Chan, T.W. (1995). Artificial Agents in Distance Learning. International Journal of Educational Telecommunications, 1(2), 263-282. Charlottesville, VA: AACE.
Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/15163.
International Journal of Educational Telecommunications
ISSN 1077-9124
Volume 1, Issue 2, 1995
Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE) Charlottesville, VA
Consider the graphical user interface of a distance learning system, the user could click on an icon of a personal assistant to find out if appropriate human peers are available on-line to form a collaborative team, or the user could choose to click on the icon of an artificial tutor or artificial learning companion to set forth learning in a simulated learning club. Agents emerged from diverse views but converge at seeking and building software programs that engage and help the end users. There are basically two types of artificial agents in distance learning: Participant agents that assume roles in participating protocols of learning activities and assistant agents that serve as personal assistants, intelligent tools, or surrogates on behalf of the end users in their absence. This paper attempts to introduce the idea of artificial agents, explore their potential uses in distance learning, and identify some of their problems.