Title: Ontologiccal Issues on Computer-based Training
Authors: Lai JIN, Mitsuru IKEDA, Riichiro MIZOGUCHI, Yoshiyuki TAKAOKA, Kenji HIROBE
Reference: PRICAI-95 Workshop , 1995

Abstract: The idea that the next generation computer-based training (CBT) systems should incorporate many innovative concepts in the acquisition, representation, and management of expert knowledge and common-sense knowledge is now widely accepted among the researchers. The system which we call Smart Trainer is a CBT system including a set of simulators for facility of electric power systems. The development of Smart Trainer is partly motivated by the need for a powerful authoring system of Intelligent CBT systems. We think the specification authoring systems should be clarified in many viewpoints, for example, what role each component should play, to what extent the knowledge-bases should cover, to what degree of the fidelity of cognitive model should be pursued, and so on. In knowledge engineering, the research on a system of the concepts appeared in the domain of a knowledge-based system, called メontology engineeringモ[Mizoguchi, 1995], attracts much attention of AI-researchers. So, to put the goal of the Smart Trainer in other words, we have been aiming at clarifying the ontology of CBTsystems from the knowledge engineering viewpoint. The expected advantages of explicit representation of ontology and its use are summarized as follows.

1. 1. Because the ontology plays a role as fundamental scheme for authoring the contents, it provides authors with a right viewpoint for organizing training tasks of interest.
2. 2. Because the functionality realized in a certain CBT system is explicitly specified by the ontology, the author can fully understand its capability in terms of human friendly primitives.
3. 3. Once the educational knowledge and the contents of training tasks are organized under the ontology, they can be shared among authors.
4. 4. The behavior of CBT can be self-explanatory in terms of ontology. In addition, it can be justified by the first principle behind the CBT ontology.
5. 5. Because the functionality of CBT is represented in a right level of abstraction, it is easy to replace an out-of-date component of the system with one of the latest style.

In this paper, as a preliminary step to CBT ontology design, we briefly explain the principle behind the Smart Trainer. Let discuss little more generally about ontology and intelligent educational systems(IES) before going to CBT ontology.

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