Designing Adaptive Instruction in the context of Adaptive Educational Hypermedia Systems

In this paper we focus on adaptive instruction and especially on the educational perspective that should underlie the development of web-based Adaptive Educational Hypermedia (AEH) systems used for Internet-based distance education. A design rational and guidelines are proposed for adaptive instruction in the context of AEH systems, which unify several processes that formulate system’s adaptation such as structuring the domain knowledge, developing the content, planning individualised instruction and support, assessment, and learner control opportunities. The main aim of this approach is to incorporate a variety of pedagogical models and learning theories in order to accommodate the diversity needs and perspectives of learners and teachers. Paradigms of the way these guidelines have been implemented mainly in INSPIRE (INtelligent System for Personalized Instruction in a Remote Environment) as well as in other AEH systems, are provided. Finally results from an expert review of INSPIRE’s instructional design are also reported.