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User modelling in help systems

  • Student Modeling
  • Conference paper
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Computer Assisted Learning (ICCAL 1990)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 438))

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Abstract

The User Modelling component of a shell for building Intelligent Help Systems (IHS) is described. An IHS helps users of interactive computer programs in accomplishing their tasks and within that context understanding of the specific application. Like other Intelligent Tutoring Systems, IHSs need to model the knowledge of the users concerning the target domain, i.c. a specific application. This User Model in EUROHELP as a data structure is nothing special: an overlay of the Domain Representation, augmented with a bug library. The focus of the paper is on the maintenance of the model by the User Modeller, which performs three functions: (1) Modelling learning, (2) modelling forgetting, and (3) checking the User Model. The first two functions are described, based on cognitive theories of human learning and memory. The last function is necessary because of the uncertain and yet experimental results of the first two models.

A prototype User Modeller exists and will be tested and tuned against empirical data of human learners of the Unix text editor Vi.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Computer Science & Law, University of Amsterdam, Kloveniersburgwal 72, 1012 CZ, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

    Radboud Winkels

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  1. Radboud Winkels
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Douglas H. Norrie Hans-Werner Six

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© 1990 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Winkels, R. (1990). User modelling in help systems. In: Norrie, D.H., Six, HW. (eds) Computer Assisted Learning. ICCAL 1990. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 438. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0020879

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0020879

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-52699-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-47111-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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