3DE: an environment for the development of learner-centered custom educational packages

Abstract

The usual approach for interactive multimedia courses is to build teacher or institution-driven 'commodity' courses. Better results can be achieved with courses customized for the requirements and needs of each learner. This is the approach of 3DE (Design, Development and Delivery-Electronic Environment for Educational Multimedia), a project aimed to define, design, and build personalized learning packages, tailor-made for individual learners. These custom courses are built from a library of micromodules worked out specifically for different learning styles. The goals are to improve the effectiveness of computer-based teaching and training packages, and to reduce the cost for the development of high-quality interactive multimedia educational packages, thanks to reuse of micromodules and the automated course assembly procedures. The environment include tools to analyze learning style preferences, competence, and educational goals in terms of final competence and skills.