This thesis describes a formal model of a subtype of humour, and the implementation of that model in a program that generates jokes of that subtype. Although there is a great deal of literature on humour in general, very little formal work has been done on puns, and none has been implemented. All current linguistic theories of humour are over-general and not falsifiable. Our model, which is specific, formal, implemented and evaluated, makes a significant contribution to the field. Punning riddles are our chosen subtype of verbal humour, for several reasons. They are very common, they exhibit certain regular structures and mechanisms, and they have been studied previously by linguists. Our model is based on our extensive analysis of large numbers of punning riddles, taken from children's jokebooks. The implementation of the model, JA PE (Joke Analysis and Production Engine), generates punning riddles, from a humour independent lexicon. Pun generation requires much less world knowle...

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A critical issue for intelligent tutoring systems is whether knowledgeable diagnosis and feedback offers instructional benefits compared with less knowledge-intensive instructional methods. The effectiveness of different instructional methods is examined in a device operation task: setting a VCR to record a program. Four tutoring simulations use different instructional approaches emphasizing specific types of knowledge. The possibility of acquiring this knowledge is manipulated by increasing opportunities to interact with the simulation and by explicitly providing knowledgeable diagnosis and feedback. Eighty novice adults were randomly assigned to the four tutors for training. Planned comparisons of learner achievement indicate greater learning with knowledgeable diagnosis and feedback, compared to correctness feedback. Analysis of variance to detect predicted linear trends shows increased instructional effectiveness across versions. Results are not simply a function of differences in training time. They support the contention that knowledgeable diagnosis and feedback can offer benefits over other instructional methods.

. The paper discusses issues to be considered when evaluating an Intelligent Learning Environment. In particular it considers problems that may arise when using rigorous experimental methods and the usefulness of informal techniques. It advocates the frequent use of informal in-depth studies on prototypes during the development of a system to reveal problems with the ILE in use and to raise general issues applicable across ILEs. In particular it is claimed that student interaction with a novel ILE is very likely to include unexpected and unpredictable aspects that can only be revealed and thus accommodated by such studies. Introduction Whenever one describes work in Intelligent Learning Environments (ILEs) one can rightly expect to be asked how the work has been evaluated. Although there are many methods of evaluation available, implicit within such requests there is often an expectation of a rigorous, formal, experimental, controlled, summative evaluation (hereafter referred to as con...

This paper describes a formative evaluation of the advice generator of an intelligent learning environment for novice users of a GUI. 20 human tutors participated in this procedure. The human tutors had to answer theoretical questions about their way of generating advice. In addition, they were asked what they would advise learners, in real life examples, which were acquired by a previous empirical study. Their answers were compared to the responses generated by the learning environment. As a consequence, improvements were made to the system based on the evaluations’ conclusions. 1.

. In this paper we describe the evaluation of a personalised information system for patients with cancer. Our system dynamically generates hypertext pages that explain treatments, diseases, measurements etc related to the patient's condition, using information in the patient's medical record as the basis for the tailoring. We describe results of a controlled trial comparing this system with a non-personalised one. The results of the trial show significant results concerning the patients' preferences for personalised information. We discuss the implications of our evaluation and results for the development and evaluation of future personalised systems, and adaptive hypertext systems in particular. Key words: Empirical evaluation, tailored explanations, healthcare, dynamic hypertext, information systems, language generation This paper has not been submitted elsewhere in identical or similar form, nor will it be during the first three months after its submission to UMUAI. 1. Introduction...

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Evaluation of intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) is an important area of research in current educational practices. There are many evaluation methods available but the literature does not suggest any clear guidelines for an evaluator – normally an educator – which methods to use in particular contexts. This paper proposes a classification of evaluation methods to simplify the selection task. The classification is based on two primary questions relating to the target of evaluation and learning environment in which the evaluation would be pursued. The classification is hoped to help in improving quality of computer based education by providing a practical and to the point way of selecting the appropriate evaluation methods for intelligent tutoring systems.

Abstract – The transfer of methodologies common in libre (free, open source) sofware development to the domain of educational resources can radically change the way educational content is developed and used, enabling both educational practitioners and students to become actively involved in its creation and distribution. New software architectures and tools are needed to effectively support this process. This paper describes a platform aimed to support the creation of free, collaboratively constructed educational content on the web, which has been developed within the Edukalibre project. It provides easy access to core technologies: a control version system combined with conversion tools to produce several convenient formats for each document. Its modular architecture offers many different interfaces to the users. The Edukalibre platform is

. The development of the UIUC Virtual Spectrometer (UIUC-VS), an interactive, Java-based simulation and tutoring system, is discussed. The system utilizes the apprenticeship model of learning to create a learning environment for the study of a one-proton nuclear resonant magnetic (NMR) experiment. The development of a learning environment is driven by the goal of linking theoretical knowledge with practical operational experience. Active, exploratory, apprentice-style learning is supported via modes of operation within the system. The student can flexibly choose to "observe the expert" perform and explain operational steps, or "act as an apprentice" and carry out the steps autonomously. The student can switch between these modes at their discretion, giving the student control of the level of intervention by the system. In addition, the student can explore and reflect on an "information space" of object designations, procedures, and related concepts. The UIUC-VS project is an extension ...