Abstract. In this paper we present an Adaptive Educational Hypermedia prototype, named INSPIRE. The approach employed in INSPIRE emphasizes the fact that learners perceive and process information in very different ways, and integrates ideas from theories of instructional design and learning styles. Our aim is to make a shift towards a more “learning-focused ” paradigm of instruction by providing a sequence of authentic and meaningful tasks that matches learners ’ preferred way of studying. INSPIRE, throughout its interaction with the learner, dynamically generates learner-tailored lessons that gradually lead to the accomplishment of learner’s learning goals. It supports several levels of adaptation: from full system-control to full learner-control, and offers learners the option to decide on the level of adaptation of the system by intervening in different stages of the lesson generation process and formulating the lesson contents and presentation. Both the adaptive and adaptable behavior of INSPIRE are guided by the learner model which provides information about the learner, such as knowledge level on the domain concepts and learning style. The learner model is exploited in multiple ways: curriculum sequencing, adaptive navigation support, adaptive presentation, and supports system’s adaptable behavior. An empirical study has been performed to evaluate the adaptation framework and assess learners ’ attitudes towards the proposed instructional design.

: This paper focuses on issues of representation and interaction styles that are relevant considerations in the design and analysis of hypermedia learning environments. The representational issues discussed are: analogical representations vs. fregeian representations, multiple representations vs. single representations and replete representations vs. minimal representations. In terms of interaction styles found in hypermedia, we discuss constrained vs. unconstrained and exploratory vs. constructive approaches. Supporting examples from studies carried out to investigate some of the issues discussed are used by way of illustration. The paper concludes by discussing the cultural influences that are impeding the effective use of non textual representations as primary communication media. The purpose of this paper is to outline several concepts and ideas relating to the analysis and design of learning environments, particularly those of the hypermedia variety. The paper is not meant to pr...

. Hypermedia can be used to support problem solving by presenting the user with a manipulable representation of the problem space. In this paper, we present a study of problem solving activities in a hypermedia representation of a theorem proving problem. The users interacted with a system called HUGH&ME (based on an earlier system called HUGH) which presented users with two representations simultaneously (one text based and one diagrammatic). The representations were such that any operations carried out on one representation were automatically carried out on the other. The paper describes a quantitative analysis of user activities, and a qualitative analysis of users' responses to questions asked during the session. The motivation for changes made to HUGH to produce HUGH&ME are discussed, and comparisons between certain results in the HUGH&ME study and those obtained from the HUGH studies are made. The paper concludes by discussing the need for hypermedia based tools to support expres...

: The authors have been involved in a project to build an open hypermedia system known as Microcosm. This paper examines the reasons why hypermedia has made so little impact on teaching in higher education. The open hypermedia system, Microcosm is introduced, and an experiment to use the system to support the teaching of SML as a first language is described. 1 The Development of the Use of Hypermedia in Education Hypermedia has for some time been proposed as an adjunct to printed material within the educational process. However, large scale implementation of such material in any educational setting has yet to materialise, which implies that there are still barriers to the extensive use of hypermedia in education. These may be summarised as follows: 1.1 Authoring is non-trivial Typically academic staff are already heavily burdened with administrative duties, and although many may initially be enthusiastic about using hypermedia, it is only realistic to recognise that they may be det...