Learning systems with patterns

An automated learning system, comprising:

• a plurality of student means, each of said student means being adapted to be utilized by a respective one of a plurality of students;
• a plurality of master means for supplying respective information to each of said student units;
• switching means for switching each of said student means to an output of a selected one of said master means;
• and
• control means having a display and a graphical user interface for controlling each of said student means, said master means and said switching means, said control means being operable to store to and retrieve from a record medium a pattern file associated with a particular roster file that includes information about one or more students, said pattern file having at least one pattern containing setup identification data, said setup identification data in each said at least one pattern including software control setup data and hardware control setup data used to setup said control means, and student means data corresponding to a setup of one or more of said plurality of student means and defining at least one interrelationship between at least two of said plurality of student means, or between said teacher means and at least one of said student means.

A method of controlling a learning system having a plurality of student units for use by students, a plurality of master units, a teacher unit having a computer with a display and a graphic user input and a switching device, comprising the steps of:

• customizing by a user a setup of said teacher unit and a setup of said computer which operate to control each of said student units, said master units and said switching device;
• storing within a pattern file associated with a particular roster file that includes information about one or more student units on a record medium a pattern containing setup identification data, said setup identification data including software control setup data identifying the customized setup of said computer;
• hardware control setup data identifying the customized setup of said teacher unit, and student unit data corresponding to a setup of said one or more student units in said associated roster file, said pattern file defining at least one interrelationship between at least two student units, or between said teacher unit and at least one student unit;
• retrieving, at a later time, the stored pattern from the pattern file on the record medium;
• and
• customizing automatically the setup of the computer in accordance with the software control setup data in the retrieved pattern and the setup of the teacher unit in accordance with the hardware control setup data in the retrieved pattern.