Illustrating an ideal adaptive e-learning: A conceptual framework

Advancement in Internet and multimedia technologies has positively influenced the efficient use of e-learning environments. While removing the time and space limitations created a convenient learning environment for e-users, having a diverse audience ( different goals, knowledge levels, backgrounds or learning capabilities) forced the designers of e-learning systems to create adaptive and flexible e-learning environments with the potential of improving the learner performance. Although e-learning systems with adaptivity functions have been developed to solve these flexibility problems by changing the presentation of materials to suit each individual user, they do not satisfy all adaptive related needs in theory and application. Therefore, more research and framework are needed to be able to use e-learning environments efficiently as an alternative to traditional ones. This study illustrates potential functions of an ideal adaptive e-learning with their definitions and practices. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.