Intelligent Agent–Supported Online Education

With the development of Internet technologies, online distance education is becoming an important format for teaching, learning, and instruction. In the 21st century, bleeding edge technologies make it possible for more and more students, especially adults, to benefit from an online education. This new paradigm in education allows students to pursue a second or third degree without sacrificing their jobs. Despite the advances in technology, existing online course management systems are far behind in the technological applications needed to deliver the highest quality online education. The existing distance education systems do not give enough consideration to many important issues, like personalization, mobility of students and instructors, and coordination among online study groups, which seriously affect further development of online education. This article discusses the potential applications of intelligent agents and other modern technologies to solve these problems and make online education more accountable in the open and dynamic environment.