Autonavigation, links and narrative in an adaptive web-based integrated learning environment

Abstract

The WWW is having increasingly profound effects upon education at all levels. When carefully implemented, web-based educational technologies can offer a cost-efficient means of maintaining teaching quality in the face of almost universally declining per capita resources. In this paper we will first examine the current situation with respect to technology-based learning, and highlight what we see as some of the key concerns with the current panoply. We will then go on to describe the major features and benefits of WHURLE, an experimental adaptive learning environment for the web. WHURLE is an XML-based system that stores educational content in atomistic constructs called chunks. Lessons are created, by educators, which provide a default pathway through the available chunks. This default narrative is adapted to the needs of individual learners by reference to their user profile. WHURLE also provides a robust linking system, and automatically generated navigation around the docuverse of the lesson.
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\nBy embodying a pedagogically sound design, we hope that WHURLE will address many of the deficiencies of most currently available integrated learning environments.