Factors shaping the evolution of electronic documentation systems

The main goal is to prepare the space station technical and managerial structure for likely changes in the creation, capture, transfer, and utilization of knowledge. By anticipating advances, the design of Space Station Project (SSP) information systems can be tailored to facilitate a progression of increasingly sophisticated strategies as the space station evolves. Future generations of advanced information systems will use increases in power to deliver environmentally meaningful, contextually targeted, interconnected data (knowledge). The concept of a Knowledge Base Management System is emerging when the problem is focused on how information systems can perform such a conversion of raw data. Such a system would include traditional management functions for large space databases. Added artificial intelligence features might encompass co-existing knowledge representation schemes; effective control structures for deductive, plausible, and inductive reasoning; means for knowledge acquisition, refinement, and validation; explanation facilities; and dynamic human intervention. The major areas covered include: alternative knowledge representation approaches; advanced user interface capabilities; computer-supported cooperative work; the evolution of information system hardware; standardization, compatibility, and connectivity; and organizational impacts of information intensive environments

Content-driven design and architecture of E-learning applications

E-learning applications combine content with learning technology systems to support the creation of content and its delivery to the learner. In the future, we can expect the distinction between learning content and its supporting infrastructure to become blurred. Content objects will interact with infrastructure services as independent objects. Our solution to the development of e-learning applications – content-driven design and architecture – is based on content-centric ontological modelling and development of architectures. Knowledge and modelling will play an important role in the development of content and architectures. Our approach integrates content with interaction (in technical and educational terms) and services (the principle organization for a system architecture), based on techniques from different fields, including software engineering, learning design, and knowledge engineering

Collaborative trails in e-learning environments

This deliverable focuses on collaboration within groups of learners, and hence collaborative trails. We begin by reviewing the theoretical background to collaborative learning and looking at the kinds of support that computers can give to groups of learners working collaboratively, and then look more deeply at some of the issues in designing environments to support collaborative learning trails and at tools and techniques, including collaborative filtering, that can be used for analysing collaborative trails. We then review the state-of-the-art in supporting collaborative learning in three different areas – experimental academic systems, systems using mobile technology (which are also generally academic), and commercially available systems. The final part of the deliverable presents three scenarios that show where technology that supports groups working collaboratively and producing collaborative trails may be heading in the near future

Distributed, cooperating knowledge-based systems

Some current research in the development and application of distributed, cooperating knowledge-based systems technology is addressed. The focus of the current research is the spacecraft ground operations environment. The underlying hypothesis is that, because of the increasing size, complexity, and cost of planned systems, conventional procedural approaches to the architecture of automated systems will give way to a more comprehensive knowledge-based approach. A hallmark of these future systems will be the integration of multiple knowledge-based agents which understand the operational goals of the system and cooperate with each other and the humans in the loop to attain the goals. The current work includes the development of a reference model for knowledge-base management, the development of a formal model of cooperating knowledge-based agents, the use of testbed for prototyping and evaluating various knowledge-based concepts, and beginning work on the establishment of an object-oriented model of an intelligent end-to-end (spacecraft to user) system. An introductory discussion of these activities is presented, the major concepts and principles being investigated are highlighted, and their potential use in other application domains is indicated

The Knowledge Life Cycle for e-learning

In this paper, we examine the semantic aspects of e-learning from both pedagogical and technological points of view. We suggest that if semantics are to fulfil their potential in the learning domain then a paradigm shift in perspective is necessary, from information-based content delivery to knowledge-based collaborative learning services. We propose a semantics driven Knowledge Life Cycle that characterises the key phases in managing semantics and knowledge, show how this can be applied to the learning domain and demonstrate the value of semantics via an example of knowledge reuse in learning assessment management

Static and Dynamic Integrated Expert Systems: State of the Art, Problems and Trends

Systemized analysis of trends towards integration and hybridization in contemporary expert systems is conducted, and a particular class of applied expert systems, integrated expert systems, is considered. For this purpose, terminology, classification, and models, proposed by the author, are employed. As examples of integrated expert systems, Russian systems designed in this field and available to the majority of specialists are analyzed

