Abstract: A system and a method for generating individualized academic worksheets are provided. The method includes accessing a database of problems and student data relating to at least one student, including evaluation data associated with practice worksheets that were previously administered to the students. The method further includes selecting problems from the database using the evaluation data for each student and generating an individualized practice worksheet file including the selected problems. Each practice worksheet file includes instructions for printing a presentation of each problem and at least one evaluation area. The method further includes updating the evaluation data, wherein after a printed copy of a practice worksheet file is administered to the student, the evaluation areas of the printed copy are marked with evaluation marks by a human evaluator in accordance with the human evaluator's evaluation, and the updated evaluation data is based on the evaluation marks.

Abstract: An educational recommender system and a method for recommending an educational game to be used by a group of at least two students are provided. The method includes receiving a request to recommend an educational game to use with the group of students, and accessing student data relating to the at least two students including granular assessment data. The granular assessment data includes a result of at least one assessment administered to respective students, wherein each assessment includes a plurality of problems for assessing at least one of the students and the associated result includes an independent evaluation of each respective problem. The method further includes selecting an educational game that exercises the students in an academic area, including selecting the level of the academic area exercised based on granular assessment data associated with each of the respective students.

Abstract: An educational recommender system and a method are provided. The method includes receiving a request to recommend a course of action related to a plurality of current students; accessing a computer database storing student data that corresponds to the plurality of current students; clustering in a computer process the plurality of current students into at least two clusters based at least on granular assessment data associated with student data corresponding to respective current students; and outputting the results of the clustering to a user. The granular assessment data includes a result of an assessment administered to respective students of the plurality of current students, and each assessment includes a plurality of questions for assessing one of the current students. The associated result includes an independent evaluation of each respective question of the plurality of questions.

Abstract: The disclosed embodiment relates to methods and systems for evaluating an electronic document. The computer implemented method includes receiving the electronic document containing a first set of answers corresponding to one or more pre-stored questions. The first set of answers are compared with a pre-stored second set of answers based on an answer descriptor syntax dataset. The answer descriptor syntax dataset comprises one or more rules. One or more answer descriptors for each of the first set of answers are determined based on the comparing. The one or more answer descriptors correspond to one or more observations for each of the first set of answers. Finally, the electronic document is evaluated based on determining.

Abstract: A printing system capable of processing a plurality of job streams and sub-jobs within a job stream. The system including one or more marking engines, a hopper, and one or more print media destinations. The system further provides a jobs scheduler for determining a schedule for processing queued print sub-jobs of a job stream using a utility function based on dwell time and a system model indicative of the plurality of interconnected processing units. The plurality of sub-jobs employing one or more of the plurality of sheet processing paths including at least one pre-print batch and at least one direct print batch. A sheet itineraries processor is provided for causing the plurality of interconnected processing units to concurrently move sheets of the concurrent sub-jobs along selected sheet processing paths to process the sheets and to deliver the at least one pre-print batch to the hopper and to deliver the at least one direct print batch to the destination.

Abstract: A recommender system and method including receiving a request identifying at least one current student for which a recommendation is sought and accessing stored student data including attributes associated with respective students of the current students and a plurality of predecessor students. For the predecessor students the attributes include educational resources. The method includes clustering one of predecessor students and the current students into clusters based on sameness of first selected attributes of their respective associated attributes. The method includes generating a mapping between respective students of the other of the predecessor and current students and one of the clusters based on sameness of second selected attributes associated with the students being mapped. The method then includes recommending for each of the current students the educational resource associated with the predecessor student or cluster of predecessor students that the current student is mapped with.

Abstract: A method and system generates and administers an individualized student worksheet. A set of problems and a unique embedded data pattern are generated and printed on a worksheet substrate. A teacher may point a camera pen point at an area of the pattern to identify the substrate and a location on the substrate. Based on this information, the method and system may access a worksheet file to identify the problem whose physical position corresponds to the captured embedded data. The system may present the problem's solution to the teacher, who may then use the pen to mark the problem as correct or incorrect, and optionally annotate notes for the student, teacher or others. The camera pen may collect the teacher's marks and annotations and store them with the worksheet file for later retrieval.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for printhead inspection and recovery in an ink jet printing system includes a modular printhead assembly disposed within the printing system for on-line printing operation. An off-line printhead inspection and recovery unit including a printhead dock for receiving the printhead assembly is locally disposed for ready diagnostic inspection of printhead operation and includes a user interface for reporting diagnostic results. A modular printhead assembly is disposed within the off-line printhead inspection and recovery unit for identifying the head failure to an operator. The inspection and recovery unit may execute a printhead purge and maintenance cycle to repair the failing on-line printing assembly. The inspection and recovery unit maintains a spare head assembly in a heated print-ready state for minimal downtime in production operation upon the replacement of the failing printhead with the spare head from the inspection and recovery unit.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for an intervention-by-choice printhead maintenance method in an ink jet printing system. Profile representations of scheduled print jobs are compiled which are representative of ink jet performance demand therefor. An ink jet failure is detected and related to the profile representations. A likely impact of ink jet failure is assessed relative to job specific print quality requirements for the scheduled print jobs. Print jobs are rescheduled for enhancing system performance efficiency by re-queuing selected jobs that can be executed with a detected ink jet failure while satisfying a job specific print quality requirement before a system repair intervention.

Abstract: A system and a method for generating individualized academic worksheets are provided. The method includes accessing a database of problems and student data relating to at least one student, including evaluation data associated with practice worksheets that were previously administered to the students. The method further includes selecting problems from the database using the evaluation data for each student and generating an individualized practice worksheet file including the selected problems. Each practice worksheet file includes instructions for printing a presentation of each problem and at least one evaluation area. The method further includes updating the evaluation data, wherein after a printed copy of a practice worksheet file is administered to the student, the evaluation areas of the printed copy are marked with evaluation marks by a human evaluator in accordance with the human evaluator's evaluation, and the updated evaluation data is based on the evaluation marks.

