Unit: 5 Smart Tutor: Combining Smart Books and Peer Tutors for Multi-media On-Line Instruction

At the Brooklyn College Learning Center, they have created an on-line tutoring system to alleviate the pressure from the growing demand for help. The development of an interactive website that offers information about on-campus learning center programs and selected tutoring services on-line, serves as an alternative support system for students that might not be able to use the center in person. This program (SmartTutor), “is a multi-media educational technology based on the SmartBooks system first developed more than a decade ago” (p. 129). It uses the technique of concept mapping to meet the needs of students who have different levels of understanding of course content. The idea behind concept mapping is that it provides links between different information and allows the user to navigate through “complex domain specific material in a non-linear fashion” (p. 128). The order that this system is navigated is entirely up to the user, creating their own way of covering the material. For this technology to work well, it must be constantly updated and possess a plethora of domain knowledge to facilitate learning for each student. The goal of this program is to “provide all with access to the best possible content, and to provide an alternate path for students who may otherwise be too intimidated to seek help” (p. 130). The author reminds the reader that the effectiveness of a system like SmartTutor relies on a number of individual participants. Students, tutors, faculty and computer experts all contribute to the success of a program like this. Evaluation and formal testing has provided them with insight on what improvement needs to be made to continue the success of the SmartTutor program.

I applaud the Brooklyn College Learning Center for trying to reach the needs of their students. The SmartTutor project is a creative way to facilitate learning through the use of technology. I appreciate the fact that they addressed the issue that this program was not intended to replace instructors or tutors, but to assist students who are having trouble and need extra help. The author states, “The aim of the SmartTutor system is to capture and mimic the knowledge and the experience-based intuition of the effective teacher” (p. 130). This explanation is great, as long as we continue to stress that words “capture and mimic” and not use replace. I was particularly intrigued by some of the new features that were in the process of development, like self-tests based on the particular path the navigator has chosen, and keeping track of and storing the students most frequently asked questions and providing links to answer them. Another strength of this system is that it provides the best answers to all users, where as some peer tutors are not equally qualified in their abilities, providing a discrepancy in the level of help offered to the student.

Kopec, D., Whitlock, P., & Kogen, M. (2002). Smarttutor: Combining smartbook and peer tutors for multi-media on-line instruction. iNEER, p. 1-5.