Patent US 7,516,180

A system for connecting a plurality of computing systems to a single network for providing instructor services in distributed computing environment. The system includes a plurality of client workstations; a control unit for configuring the operation of the plurality of client workstations; and a communications network for transmission of data and commands between the control unit and the plurality of client workstations, the communications network being a TCP/IP based communications network. The control unit presents test questions to users on one, any, or all of the plurality of client workstations. Each of the plurality of client workstations accepts responses from users to the questions presented. Each of the plurality of client workstations provides status of the responses received from the users to the test questions and the control unit maintains a real-time display of the status of users taking a test consisting of the test question present.