Designing web-based adaptive learning environment : distils as an example

In this study, two components are developed for the Web-based adaptive learning: an online Intelligent Tutoring Tool (ITT) and an Adaptive Lecture Guidance (ALG). The ITT provides students timely problem-solving help in a dynamic Web environment. The ALG prevents students from being disoriented when a new domain is presented using Web technology. A prototype, Distributed Intelligent Learning System (DISTILS), has been implemented in a general chemistry laboratory domain. In DISTILS, students interact with the ITT through a Web browser. When a student selects a problem, the problem is formatted and displayed in the user interface for the student to solve. On the other side, the ITT begins to solve the problem simultaneously. The student can then request help from the ITT through the interface. The ITT interacts with the student, verifying those solution activities in an ascending order of the student knowledge status. In DISTILS, a Web page is associated with a HTML Learning Model (HLM) to describe its knowledge content. The ALG extracts the HLM, collects the status of students\u27 knowledge in HLM, and presents a knowledge map illustrating where the student is, how much proficiency he/she already has and where he/she is encouraged to explore. In this way, the ALG helps students to navigate the Web-based course material, protecting them from being disoriented and giving them guidance in need. Both the ITT and ALG components are developed under a generic Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA)-driven framework. Under this framework, knowledge objects model domain expertise, a student modeler assesses student\u27s knowledge progress, an instruction engine includes two tutoring components, such as the ITT and the ALG, and the CORBA-compatible middleware serves as the communication infrastructure. The advantage of such a framework is that it promotes the development of modular and reusable intelligent educational objects. In DISTILS, a collection of knowledge objects were developed under CORBA to model general chemistry laboratory domain expertise. It was shown that these objects can be easily assembled in a plug-and-play manner to produce several exercises for different laboratory experiments. Given the platform independence of CORBA, tutoring objects developed under such a framework have the potential to be easily reused in different applications. Preliminary results showed that DISTILS effectively enhanced learning in Web environment. Three high school students and twenty-two NJIT students participated in the evaluation of DISTILS. In the final quiz of seven questions, the average correct answers of the students who studied in a Web environment with DISTILS (DISTILS Group) was 5.3, and the average correct answers of those who studied in the same Web environment without DISTILS (NoDISTILS Group) was 2.75. A t-test conducted on this small sample showed that the DISTILS group students significantly scored better than the NoDISTILS group students

Web-based knowledge-based system on liquid retaining structure design as instructional tool

2002-2003 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe

A generic architecture for interactive intelligent tutoring systems

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University, 07/06/2001.This research is focused on developing a generic intelligent architecture for an interactive tutoring system. A review of the literature in the areas of instructional theories, cognitive and social views of learning, intelligent tutoring systems development methodologies, and knowledge representation methods was conducted. As a result, a generic ITS development architecture (GeNisa) has been proposed, which combines the features of knowledge base systems (KBS) with object-oriented methodology. The GeNisa architecture consists of the following components: a tutorial events communication module, which encapsulates the interactive processes and other independent computations between different components; a software design toolkit; and an autonomous knowledge acquisition from a probabilistic knowledge base. A graphical application development environment includes tools to support application development, and learning environments and which use a case scenario as a basis for instruction. The generic architecture is designed to support client-side execution in a Web browser environment, and further testing will show that it can disseminate applications over the World Wide Web. Such an architecture can be adapted to different teaching styles and domains, and reusing instructional materials automatically can reduce the effort of the courseware developer (hence cost and time) in authoring new materials. GeNisa was implemented using Java scripts, and subsequently evaluated at various commercial and academic organisations. Parameters chosen for the evaluation include quality of courseware, relevancy of case scenarios, portability to other platforms, ease of use, content, user-friendliness, screen display, clarity, topic interest, and overall satisfaction with GeNisa. In general, the evaluation focused on the novel characteristics and performances of the GeNisa architecture in comparison with other ITS and the results obtained are discussed and analysed. On the basis of the experience gained during the literature research and GeNisa development and evaluation. a generic methodology for ITS development is proposed as well as the requirements for the further development of ITS tools. Finally, conclusions are drawn and areas for further research are identified