Abstract: A system suited to scheduling print jobs for a printing system includes a first processing component which identifies preliminary attributes of print jobs to be printed on sheets. A job scheduler receives the preliminary attributes and assigns each of the print jobs to one of a plurality of job queues in time order for printing. Print jobs spanning the same time are scheduled for printing contemporaneously. In one mode of operation, the assignment of the print jobs to the job queues is based on their preliminary attributes and on the application of at least one constraint which affects contemporaneous printing of at least two of the plurality of print jobs. A second processing component identifies detailed attributes of the print jobs. A sheet scheduler receives information on the assignments of the print jobs and their detailed attributes and forms an itinerary for each sheet to be printed.

Abstract: An automated system, apparatus and method for evaluation of comprehension are disclosed. The method includes receiving an input text and natural language processing the text to identify dependencies between text elements in the input text. Grammar rules are applied to generate questions and associated answers from the processed text, at least some of the questions being based on the identified dependencies. A set of the generated questions is posed to a reader of the input text and the comprehension of the reader evaluated, based on the reader's responses to the questions posed.

Abstract: A system suited to scheduling print jobs for a printing system includes a first processing component which identifies preliminary attributes of print jobs to be printed on sheets. A job scheduler receives the preliminary attributes and assigns each of the print jobs to one of a plurality of job queues in time order for printing. Print jobs spanning the same time are scheduled for printing contemporaneously. In one mode of operation, the assignment of the print jobs to the job queues is based on their preliminary attributes and on the application of at least one constraint which affects contemporaneous printing of at least two of the plurality of print jobs. A second processing component identifies detailed attributes of the print jobs. A sheet scheduler receives information on the assignments of the print jobs and their detailed attributes and forms an itinerary for each sheet to be printed.

Abstract: Methods for applying electrical stimuli to optical micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) devices are disclosed. Electrical stimuli may be applied to one or more released current carrying elements mounted above a supporting substrate biased to minimize electrostatic force between the one or more current released current carrying elements and the supporting substrate. Additionally, the electrical stimuli bias minimizes electrical potential difference between the one or more released current carrying elements and one or more non-current carrying elements mounted above the supporting substrate that come in contact or close proximity during operation of the one or more released current carrying elements.

Abstract: An educational recommender system and a method for recommending an educational game to be used by a group of at least two students are provided. The method includes receiving a request to recommend an educational game to use with the group of students, and accessing student data relating to the at least two students including granular assessment data. The granular assessment data includes a result of at least one assessment administered to respective students, wherein each assessment includes a plurality of problems for assessing at least one of the students and the associated result includes an independent evaluation of each respective problem. The method further includes selecting an educational game that exercises the students in an academic area, including selecting the level of the academic area exercised based on granular assessment data associated with each of the respective students.

Abstract: A printing system includes a plurality of printers, at least a first and a second of the plurality of printers printing in a first print modality. A scheduling system schedules printing of a set of pages by the plurality of printers. The set of pages, when assembled, may include pages where a high level of consistency is desired, such as facing pages or pages which are otherwise to be placed in close relationship. The scheduling system includes at least two scheduling modes, a first mode in which a consistency constraint is applied to the set of pages, and a second mode, different from the first mode, in which the consistency constraint is not applied. The printing system is configured for printing the set of pages in accordance with the first mode and in accordance with the second mode.

Abstract: A system suited to scheduling print jobs for a printing system includes a first processing component which identifies preliminary attributes of print jobs to be printed on sheets. A job scheduler receives the preliminary attributes and assigns each of the print jobs to one of a plurality of job queues in time order for printing. Print jobs spanning the same time are scheduled for printing contemporaneously. In one mode of operation, the assignment of the print jobs to the job queues is based on their preliminary attributes and on the application of at least one constraint which affects contemporaneous printing of at least two of the plurality of print jobs. A second processing component identifies detailed attributes of the print jobs. A sheet scheduler receives information on the assignments of the print jobs and their detailed attributes and forms an itinerary for each sheet to be printed.

Abstract: An educational recommender system and a method are provided. The method includes receiving a request to recommend a course of action related to a plurality of current students; accessing a computer database storing student data that corresponds to the plurality of current students; clustering in a computer process the plurality of current students into at least two clusters based at least on granular assessment data associated with student data corresponding to respective current students; and outputting the results of the clustering to a user. The granular assessment data includes a result of an assessment administered to respective students of the plurality of current students, and each assessment includes a plurality of questions for assessing one of the current students. The associated result includes an independent evaluation of each respective question of the plurality of questions.

Abstract: A recommender system and method is provided, including receiving a request to recommend a course of action related to a plurality of current students in accordance with a plurality of constraints and accessing a computer database storing student data that corresponds to the plurality of current students. The student data includes attribute data corresponding to respective students of the plurality of current students for describing at least one attribute related to the respective students. The method further includes clustering in a computer process the plurality of current students into a selected number of clusters based at least on sameness of attribute data corresponding to the respective current students of the plurality of current students and the plurality of constraints, and outputting the results of the clustering to a user.

Abstract: An assessment authoring system implemented by an operative set of processor executable instructions configured for execution by at least one processor includes a user interface and an assessment generation component. The user interface communicates user input and the assessment generation component receives the user input from the user interface. The assessment generation component generates an assessment data structure for printing on a multifunction device. The printed assessment includes a marking region adapted to receive a human marking. The system may utilize a model or rubric that can be used to score the human marks when are processed by image processing.