Computer-based learning in the environment of an intelligent learning system

This article presents a patent-protected intelligent interactive computer-based learning system developed by the author. The system is based on three important principles: the continuous monitoring of the learning process, the combination of the process of transferring educational information with the process of its fixation in the student’s memory, and the adaptation of the learning process to the student’s individual needs. The learning system is a set of computer applications. One part is located on the teacher’s computer. The students install other computer applications on their computer: a virtual interactive lecture and, if necessary, virtual laboratory works. The student uses these applications outside of the classroom, anywhere, and anytime. The core element of the learning system is the virtual interactive lecture. A high level of interactivity creates permanent feedback between the computer and the student. This allows the introduction of artificial intelligence elements to adapt the learning process to the individual needs of the student. The virtual lecture constantly evaluates the student’s work and modifies the learning process according to this evaluation. Teaching occurs without the teacher’s participation, and therefore, their teaching load can be reduced to 30 % of the planned workload. The efficiency of virtual interactive lecture is close to the effectiveness of learning with a personal teacher.IntroductionCurrently, epidemics and pandemics, such as COVID-19, are becoming more common, frequent and protracted phenomena. Therefore, there is a need for the mass teaching of students outside of the classroom, and using computer-based teaching methods is of particular relevance (Ivaniuk & Ovcharuk, 2020). The full-scale use of a computer can fundamentally change the organization of the educational process, adapt it to the individual needs of students and take a significant part of this process beyond the classroom. There is currently a conflict between the form and content of the educational process – between advanced teaching tools (computers and the internet) and outdated methods for transferring educational information. These methods change slowly. The form of the educational process is changing rapidly – a modern teacher uses an interactive whiteboard, a projector, a microphone, and multimedia. However, the methods of transferring educational information have remained unchanged for many years – a lecturer transfers educational information to an audience, after which it is applied in practical lessons. At the same time, the lecturer does not consider the student’s individual needs: the speed and method of assimilating new knowledge, the ability to abstract from external stimuli (classroom noise, neighbors’ activity), the degree of perseverance, or the rigid time frame. With feeble feedback between the lecturer and audience, the student is forced to take a passive position. The lecturer lacks control over each student’s comprehension of the material. (Dybkova, 2020, p.135). As Biggs & Tang (2011, p.63) have shown, the learner assimilates approximately 50 % of the information that he or she sees and hears. It is known that new information enters a person’s working memory. However, due to the lack of practical application at that time, some of the information received at the lecture is forgotten – an hour after the lecture, the student can forget up to 60% of the information received (Wikipedia contributors, 2024). The transfer of received information into long-term memory occurs during practical lessons, where it is restored and consolidated by practical application, where logical connections are created between the blocks of existing and new information. In the same work (Biggs & Tang, 2011, p.63), it was shown that 80 % of information is assimilated from what the learner sees, hears and uses at the same moment. The new information is transformed by students into their own new personalized knowledge through practical work (Kameneva, 2017, p.188). In the lecture, each new block of information is built on the foundation of the previous information. Therefore, if at some stage of the lecture, the student does not understand the transmitted information, he or she will later understand less and less. With traditional teaching methods, a lecture, where the student receives new information, and practical lessons, where it is transformed into new knowledge and fixed in the student’s memory, are often separated in time by considerable intervals of several days. Another disadvantage of the lecture is the insufficient visualization of new information. It is known that a person receives most of the information about the world around them through the visual channel. Visualization plays an important role in increasing the efficiency of conveying educational information and in understanding and assimilating educational material (Zatorskyi et al, 2017; Mazza, 2009, p.33). It is important that the student’s attention is not divided between the simultaneous understanding of visual information and the understanding of vocal information (Klochek & Baraniuk, 2019, p.27). Thus, the main disadvantages of traditional methods for transferring information in the educational process are the lack of consideration of individual students’ needs, insufficient visualization of the transmitted information (lack of dynamic graphics), and distancing in time between the process of transferring new information and the process of transforming it into new knowledge through practical use. This conflict can be resolved by computer-based learning. Being fully used, a computer can take over most of the teacher’s work, opening up new opportunities. The computer is capable of:transmitting educational information and controlling this process at the same time;controlling the assimilation of educational information by students;adapting the educational process to the individual characteristics of a student;making the most out of dynamic graphics.A high degree of interactivity in a computer-based learning application can create effective feedback between the computer and the student, which makes it possible to introduce elements of artificial intelligence to adapt the learning process to the learner and make this process as convenient for them as possible. Computer-based learning makes it possible to combine the process of transferring new information with the process of transforming it into new knowledge and fixing it in the student’s memory through practical work. In this case, the received information is used immediately in practice and is remembered better. The main ways of using a computer in the educational process are remote teaching via the internet, e-courses, and e-textbooks. Remote teaching makes it possible to work with a large number of dispersed students and to use advanced information technology. However, it also has significant drawbacks, since there is no direct contact between the teacher and the student, and intermediaries appear – their computers and internet connections. This requires additional actions on both sides, which distracts the participants from the educational process and complicates and slows down the transfer and assimilation of educational information. Currently, e-courses are widespread. These are usual lectures recorded on a data carrier (Vai & Sosulski, 2015). They provide an opportunity for learning beyond the classroom and surpass traditional lectures in some aspects, but they have major common problems – a complete lack of control over the learning process and a lack of feedback between teacher and student. However, the quality of assimilating new information depends on the quality of feedback (Ivanchuk & Kulchyncky, 2019; Senichenkov, 2021). In addition, the received information is not reinforced by practical work. However, new information becomes knowledge after the student has structured this information, comprehended it and is able to use it in the process of solving problems (Il’jasov, 1986, p.76). Practical work fixes the acquired knowledge in the memory of the student and creates the basis for acquiring new information. In e-textbooks, new information is presented to a learner in textual form, sometimes with subsequent training (Christochevsky, 2022). The disadvantages of this form of learning include all of the above, as well as the textual presentation of information. It makes the information difficult to perceive since the text requires additional mental effort to decipher and process it. In addition, it has been established that reading an electronic text is more tiring than reading an ordinary book (Kuchma et al., 2013). Another disadvantage of this form of conveying educational information is the lack of dynamic graphics. According to the author, the basic principles of computer-based learning are as follows:maximum visualization of the transmitted educational information;combine the process of transferring educational information with the process of its fixation in the mind of the student through practical work;maximum interactivity of the computer learning application. This makes it possible to use elements of artificial intelligence to control the learning process and adapt it to the individual needs of the student.This article aims to preliminarily evaluate the efficiency of using these principles in the currently developing computer-based learning system for individual learning outside of the classroom.Intelligent interactive computer-based learning systemThe methods under consideration for organizing the educational process are the basis for the developed intelligent interactive computer-based learning system (Zynovchenko & Garkusha, 2016). It is designed to teach well-established disciplines from the field of hard sciences (e.g., mathematics, physics, and electrical engineering), of which the content changes slowly. It includes several computer applications. The simplified structure of this learning system is shown in Figure 1.