The accidental tutor: overlaying an intelligent tutor on an existing user interface

Abstract

Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs) have been shown to have dramatic impact on student learning [9]. However, these gains have been mostly in topics in which the interface has been designed with the intelligent tutor in mind. This research investigates the HCI challenges that result from creating two model-tracing ITSs for use with existing interfaces. We describe overlaying a tutor on an image-editing program and a web-based application. We highlight three main HCI challenges: 1) integrating a problem scenario in the context of the existing application, 2) providing learners with appropriate feedback during task performance, and 3) allowing learners to explore the interface while making sure they complete the task.