address the issues which limit the current systems. The disclosure described here is not simply an encyclopedia of more and more information added as annotation. Nor does the disclosure simply facilitate the note taking and organization of user-generated materials or promote what is known as “social reading”. These things may be desirable in limited situations such as textbooks or in interactive and entertaining children's “books”, however these prior systems operate to promote new ways of introducing video and audio and not so much to support the underlying text but instead replace it. Similarly, it is desired to have a system which goes beyond the current statistical analysis of the text as in AMAZON'S X-Ray technology (that keeps track of characters in books and how often they are mentioned) or systems that simply underline text that is the most popular text most underlined by readers.
In contrast to these prior systems, in one example, the inventor discloses a system that works with e-text that is “text” already in existence, such as many of the readings required in college, or regular books making up the majority of reading that people actually do. In one example, a Text Reduction with Annotation and Commentary System (TRAC) is disclosed. TRAC, in one example, pre-loads information that can be accessed by a user in specific ways. Information comes from specific “experts” but is standardized to make it comparable with multiple TRAC assisted e-books. For example, it is possible to download two TRAC programs for use on one book at the same time. This allows comparisons existing side-by-side on the same page.
TRAC extends beyond the expansion of information using e-book technology with hypertext to add in layers of general additional information along with sounds and video. As described in more detail herein, in one example, TRAC follows the method of information loading which is characterized as: (Limit->Enhance->Limit->). Given this, a user is guided through touch-screen technology (or other similar technology) to the precise edited resource needed at the time without leaving one program or device and doing a search. Unlike systems that just produce more and more, TRAC provides more and more about less and less. The user makes this choice by choosing marked passages where more information is needed. After this, the menu allows choices and descriptions of just what is available. What is available has been pre-loaded and pre-limited by expert editing. One goal of this method is to provide more about very specific questions contained in the limited marked passage linked to the menu choices.
TRAC further extends beyond the user-initiated system which are used to take notes, mark passages, share notes, or engage in “social reading”. These prior systems provide self-editing tools so the reader can add notes or annotations or organize notes. These notes are shared if desired to form a kind of social reading. In contrast TRAC does not do this, and the only actions taken using TRAC are to initiate a touch screen (or other input screen) to lead the user to more edited information about a limited topic. For example, the information may be limited by the highlighted passage that the expert has marked, and, further, in some examples, expanded by the links that show more about this “less”.
In another example, TRAC follows the model of a tutor interacting with a learner. In this example, the “expert” here is not to be confused with “computerized-expert systems” that try to develop computer responses that are “human like” and generate novel responses. In this way, TRAC should not be confused with systems that do a text analysis of an e-book with statistical counting. The TRAC system does not rely on profiling of the data regarding about how many times a word is used, or where characters appear in the document.
In yet another example, not only does TRAC follow the “tutor” model of interaction, it may include a database for TRAC information over time. Given the standardized data collection methods, information may be accessed through key word and TRAC home page searches to retrieve TRAC information across e-books and disciplines.
In this way, TRAC digitally may mimic having a human expert tutor at hand to limit the topic and focus, and then to expand on that focused material with edited (limited) new materials for clarity. The database resulting from the TRAC methods may be considered to be like having a tutor with a great memory. Similarly, in some examples, TRAC may provide access to other experts and the ability to ask such experts specific questions and answer in a disciplined way that sticks to the subject.
In some further examples, TRAC may be considered a digital software interface with e-book technology that is based on human expertise that can be collected and distributed in a way whereby the user only selects material when needed, and that material is not just more, but is specific to the user's need.
As described in more detail herein, it should be appreciated that TRAC provides an enriched study and research tool which is more than an editing tool or an “enhanced” source of multi-media presentation. In other words, TRAC provides a digital tutor guiding a learner through text in the most efficient manner possible. TRAC aggregates the advantages of a tutor and, in some embodiments, a database capable of understanding the contents not of just one book or e-document, but the relation of that understanding to all other works subjected to TRAC.
The above advantages and other advantages, and features of the present description will be readily apparent from the following Detailed Description when taken alone or in connection with the accompanying drawings.
It will be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description, which follows. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined by the claims that follow the detailed description. Further, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.
It should be understood that the drawings are presented to illustrate the principles of the invention. Further, it should be understood that the described arrangements in the figures and detailed description are only illustrative of the application of the basic principles of the present disclosure. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The appended claims are intended to cover such modifications and arrangements.
For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the present disclosure, it should be understood that no limitations on the scope of the invention are intended by describing these exemplary embodiments. One of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that alternate but functional equivalent components, formats and technology may be used. The inclusion of additional elements may be deemed readily apparent and obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art. Specific elements described herein are not to be interpreted as limiting but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one of ordinary skill in the art to employ the present invention.