19 May 99
Corrie Bergeron

Steve [Tripp, 18 May 99] suggests that CBI is merely a series of action-response interactions. Not necessarily, though it's certainly the easiest way to do it. And in many cases, it's perfectly appropriate.

However, object-oriented design can provide a measure of realism well above that. User actions can change the state of objects in the system, in effect "remembering" the conversations. One example of this is PLATO Math Problem Solving, where a "coach" tracks the user's solution path and offers suggestions depending on the state of various objects and tools in the system. Another is Kpuala Village, an ethnographic-study simulation developed at Dave Merrill's lab. You interact with certain village folk, and depending on your choice of action, other villagers are more or less likely to cooperate with you.

These simulations are certainly more challenging to design than old-fashioned Skinnerian stimulus/response models, but for certain applications, it's worth the effort.

Corrie Bergeron, Senior Instructional Designer
The Graduate School of America
330 2nd Ave South, Ste. 550
Minneapolis, MN 55401

Phone: 888-879-6745 x 283
Fax: 612-339-8022
E-mail: corrie@itasca.net