Audio-visual learning system

Claim 1

A student controlled, interacting audio-visual learning device for manifesting lesson subject matter in response to presented queries and responses, the lesson subject matter comprising a number of distinct records separately introducible into the device and including a visual record having a number of addressed images, an audio record having a number of addressed message tracks and a control record having recorded program and address data for selecting at least one of the images and of the message tracks as related to a presented query or response, the combination comprising: a data center having storage means and memory means and in which programming information data and address data related to the lesson subject matter are introduced into the storage means and subsequently released in accordance with the presented query or response; a display terminal comprising student--actuated input means, visual display means comprising a gaseous discharge panel connected to the input means and the date center and a transmission type screen axially aligned in spaced relation with the panel for jointly or severally displaying a legible manifestation on the panel and a selected one of the addressed images on the screen, and respective stations for receiving each of the records; the input means being interconnected to the data center and to the visual display means and including means for converting alpha-numeric and graphic information into input data for acceptance by the data center and for reproducing the information on the panel as the legible manifestation; the station receiving the visual record including a projection system and means responsive to released address data from the data center for locating a correspondingly addressed image in the system for projecting the image onto the screen in superposed relation to any legible manifestation on the panel; the station receiving the audio recording including transducer means and means responsive to released address data from the data center for locating a correspondingly addressed message track relative to the transducer means and for moving the audio record to reporduce the message as an aural query or response related to at least one of the reproduced information and of the projected image on the visual display means; and the station receiving the control record including transducer means interconnected to the storage means and memory means for reading and transmitting the recorded program and address data to the data center; means responsive to some portion of the query or response presented via the input means for transferring from the storgae means to the memory means the address of at least one of the addressed images, the address of one of the addressed message tracks and program data for providing a legible manifestation on the panel related to the presented query or response; and circuit means interconnecting each of the storage means, the memory means, the visual display means, the image locating means and the track locating means and responsive to a control signal generated by the input means, upon completion of the query or response, for jointly or severally transferring and subsequently releasing the program and address data related to the presented query or response from the storage means to the memory means, the released program data initiating the converting means to provide the legible manifestation of the query or response on the panel and the released address data initiating at least one of the locating means to position the addressed image related to the query or response in the projection system to provide a visual image on the screen that is superposed on any legible manifestation and the locating and moving means to position the addressed message track related to the query or response relative to the transducer to provide an audio presentation.