Optimizing Instruction Using Adaptive Hypermedia

Abstract

How do you optimize instruction in an adaptive hypermedia learning environment? We believe instruction is optimized when adaptivity is grounded in good instructional design. To respect diverse talents and ways of learning, our cyclic approach to instructional design is the basis upon which inference techniques can be applied to continuously adapt instruction according to learning behavior and performance. We define an individual's learning behavior in terms of how they interact with the environment (i.e links activated, pages visited, time spent, and frequency of visits). This paper describes the OctoPlus cycle and presents results of an experiment comparing two groups interacting with OctoPlus-formatted tutorials: a control and an adaptive group, to whom adaptive navigation, presentation and content features were added over time. Results indicated reduction in time spent for the adaptive group with comparable performance in the fully adaptive tutorial.

Students’ Online Interaction Styles: Can They Change?

“…Individual learning styles include the cognitive, affective, and psychological traits that students reveal when interacting with, perceiving, and responding to others (Keefe, 1979). Individual learning styles play a major role in the way students learn and process information in computer-mediated learning environments (Assis, Danchak, & Polhemus, 2006;Ford & Chen, 2000;Riding & Cheema, 1991). This finding and Keefe's definition of learning styles lead us to believe that individual learning styles are static characteristics (Assis, Danchak, & Polhemus, 2006;Pena, Marzo, & Rosa;, which are fixed and do not change during a learning process.…”

“…Individual learning styles play a major role in the way students learn and process information in computer-mediated learning environments (Assis, Danchak, & Polhemus, 2006;Ford & Chen, 2000;Riding & Cheema, 1991). This finding and Keefe's definition of learning styles lead us to believe that individual learning styles are static characteristics (Assis, Danchak, & Polhemus, 2006;Pena, Marzo, & Rosa;, which are fixed and do not change during a learning process. In addition, because individual learning styles affect and determine individual learning preferences (Louange, 2007), most people believe that individual learning preferences are also static and fixed.…”