A New Approach to Computer-aided Distance Learning: The 'Automated Tutor'

One aspect of the Open University Business School's new course on 'Knowledge Management' is the student's exploration and use of new technologies. These include asynchronous dialogue via e-mail, synchronous dialogue via an on-line tutorial application, and an interactive software tool which guides students through specific tasks - 'The automated tutor'. This paper examines the 'automated tutor'. It explores the background to the automated tutor, describes the automated tutor, provides some technical information, reports on the positive findings of two large scale pilot runs, and places the automated tutor within the context of a new theoretical framework for computer aided distance learning.