An Intelligent Virtual Environment for Distance Learning

Proceedings of the working conference on Advanced visual interfaces - AVI '04, 2004

Virtual Reality (VR) became an attractive alternative for the development of more realistic and interesting visual interfaces for the user. The environments that make use of RV techniques are refered as Virtual Environments (VEs). Nowadays, the focus of attention has been the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and VEs. The objective is to obtain larger usability and realism from the interfaces, exploring the combination of three-dimensional objects and intelligent entities. The environments that explore such integration are called Intelligent Virtual Environments (IVEs). This paper present an intelligent and adaptive virtual environment, which has its structure and presentation suitable according to users' interests and preferences (represented in an user model) and in agreement insertion, removal or update of contents in the environment. A process of automatic categorization of contents is applied in the creation of content models, used in the spatial organization of the same ones in the environment.

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2004

This paper presents an approach that aims to integrate intelligent agents, user models and automatic content categorization in a virtual environment. In this environment, called AdapTIVE (Adaptive Three-dimensional Intelligent and Virtual Environment), an intelligent virtual agent assists users during navigation and retrieval of relevant information. The users' interests and preferences, represented in a user model, are used in the adaptation of environment structure. An automatic content categorization process, that applies machine-learning techniques, is used in the spatial organization of the contents in the environment. This is a promising approach for new and advanced forms of education, entertainment and e-commerce. In order to validate our approach, a case study of a distance-learning environment, used to make educational content available, is presented. a spatial manner. In this way, a larger intuition in the visualization of the information is obtained, allowing the user to explore it in an interactive way, more natural to humans.

World Journal on Educational Technology, 2009

Mainstream distance learning nowadays is heavily influenced by traditional educational approaches that produces homogenised learning scenarios for all learners through learning management systems. Any differentiation between learners and personalisation of their learning scenarios is left to the teacher, who gets minimum support from the system in this respect. This way, the truly digital native, the computer, is left out of the move, unable to better support the teaching-learning processes because it is not provided with the means to transform into knowledge all the information that it stores and manages. I believe learning management systems should care for supporting adaptation and personalisation of both individual learning and the formation of communities of learning. Open learner modelling and intelligent collaborative learning environments are proposed as a means to care. The proposal is complemented with a general architecture for an * Rafael Morales.

Mainstream distance learning nowadays is heavily influenced by traditional educational approaches that produces homogenised learning scenarios for all learners through learning management systems. Any differentiation between learners and personalisation of their learning scenarios is left to the teacher, who gets minimum support from the system in this respect. This way, the truly digital native, the computer, is left out of the move, unable to better support the teaching-learning processes because it is not provided with the means to transform into knowledge all the information that it stores and manages. I believe learning management systems should care for supporting adaptation and personalisation of both individual learning and the formation of communities of learning. Open learner modelling and intelligent collaborative learning environments are proposed as a means to care. The proposal is complemented with a general architecture for an 111 intelligent environment for distance learning and an educational model based on the principles of self-management, creativity, significance and participation.

The recent astonishing progresses in information technology, computer and information communication hardware and the spread of the Internet have opened a variety of new ways for many fields. Although slower than the business field to catch up with these new developments, the educational field has gradually migrated towards the World Wide Web, mostly under the slogan of free, accessable education, to and from anyplace, at anytime. This development triggered, among other effects, also the important shifting of the weight from the teaching paradigm to the learning paradigm. However, slow network speed hindered the first learning environments from being more than simple, electronic text-books. The latest trends in research are trying to go one step further, making use of increased bandwiths, and integrate various media to enhance learning. Moreover, for obtaining learner-oriented, customized learning environments, ITS and AI-ED techniques are adapted and developed for the Web. These advances promis revolutionary changes in the whole educational system of the new millenium. This paper presents these trends and progresses on one hand, but on the other hand, also addresses the dangers and pitfalls that such an avalanche of changes can bring, and stresses the responsibility we have, to make sure the real goal is never left out of sight: enhancing and improving learning. Finally, we show how we tackle this challenge at the Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence, University of Electro-Communications, Japan, where we have built the framework and prototype of an intelligent media-oriented integrated distance education environment.

Recent trends in the development of education systems clearly identify the need to create standardized, adaptive, customized systems, which maintain a high level of interactivity and collaboration. An attempt to create such a system is the Distributed eLearning Center DeLC ([2] [3]) that is intended to provide personalized access to educational information and services anywhere and at any time in a synchronous and asynchronous mode. The article discusses some characteristics and methods of implementation of different levels of interactivity defined by Nathan Shedorff in [1] - feedback and control, productivity and creativity, communication and adaptation through the stages of modeling, and construction and real application of the first versions of the system. The authors share their experience in the development and implementation of personalized interactive services and resources used for students from the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics at the University of Plovdiv Paisii H...

WebNet, 1999

This paper reports on the results and future research work within the paradigm of Configurable Collaborative Distance Learning, called Espacios Virtuales de Apredizaje (EVA). The paper focuses on: (1) description of the main concepts, including virtual learning spaces for knowledge, collaboration, consulting, and experimentation, a "multi-book" (i.e., a personalized electronic book), and use of agent-based tools; (2) agents in EVA, including the multi-agent environment of personal education (e.g., Internet and filtering, collaboration, personal advisor, evaluator, and group monitor agents), multi-agent planning, and agents for virtual laboratories; (3) a unifying framework for agents in EVA, including the Agent Communication Channel Router, Agent Management System, and Directory Facilitator; and (5) the LAN/ATM (Local Area Network/Asynchronous Transfer Mode) hardware platform developed for the EVA environment. (Contains 23 references.) (MES) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.

This paper presents the model and applications of the AdapTIVE (Adaptive Three-dimensional Intelligent and Virtual Environment) in several domains, such as learning and entertainment. The AdapTIVE is a virtual environment which has its structure and presentation (spatial organization) customized according to users' interests and preferences. This reorganization is based on the user and contents models, that can be automatically updated by the system. An intelligent agent assists users during the navigation in the environment and retrieval of relevant information. We present the potential application of the AdapTIVE to create highly interactive environments to Distance Learning, E-Commerce and Games.

Proceedings of the 28th Annual International Computer Software and Applications Conference, 2004. COMPSAC 2004., 2004

This paper presents an intelligent virtual environment, called AdapTIVE (Adaptive Three-dimensional Intelligent and Virtual Environment), which has its structure and presentation customized according to users' interests and preferences (represented in a user model) and in accordance with insertion and removal of contents in this environment. An automatic content categorization process is applied to create content models, used in the spatial organization of the contents in the environment. An intelligent agent assists users during navigation in the environment and retrieval of relevant information. This is a promising approach for new and advanced forms of education, entertainment and e-commerce. In order to validate our approach, a case study of an e-commerce environment is presented.

2003

www.ihmc.us This paper contains a description of a network-based, Learning Environment Organizer entitled LEO, which takes its impetus from the Assimilation Theory of meaningful learning [1]. LEO represents a new approach to computer-mediated augmentation of face-to-face, or hybrid courses, and a different approach to distance learning course delivery. LEO provides the learner with a graphical advance organizer for the course, links to instructional content, various completion criteria for topics, and a visual representation of student progress. The organizer is non-linear in the sense that it maps only those prerequisites that are necessary for any given topic, creating many potential paths through the material. LEO is part of a software suite entitled “CmapTools ” that provides a unique method of knowledge modeling or instructional content structuring. LEO can be used to organize CmapTools-type knowledge models or any other online instructional content. This work presents a descri...