An Expert System Construction Approach to CAI Development

Abstract

Computer-assisted itZStruction (CAl) has long been used to facilitate teaching and learning in academic institutions. The slow growth in the we of CAl can be attributed to a number of factors. Paramount among these are the lac* of in!elligence in most traditional CAL and the lack of very high-level programming tools which aiiow experienced teachers to develop quality courseware quickly and comparatively inexpensively. This paper describes a prototype expert system construction environment for developing CAl programs having an expert system architecture. With such an environment, the development of a CAl program would entail merely the construction of a knowledge base for a subject domain. Examples are used to highlight certain features of th£ underlying CAL Such an expen system approach to CAl development is cost-effective, and :.he underlyir.g CAl i'.as innovative applications in the educational arena and can forgo some of the drawbacks oftraditirJJ1al CAL (