SBIR Phase I: I-MINDS: Intelligent Multiagent Infrastructure for Distributed Systems in Education

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目提出了一种创新的多代理技术，称为分布式教育系统的智能多代理基础设施(I-Minds)。在这个系统中，代理通过适应不断变化的课堂环境和学生行为，以及通过更好地分析教师在不同分辨率下的课堂状态，来沟通和协调他们的行动，以帮助支持他们所服务的学生和教师。因此，i-Minds支持学生之间的合作学习，帮助教师管理实时课堂活动，并促进实验，从而更好地理解教与学。在由i-Minds培养的基于互联网的教室中，互动的质量将接近以前只有在直播的“同步”教室中才能达到的质量。I-Minds将用于改善高等教育和企业培训中的远程学习和教学，方法是建立一个智能软件代理系统，相互交流经验并为教师和学生提供合作支持。拟议的项目将使i-Minds从令人鼓舞的概念验证阶段进入探索者和原型阶段，为充分开发和商业化铺平道路。该项目的目标是通过使用技术，改善在线大专教育和培训中的学与教。该项目的目标包括(1)将结构化合作学习嵌入到I-Mind中，以进一步支持协作学习环境；(2)为I-Mind的认知功能和规模化部署提供必要的可扩展性和安全性。第一个影响预计将是拥有不同背景和抱负的毕业生，他们为进入自己选择的职业做好了更好的准备，并对他们作为社会公民将面临的问题做出了明智的决定。预计第二个挑战是丰富在线教育工具和提高基于互联网的教室的质量，以更好地服务于快速增长的在线和远程教育细分市场。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes an innovative multiagent technology called the Intelligent Multiagent Infrastructure for Distributed Systems in Education (I-MINDS). In this system, the agents communicate and coordinate their actions to help support the students and instructors that they serve by adapting to changing classroom environments and student behaviors and by better analyzing the status of a classroom at different resolutions for the instructor. Thus, I-MINDS supports cooperative learning among students, assists instructors in managing real-time classroom activities, and facilitates experimentation leading to a better understanding of teaching and learning. The quality of interactions in Internet-based classrooms fostered by I-MINDS will approach that previously attained only in live, "synchronous" classrooms. I-MINDS will be used to improve distance learning and teaching in post-secondary education and corporate training through a system of intelligent software agents that communicate with each other to exchange experiences and to cooperatively support instructors and students. The proposed project will move I-MINDS from an encouraging proof-of-concept phase to a pathfinder and prototyping phase, paving the way for full development and commercialization. The project goal is to improve both learning and teaching in online post-secondary education and training--through the use of technology. The project objectives include (1) embedding structured cooperative learning into I-MINDS to further support the collaborative learning environment, and (2) providing the scalability and security necessary for the cognitive functions and scaled deployment of I-MINDS.The broader impact of this project is twofold. The first impact is expected to be graduates with diverse backgrounds and aspirations who are better prepared to enter their chosen careers and to make knowledgeable decisions about issues they will face as citizens of society. The second one is expected to be the enrichment of online educational tools and the improved quality of Internet based classrooms to better serve the fast growing market segment of online and distance education.