A web-based intelligent tutoring system teaching nursing students fundamental aspects of biomedical technology

Abstract

Abstract-In this paper, we present the architecture of a Web-based Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) for distant education of nursing students in fundamental aspects of the most common medical equipment. It offers course units covering the needs of users with different knowledge levels and characteristics. It tailors the presentation of the educational material to the users' diverse needs by using AI techniques to specify each user's model as well as to make pedagogical decisions. This is achieved via an expert system that uses a hybrid knowledge representation formalism integrating symbolic rules with neurocomputing. Keywords -Intelligent Tutoring Systems, health care technology I. INTRODUCTIONThe introduction of new technologies in health care, can be seen as improved diagnosis and treatment as well as increased efficiency of the services involved. At the same time, however, the implementation of these new improved technologies, introduces concerns about trained personnel and imposes new demands for tools and methods for their overall management. The support services, for biomedical technology, address a variety of technical and administrative issues, concerning the safe and efficient operation of medical equipment over the period of its intended use. Health care technology is our first line of defence against any disease. Health care professionals such as nurses have to be familiar with the most common medical equipment used in health care units. Educational programs already include courses with the fundamental aspects of the proper care and safety of medical instruments [12] In this paper, we present the architecture of a Web-based ITS for teaching the use and safety aspects of health care technology. The system is addressed to nursing students or health professionals. It includes course units covering the needs of users with different knowledge levels and characteristics. The system models the users' knowledge state and skills. Based on this information, it constructs lesson plans and selects the appropriate course units for teaching each individual user. The functionality of the system is controlled by an expert system based on neurules, a type of hybrid rules integrating symbolic rules with neurocomputing [6], [7]. Fig. 1 depicts the basic architecture of the ITS. It consists of the following components: II. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION• the domain knowledge, containing the structure of the domain and the educational content. The educational content refers to the following main chapters: magnetic resonance, computed tomography, nuclear medicine, electro-medicine, ultrasound, anesthesia systems, radiographic systems, medical informatics, lasers and intensive care systems. Each chapter concerns specific equipment. For each piece of equipment primary learning items involve its structure, its manipulation and internationally recognized safety standards.• the user modeling component, which records information concerning the user, • the pedagogical model, which encompasses knowledge regarding various pedagogical decision...

MetaEdu: A New Framework for Future Education

“…To tackle this challenge, early research efforts have been devoted to Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS), where AI techniques are used to mimic human tutors that know what and how to teach and whom they teach. As stated in a recent survey [3], the long history of productive research of ITS has resulted in successful applications in various domains, such as education [4], military training [5], and healthcare [6], and more work continues to appear. Early ITSs are often described as "homework helpers", where a set of generalized or specific hints is provided upon learners' requests [7].…”

MetaEdu: a new framework for future education

“…To tackle this challenge, early research efforts have been devoted to intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs), where computational intelligence methods are used to mimic human tutors. As stated in a recent survey [3], the long history of productive research of ITSs has resulted in successful applications in education [4], military training [5], and healthcare [6], with even more work still ongoing. Early ITSs are often described as "homework helpers", where a set of generalized or specific hints is provided upon a learner's request [7].…”

A unique, culture-aware, personalized learning environment

“…The collaborative approach [38] compares the behavior of similar learners and which items the use, the content-based [38] approach examines the characteristics of the items a learner used in the past. The third approach is the hybrid approach [25], which is a combination of the aforementioned.…”

“… The degree of self-regulated learning [1]  Reaction to Bonus / Badges  Need for help or feedback [25]  Number of Logins  Need for Control [28], [43]  Number of tries per task [22]  Received grades [22]  Exercises already made [22] B. Domain model The domain model contains the content or knowledge that is to be taught, as well as the relationships between the content elements. These elements could be created by a lecturer, a fellow learner or could even be imported from common data sources e.g.…”