A Fully-Integrated Approach to Authoring Learning Environments: Case Studies and Lesson Learned

Contents

While the idea of using modular, interchangeable components in building authoring tools for Intelligent Tutoring Systems sounds quite appealing from a software engineering perspective, we’re skeptical about the educational validity of this idea, and of the implicit model of learning which underlies it. The mix and match approach is not theoretically neutral with regard to the questions of what really drives learning, and what are the central features of a learning environment. In this paper, we present an alternative approach to authoring learning environments, present 10 case studies of applications built using our authoring tools, and conclude with some reflections on lessons learned using our approach to date.