Future integrated learning environments with multimedia

Abstract

Recent progress in information technology 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 education field has gradually migrated towards the World-wide web, mostly under the slogan of free, accessible education, to and from anyplace, at anytime. This development triggered an important shift 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 are making use of increased bandwidths and integrating various media to enhance learning. Moreover, for obtaining learner-oriented, customised learning environments, intelligent tutoring techniques are being adapted and developed for the web. This paper presents these trends on one hand, but on the other hand, also addresses the dangers and pitfalls that such an avalanche of change can bring and stresses the task of ensuring that the real goal of enhancing and improving learning is not overlooked.