BehSys Anal: An artificially intelligent hypermedia resource library for descriptive behavioral research

Abstract

The advancement of computer technologies, particularly the development of hypertext and interactive video, has presented to the academic community a new and effective tool for teaching and learning. An application of these technologies led to the concept of a hypermedia resource library-a set of integrated interactive computer modules that allow the user to browse and study topically specific content in a unique way. Such modules electronically present textual, graphic, and realtime video materials that instruct and quiz the user, offer a means for computer-based laboratory experimentation and data analysis, and provide statistical evaluation of the user's progress. This paper will focus on the technology of computer-based hypermedia and the specific concept within. this context of the artificially intelligent hypermedia resource library. 180Psychology, as with most academic disciplines, is typically taught in a linear fashion that progresses topically to higher and higher degrees of detail and specialization. Thus an introductory psychology course will typically include a survey of specialized topics, including learning, personality, social psychology, developmental psychology, physiological psychology, perception, cognition, and so forth. Upper-division courses are similarly recognizable by their more in-depth introduction to these same topics and include full courses on learning, personality, social psychology, and so forth. Advanced undergraduate and graduate courses offer more detail on these same topics, although they sometimes focus on subtopics within the main topic, for example, aggression as a subspecialization of social psychology.Almost all teachers working within such educational curricula have, over their careers, developed their own personal collections of resources that support their teaching of these different levels of topical specialization. Teachers may have favorite films, slides, and overhead transparencies they use in the introductory course to supplement various lectures and reading assignments, including readings in the primary text and those assigned and/or recommended that supplement the text. In advanced courses, teachers may rely on more specialized secondary readings, such as a topical introductory text plus personalized collections of primary readings that illustrate pet concepts or points of interest. At this level, films and other audiovisuals are more specific and tailored to the advanced topical interests and elaborations. Teachers typiResearch and program development reported in this paper were funded in part by NSF-ILl Grant USE-8952419. Correspondence should be addressed to R. D. Ray. Rollins College. Department of Psychology, 1000 Holt Ave.-27f1J, Winter Park, FL 32789; e-mail: rdray@rollins.Copyright 1992 Psychonomic Society, Inc.cally strive to maintain and update personalized libraries of the various teaching resources they wish to keep at their fingertips to meet their instructional needs.With the increasing availability and sophistication of personal computers, the dev...

Evaluation of instructional software: Design considerations and recommendations

“…Real-time replay captures writers' keystrokes and replays them in real time. Ray and Mitchell (1992) have developed BehSys Anal, a HyperCard-based resource library with the capability of recording the user's search strategies and choices. The authors plan to obtain a large database and examine variables such as feedback, self-pacing, associative paths, and so forth.…”

A behavioral systems approach to adaptive computerized instructional design

“…Such networks reflect a learner's developing knowledge and skill base, and may be used for tutorial advising during student use. Ray and Mitchell (1992) have previously described the goals and functions of an artificially intelligent, computerized system of multimedia teaching/learning resources that could be used in selective instructional and research environments. Their artificially intelligent multimedia resource library concept derives from a recognition that most teachers bring together a wide variety of resources, including a primary text, supplemental readings, lecture notes, media illustrations, and structured student activities, to help them in their teaching.…”

“…Ties to the emphasis ofbehavioral systems analysis on structural, functional, and operational principles (Ray & Delprato, 1989) were detailed by Ray and Mitchell (1992), but details about software-or content-design implications of the systems approach with respect to programmed instructional applications were lacking. The present paper addresses these deficiencies both conceptually-by detailing how modern behavior principles may be used to guide adaptive programmed instructional content and presentation decisions-and proceThe software authoring system MediaMatrix, described in this article, is owned and copyrighted by Learning Applications, Inc., and is available for preview at nominal cost, by contacting the author.…”

Using HyperCard and Apple events in a network environment: Collecting data from simultaneous experimental sessions

“…HyperCard has become a popular tool for researchers and teachers, who value its hypertext capabilities and the relative ease of programming in the HyperTalk language. This authoring software, supplied with every Macintosh computer since 1987, has been used to construct a variety of computer-based applications, such as a courseware stack on subjective contours and visual illusions (Dougherty, 1990); a hypermedia resource library for behavioral research (Ray & Mitchell, 1992); interactive tutorial stacks on person perception and attribution theory (petty & Rosen, 1991); tools for producing CAL software (Levidow, Hunt, & McKee, 1991;Martin & Growney, 1992); experiments in cognition (Tversky, 1990); administration of a blockdesign task (Martin & Wilcox, 1989); preparation, administration, and analysis oftests and surveys (Geisler-Brenstein & Brenstein, 1989); administration of figural tests (Schuldberg & Nichols, 1990); and research on topics such as problem solving (Blaye, Light, Joiner, & Sheldon, 1991;Carter & Walsh, 1992;Quinn, 1991), text processing (Nason & Zabrucky, 1988), response modality in a digitspan task (Martin & Allan, 1991), and tutoring systems (Lee, 1992). The range of tasks to which HyperCard has been applied is a testimonial to both the flexibility of the program itself and the ingenuity of its users.…”