SBIR-STTR Award

Most existing authoring tools for computer-assisted instruction do not facilitate reuse, do not provide mechanisms for adapting the lesson to the student, and require authors to program low-level details of a lesson. Recentresearch has suggested that the object-oriented (OO) paradigm can benefit lesson authoring. However, the absence of a formal OO lesson authoring methodology is hindering the success of the OO approach to lesson authoring. To address this problem, we propose an innovative OO methodology for authoring adaptive computer-based lessons. The methodology will facilitate reuse between and among lessons and will provide specific support for adapting lessons based on student feedback. An innovative tool for authoring adaptive computer-based lessons using the methodology is also proposed. The proposed work will benefit NASA's mission-operations support in the area of training, by facilitating the rapid development of adaptive tutoring and training systems and by decreasing the effort necessary to develop such systems. We believe that a tool based on a robust OO lesson authoring methodology has the potential to produce order-of-magnitude productivity gains for those involved in the development of computer-based training and tutoring systems.Commercial Applications:The application areas for computer-assisted instruction developed using theproposed methodology-based OO lesson authoring tool include: 1) employee training and re-training in industries which are down-sizing, 2) training and education in computer programming, hardware troubleshooting, etc. 3) primary and secondary education for home-based schooling 4) "virtual" higher education courses, and 5) military training dealing with aviation, health care, weapons systems, equipment maintenance, etc.