The application of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to the design of personal learning environments is an enterprise of both theoretical and practical interest. In the short term, the process of developing and testing intelligent tutoring programs serves as a new experimental vehicle for exploring alternative cognitive and pedagogical…

This report describes the development of a computer based system designed to train electronic troubleshooting procedures. The ACTS uses artificial intelligence techniques to develop models of student and expert troubleshooting behavior as they solve a series of troubleshooting problems on the system. Comparisons of the student and expert models…

This paper studies the relationship of artificial intelligence (AI) to the study of language and the representation of the underlying knowledge that supports the comprehension process. It develops the view that intelligence is based on the ability to use large amounts of diverse kinds of knowledge in procedural ways, rather than on the possession…

A human tutor must have a plan of instruction, but be able to deviate from the plan when the student behavior calls for changes. This paper presents observations of human tutors and describes the FLOW tutor system, a computer-based simulation of a human tutor that is capable of giving advice to a student learning a simple computer language. The…

This paper describes the philosophy of intelligent instructional systems and presents an example of one such system in the domain of manipulative mathematics--BLOCKS. The notion of BLOCKS as a paradigmatic system is explicated from both the system development and educational viewpoints. From a developmental point of view, the modular design of…

The paper surveys the major projects on the understanding of natural language that fall within what may now be called the artificial intelligence paradigm of natural language systems. Some space is devoted to arguing that the paradigm is now a reality and different in significant respects from the generative paradigm of present-day linguistics.…

NLS-SCHOLAR is a prototype system that uses artificial intelligence techniques to teach computer-naive people how to use a powerful and complex editor. It represents a new kind of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) system that integrates systematic teaching with actual practice, i.e., one which can keep the user under tutorial supervision while…

Using survey research methodology in rating "believability" of computers, this study concludes that English Canadians tend to find computers more credible than do French Canadians. The two variables that affected the subjects' attitudes were an affectively positive awareness of the computer's pragmatic abilities and an affectively…

A collection of articles from "Scientific American" magazine has been put together at this time because the current period in computer science is one of consolidation rather than innovation. A few years ago, computer science was moving so swiftly that even the professional journals were more archival than informative; but today it is…

The Automated Computer Science Educational System (ACSES) has been developed at the University of Illinois for the purpose of providing improved education for the large number of students taking introductory computer science courses. The major components of this system are: a library of instructional lessons, an interactive programing system with…

Several models for problem solving are discussed, and the idea of a heuristic frame is developed. This concept provides a description of the evolution of problem-solving skills in terms of the growth of the number of algorithms available and increased sophistication in their use. The heuristic frame model is applied to two sets of physical…

The most value laden of futures issues are raised by contemporary biological research. Current biological research has reached the point where we must now ask such questions as: What should be the nature of the human in the future? Who should make these decisions? How should humans interact with the universe? The problems and possibilities of the…

The first section of this paper deals with the attempts within the framework of transformational grammar to make semantics a systematic part of linguistic description, and outlines the characteristics of the generative semantics position. The second section takes a critical look at generative semantics in its later manifestations, and makes a case…

This report summarizes a research program in modeling human communication ability. The methodology involved selecting a single, naturally occurring dialogue, instructing a human observer to extract certain aspects relative to its comprehension, and then using these aspects to guide the construction and verification of the model. The model assumes…

This report is part of ongoing research engaged in transforming knowledge of how human communication works into improvements in man-machine communication of existing and planned computer systems. The methodology includes having a trained "Observer" annotate transcripts of human communication in a prescribed manner. One of the issues,…