Learning object oriented concepts by using intelligent tutoring systems

Learning object oriented concept is difficult, especially to the novice learners. They could not see the advantages of object orientation if they have not been taught appropriately. Therefore we need a new approach to teach these students. According to Bruhn and Burton [5] the most used visual method to teach students is the textbook. However, textbooks do not allow students to receive feedback or represent the practical steps necessarily to solve a problem. Research has shown that learning efficiency is increased if immediate feedback is provided for students and the most effective ways of teaching is through one-one interactions with students. Computer can be a very powerful and effective teaching and learning tool. Computers have been used in education since the early 1960s. Computer based training (CBT) and computer aided instruction (CAI) were the first such systems developed as attempt to teach using computer. In these kinds of systems, the instruction was not individualized to the learner's needs. The learner's ability was not taken into account. Intelligent tutoring system (ITS) is developing to solve drawback of previous systems. ITSs offer considerable flexibility in presentation of material and a greater ability to respond to idiosyncratic student needs. These systems achieve their "intelligence" by representing pedagogical decisions about how to teach as well as information about the learner. This allows for greater versatility by altering the system's interactions with the student. Intelligent tutoring systems have been shown to be highly effective at increasing students' performance and motivation. In this paper, four main components of ITS and their functions in ITS will be identified. The design of an ITS for learning object oriented concepts will be described in details. Some technologies used for implementation of this system will also be discussed such as text-to-speech. At the end of this paper, evaluation of the developed system will be conducted and shows some future developments of the system.