Charlie Wankel wrote:
>I would appreciate your posting the press release that you came across to
mg-ed-dv.
>[snip]
>Cybercollegially,
>Charlie Wankel
>netmaster mg-ed-dv
************************************
While doing some research for a client, I ran across this item. Fascinating
possibilities. Anyone want to speculate on new applications beyond the
classroom ? What if we substitute "customers" for the word "students"
So here's the press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 27 FEBRUARY 1998
Students Teaching Computers Teaching Students . . .
Students learning from computers is nothing new, but now Temple University
electrical engineering professor Brian P. Butz has devised a way that
computers can learn back from the students.
As a student answers a series of questions, Butz's tutorial program--which
will be used in several classes at Temple this Fall--determines not only
what that student does and does not know, but also how he or she likes to
learn. It then creates an individualized program of study. "The intelligent
system will sense the direction a student is taking through the interactive
material, detect logical flaws the student is making and provide the
student with focused tutoring," he explains, adding that the program
software is adaptable to a wide variety of subject areas. His project will
receive significant support from the National Science Foundation (NSF)
over the next two years.
Butz says that computer modules have come a long way from the
right-or-wrong "canned remedial responses" of the past. Current programs
have more explicit knowledge of the subject matter being taught and can
give expanded explanations to the user. His innovation continues this
progress by introducing an "expert system" to create an "interactive
multimedia intelligent tutoring system." The expert system monitors and
records every interaction of the student with the program (selection of an
answer, change of selection, computation, and so on). It also "interrupts"
the session occasionally to ask the user to clarify a response or explain
why that answer was chosen. Once it has gathered enough information
about the student's learning patterns, it modifies its questions to focus
on the material the student understands least, presented in the way
the student learns best.
Butz reports that his expert system could be used for almost any subject,
and that "it will be especially helpful for students in introductory and
remedial classes. Students who do not quickly master basic skills are
sometimes left behind, and become passive observers of material they do not
understand." He hopes that "tutorials using the expert system will help
teachers face the challenge of meeting the students' academic needs and
ensuring that they are active participants in their own education."
Butz will use his tutoring system in electrical engineering courses this
coming Fall and Spring. He hopes to find results similar to those of his
colleagues Gerardo Mendoza and Dan Reich of the mathematics department.
They have written a interactive program which enables math students to work
through calculus assignments on a class webpage. Their Calculus on the Web
(COW) project, which has also received NSF funding, has resulted in an
increase in the retention, enthusiasm, and performance of students in
first- and second-semester calculus classes at Temple. They have made their
program available to all high school and college students via the internet.
Students supplementing classroom learning with computer tutorials is
nothing new, but now Temple electrical engineering professor Brian P. Butz
has devised a way that those tutorials can learn back from the students. As
each student answers questions, his "expert system" gathers information
about his or her learning patterns. It then modifies future questions to
focus on the material the student understands least, presented in the way
the student learns best.
Walter Derzko
Director Brain Space
(formerly the Idea Lab at
the Design Exchange)
Toronto
(416) 588-1122
wderzko@pathcom.com