Method and system for presenting educational material

1. A machine implemented method for developing a lesson plan, comprising:

using a graphical interface for developing a lesson plan having a plurality of keyframes for teaching a mathematical concept, wherein a keyframe is a defined step within an animation sequence and comprises indications of allowed content, display and user control;

adding at least one content object to at least a first keyframe wherein the content object for each keyframe is associated with a database domain from among a plurality of database domains that include an open drawing domain database capable of translating a draw path into a freehand drawing; a shape domain database capable of translating a draw path into a two- or three-dimensional shape; a spatial object manipulation domain database allowing two- or three-dimensional shapes to be modified; a symbolic manipulation domain database that enables draw path recognition to calculate formulas and equations; a measurement domain database that displays relative dimensions based on an original draw path; a character recognition domain database for representing alphanumeric characters; a fridge magnet mode domain database for enabling an object within a display to be grabbed; an object duplication domain database for creating multiple objects and a data display domain database for providing computational cells;

selecting a gesture for future use from a gesture set for controlling the at least one content object when displayed at an interactive display device for the first keyframe;

associating a mutable variable for the first keyframe at least one content object with the gesture, such that a user inputting the gesture will alter the mutable variable during presentation of the lesson plan; wherein the mutable variable has a default value and a range of variable values;

defining a default condition for the mutable variable;

assigning a fixed variable for at least one of the plurality of key frames;

adding one or more of text, label, dimension or expression to the first keyframe content; and

establishing a transition gesture, such that a user inputting the transition gesture will trigger a transition between the first keyframe and a next keyframe, using animation specific to either of the first keyframe or the next keyframe, wherein the lesson plan can be operated in an advanced mode and an auto-play mode, wherein during presentation in the advanced mode a draw path is translated into the at least one content object and during presentation in the auto-play mode the at least one content object is animated without need for a draw path or user interaction; and

wherein the gesture set includes single touch, multi-touch and three dimensional spatial control gestures for controlling an object from the first keyframe.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the lesson plan is displayed at an interactive display device.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the lesson plan is presented to a student on a computing system that is coupled to the interactive display device via a network.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the lesson plan is presented using a presentation system that includes an input analyzer for analyzing a user input and associating the user input with a gesture set and a domain database.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein an animation engine provides animation between the first keyframe to the next keyframe.

6. A machine implemented method for presenting a mathematical lesson plan having a plurality of keyframes, comprising:

initializing a first keyframe, wherein a keyframe comprises a defined step within an animation sequence and includes indications of allowed content, display and user control;

accepting input from a user to determine whether to use an advanced mode or an auto-play mode;

when the advanced mode is determined:

detecting an input draw path from a user at an interactive display device;

correlating the input draw path with a gesture from a gesture set and one or more of database domains from among a plurality of database domains, wherein the gesture set includes single touch, multi-touch and three dimensional spatial control gestures for controlling an object from the first keyframe and the gesture is selected when a lesson plan is generated for future use for presenting the mathematical lesson; and wherein the plurality of database domains include an open drawing domain database capable of translating a draw path into a freehand drawing; a shape domain database capable of translating a draw path into a two- or three-dimensional shape; a spatial object manipulation domain database allowing two- or three-dimensional shapes to be modified; a symbolic manipulation domain database that enables draw path recognition to calculate formulas and equations; a measurement domain database that displays relative dimensions based on an original draw path; a character recognition domain database for representing alphanumeric characters; a fridge magnet mode domain database for enabling an object within a display to be grabbed; an object duplication domain database for creating multiple objects and a data display domain database for providing computational cells;

translating the input draw path into an object from one of the correlated database domains, wherein the object is included in the allowed content for the first keyframe;

displaying an image of the object at the interactive display device when all mutable variables for the first keyframe object are determined based on the input draw path; wherein each of the mutable variables have a default value and a range of variable values;

and

manipulating the image using a gesture associated with the displayed image and any associated database domains;

when the auto-play mode is determined:

displaying an image of the object at the interactive display device using default values for all of the mutable variables for the first keyframe object; and

transitioning to a next keyframe using animation specific to either of the first keyframe or the next keyframe.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the lesson plan is displayed to a student on a computing system that is coupled to the interactive display device via a network.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the lesson plan is presented using a presentation system that includes an input analyzer for analyzing the input and associating the input with a gesture set and a domain database.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein an animation engine provides animation from the first keyframe to the next keyframe.

10. A system for delivering educational content, comprising:

an interactive display device operationally coupled to a presentation system comprising a computing system for presenting educational content; wherein the presentation system is configured to:

initialize a first keyframe, wherein a keyframe comprises a defined step within an animation sequence and includes indications of allowed content, display and user control;

accept input from a user to determine whether to use an advanced mode or an auto-play mode;

when the advanced mode is determined:

detect an input draw path from a user at the interactive display device;

correlate the input draw path with a gesture from a gesture set and one or more of database domains from among a plurality of database domains, wherein the gesture set includes single touch, multi-touch and three dimensional spatial control gestures for controlling an object from the first keyframe and the gesture is selected when a lesson plan is generated for future use for presenting the educational content and wherein the plurality of database domains include an open drawing domain database capable of translating a draw path into a freehand drawing; a shape domain database capable of translating a draw path into a two- or three-dimensional shape; a spatial object manipulation domain database allowing two- or three-dimensional shapes to be modified; a symbolic manipulation domain database that enables draw path recognition to calculate formulas and equations; a measurement domain database that displays relative dimensions based on an original draw path; a character recognition domain database for representing alphanumeric characters; a fridge magnet mode domain database for enabling an object within a display to be grabbed; an object duplication domain database for creating multiple objects and a data display domain database for providing computational cells;

translate the input draw path into an object from one of the correlated database domains, wherein the object is included in the allowed content for the first keyframe;

display an image of the object at the interactive display device when all mutable variables for the first keyframe object are determined based on the input draw path; wherein each of the mutable variables have a default value and a range of variable values; and

manipulate the image using a gesture associated with the displayed image and any associated database domains;

when the auto-play mode is determined:

display an image of the object at the interactive display device using default values for all of the mutable variables for the first keyframe object; and

transition to a next keyframe using animation specific to either of the first keyframe or the next keyframe.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the lesson plan is displayed to a student using a computing system that is coupled to the interactive display device via a network.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the presentation system includes an input analyzer for analyzing the input and associating the input with a gesture set and a domain database.

13. The system of claim 10 , wherein an animation engine provides animation from the first keyframe to the next keyframe.

14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the interactive display device, the presentation system and the user computing system communicate via a network.