Adding Intelligence to Net-based Learning

Much attention is currently being focussed on the use of the World Wide Web as a delivery channel for teaching and learning. A significant problem with the Web as a learning environment is that it does not adapt to the needs of the individual learner. VALIENT is an attempt to add a degree of adaptability to the Web. VALIENT combines conventional Web-based delivery with what are termed Intelligent Learning Environments - virtual learning spaces for experiential learning. The intelligence in these environments is provided by a set of intelligent agents which monitor learner performance. By communicating with a custom servlet running on the Web server, these intelligent agents can cause web-based material to be presented to the learner that are adapted to that learner’s current learning requirements.