Abstract: A central server outside of a school network receives assignments from educator computing devices, where each assignment includes content for distribution to student computing devices and a schedule indicating when the assignment is active for distribution. A local server within the school network receives the assignments and stores the assignments in a local server datastore. The local server receives from a gateway within the school network a request for active assignments, identifies the active assignments, and returns a list of the active assignments to the gateway. The gateway determines whether the list of the active assignments contains any assignments unretrieved by the given gateway. If so, the gateway sends to the local server a request for the unretrieved assignments. The gateway receives the requested assignments from the local server and stores them in a gateway datastore.

Abstract: Sending and relaying of information includes: a direct receiver receives messages from a server over a broadcast communications medium, each message having associated targeter data attributes; the direct receiver selects messages from the server for storage in a message store of the first receiver device based on the targeter data attributes associated with each message from the server; the direct receiver connects with an indirect receiver over the non-broadcast communications medium; the direct receiver receives a message request from the indirect receiver for messages in the message store of the direct receiver over a non-broadcast communications medium; and in response to the message request, the direct receiver sends messages in the message store of the direct receiver to the indirect receiver over the non-broadcast communications medium. The direct receiver receives data from the server, and the indirect receiver receives data via another receiver.

Abstract: A central server outside of a school network receives assignments from educator computing devices, where each assignment includes content for distribution to student computing devices and a schedule indicating when the assignment is active for distribution. A local server within the school network receives the assignments and stores the assignments in a local server datastore. The local server receives from a gateway within the school network a request for active assignments, identifies the active assignments, and returns a list of the active assignments to the gateway. The gateway determines whether the list of the active assignments contains any assignments unretrieved by the given gateway. If so, the gateway sends to the local server a request for the unretrieved assignments. The gateway receives the requested assignments from the local server and stores them in a gateway datastore.

Abstract: Expansion of unidirectional datacasting includes the use of backchannel communication link(s) for clients communication with the datacasting infrastructure, producing a closed-loop or bidirectional system, possibly for both the acknowledgement of datacasting message receipts and a request-response service over datacasting. In one implementation, a server creates a message including a data object and a data object identifier associated with the data object. The server datacasts the message via the broadcast medium to client device(s). A given client device receives the message datacasted by the server via the broadcast medium, creates a given message including the data object identifier, and sends the given message to the server via a given backchannel. The server receives the given message including the data object identifier from the given client device via the given backchannel and records the receipt of the given message for the data object identifier.

Abstract: Sending and relaying of information includes: a direct receiver receives messages from a server over a broadcast communications medium, each message having associated targeter data attributes; the direct receiver selects messages from the server for storage in a message store of the first receiver device based on the targeter data attributes associated with each message from the server; the direct receiver connects with an indirect receiver over the non-broadcast communications medium; the direct receiver receives a message request from the indirect receiver for messages in the message store of the direct receiver over a non-broadcast communications medium; and in response to the message request, the direct receiver sends messages in the message store of the direct receiver to the indirect receiver over the non-broadcast communications medium. The direct receiver receives data from the server, and the indirect receiver receives data via another receiver.