TOPIC 13.
Development or Adaptation of Innovative Technologies
to Assess and Teach Higher-Order Reading
and Comprehension Skills:

• to Secondary Students in Grades 9 through 12; and/or
• to Adult Learners Who Have Less Than a High School Diploma

• On-Line Resources for Teaching Higher-Order Reading and Comprehension Skills
• Prototyping and Testing of SALLY, an IT System to Advance Lifelong Literacy

SPONSORING OFFICE:
Office of Vocational and Adult Education

Abstract:
Seward Leaming Systems (SLS) , with consultants from the University of Minnesota , proposes to develop and conduct initial field testing of a searchable website containing Scaffolded Reading Experiences (SREs) for fiction and non-fiction texts that are widely used in secondary schools. The SREs will be specifically designed to promote deep and lasting understanding of the texts and to teach secondary students the higher-order reading and comprehension skills necessary to reach this level of understanding.

During Phase I the initial website and a sample set of six (6) SREs will be developed and the product field tested with a diverse group of secondary teachers. We will gather data about the website, its usefulness, ease of use, the SREs themselves, their usefulness and ease of use, and ways in which we can improve the product.

Summary of Anticipated Results and Implications:
Phase I research will yield information on the usability, perceived value and effectiveness of an on-line resource for teachers to assist in teaching higher-order reading and comprehension skills to secondary students in grades 9 through 12. Specifically, anticipated results, implications and potential commercial findings from Phase I are:

• Secondary school teachers will find our web-based resources (Scaffolded Reading Experience (SRE) lesson plans) easy to use and effective.

  Ease of use for the website refers to teachers' ease in navigating within and between components, and in orientating their attention to appropriate material within a component. Ease of use will be determined through observations of participants using the product and responses to a questionnaire.

  Effectiveness refers to the dissemination of SREs to teachers who, in turn, use them in their classes. Further, it may include the perception of the value of the SREs in affecting attitude and achievement among students in those classes. This will be determined through questionnaires and interviews.

• Guidelines, derived from the feasibility test, will shape further development of the website and on-line resources in Phase II.

  A prototype will be produced, along with feasibility findings to assist us in obtaining a commercialization partner.

  The successful implementation of the Phase I product during the feasibility test will demonstrate the value of supporting the Phase II development and Phase III commercialization activities.

Abstract:
A team of curriculum specialists, technology specialists, university based computer scientists and technical experts led by the women owned business, Tutorbots™ will collaborate to that utilizes intelligent tutoring systems, artificial intelligence and 3D character animation to produce the Tutorbots™ . The project will use natural language processing, neural networks and fuzzy logic software developed at Stanford University that enables student to engage in real time, conversations as the Tutorbot facilitates the student's acquisition of higher order reading skills.

During Phase 1, Tutorbots™, Inc. will create an intelligent tutoring prototype, named SALLY (System to Advance Lifelong Literacy) that contains domain specific content designed to assess and teach higher-order reading and comprehension skills to secondary students in grades 9 through 12. SALLY will appear as a virtual character who converses with learners in one-on-one in natural language. She can manipulate Web content, stimulate critical thinking and adapt her assistance to the learner's needs. She can maintain records of the student's achievement and provide feedback and remediation techniques. These lifelike pedagogical agents can create rich, face-to-face learning possibilities for students.

Summary of Anticipated Results and Implications:
While still in the experimental stages, it is anticipated that the Tutorbot™ will be able to demonstrate complex tasks, uses movement and gestures, and convey emotional responses. Animated pedagogical agents offer great promise for increasing students motivation and engagement in the learning activity. Funding from the Small Business Innovation Research Program will enable Tutorbots, Inc. to create, deploy and beta test SALLY . Based on user feedback and both qualitative and quantitative measurements as defined in our evaluation rubric, the authoring shell and SALLY will be refined.

It is anticipated that the results of Phase I of SALLY's development will be that the many issues surrounding the deployment of an intelligent tutoring system will be researched and resolved. After alpha testing, the program will be introduced on the Tutorbots.com website for demonstration to the field and beta testing with high school students who have been identified as needing to improve their higher order reading skills.

The revolutionary implications for the Tutorbot extend beyond the field of education. Applications in industry, business, health, and government are being deployed. Intelligent agents can be used for training, website hosts, online sales representatives, customer service, and product description devices. In the health field, there are adaptive learning guides being developed that can monitor a patients health at home.

Since an ITS is built with artificial intelligence have the capacity to reason, learn, understand and solve problems, it is plausible to characterize them as a "personal tutor." Theoretically, the Tutorbot™ will be able to identify a student's weakness, strengths, and style of learning. The system can process information, recognize patterns of behavior, identify misconceptions and establish a plan of instruction.

[Topic 12] [Topic 14]