A Domain-Independent Otology-based Approach to Representation of Courseware Knowledge

This paper proposes an ontology-based approach to representation of courseware knowledge in different domains. The focus is on a three-level semantic graph, modeling respectively the course as a whole, its structure, and domain contents itself. The authors plan to use this representation for flexibie e- learning and generation of different study plans for the learners

Teaching for transfer of assembly language concepts to C programming using computer-based instruction and traditional instruction

The aim of teaching assembly language in a computer application course is to introduce students to abstract concepts before delving into programming details. For a novice, it is difficult to understand and learn assembly language in a short amount of time. Hence, the use of a series of computer-based programs may be helpful. Based on this perspective, a computer-based assembly language program LEARNIT was designed to establish a meaningful introduction for students to programming;The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of using computer-based instruction in learning assembly language at the undergraduate level and (2) to investigate whether learning assembly language by two instructional methods (traditional lecture/demonstration/ practice vs. computer-based instruction) was transferred to writing programs in the C language to the same degree;Forty-nine subjects participated in this study. The experimental group consisted of 25 subjects who received instruction on assembly language using the computer-based program LEARNIT. The control group consisted of 24 subjects who received instruction on assembly language using live instruction (traditional lecture/demonstration/practice);Three types of instruments were designed to measure student\u27s knowledge regarding the computer organization, assembly language, and the ability to program in C language. The results revealed that the subjects\u27 performance on a test covering assembly language was not affected by the instructional method (traditional lecture vs. computer-based instruction) in which they participated. Also, the subjects\u27 performance on a test covering the C language was not affected by the prior learning of assembly language between the experimental and control groups

An intelligent computer- based tutoring approach for the management of negative transfer

This research addresses how a prototype of a language tutoring system, the Chinese Tutor, tackles the practical problem of negative transfer (i.e. mother tongue influence) in the learning of Chinese grammar by English-speaking students. The design of the Chinese Tutor has been based on the results of empirical studies carried out as part of this research. The results of the data analysis show that negative transfer can be used to account for almost 80% of the errors observed in the linguistic output of students in their study of Chinese. If the students can be helped to overcome these errors, the standard of their Chinese will be greatly improved. In this research, an approach of Intelligent Language Tutoring Systems (ILTSs) has been adopted for handling negative transfer. This is because there are several advantages of ILTSs, including interactive learning, highly individualised instruction and student-centred instruction [Wyatt 1984 .The Chinese Tutor contains five main components: the Expert Model, which contains all the linguistic knowledge for tutoring and serves as a standard for evaluating the student's performance; the Student Model, which collects information on the student's performance; the Diagnoser, which detects different types of error made by the student; the Tutor Model, which plans student learning, makes didactic decisions and chooses an appropriate tutorial strategy based on the student’s performance; and the Interface Module, which communicates between the student and the system. A general and robust solution to the treatment of negative transfer, i.e. the technique of Mixed Grammar has been devised. The rules in this grammar can be applied to detect arbitrary transfer errors by using a general set of rules. A number of students in the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Durham have used the Chinese Tutor with positive results

Expert systems in management accountancy

Expert systems in management accountanc