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4.3 Educational Technology from a System’s Perspective 75

interface features, some recent systems have incorporated natural language inter-
action, speech recognition, and the sensing of learner emotions (Robert et al.,
2013).

Extended Reading
Here is an example of an interaction model involving Microsoft products that
most have probably used. In Microsoft Word, the interaction model supports
the conceptual model of users’ putting a piece of paper into a typewriter and
typing. It also happens to have a lot of features that enable users to format a
page and content in almost any way they can imagine. But that interaction
model sits at its core. With Microsoft Excel, the interaction model reflects the
conceptual model of accountants’ working with accounts in ledgers that
contain rows of entries and columns of numbers and show a balance. Excel
has additional features that make it a much richer experience than creating a
spreadsheet on paper. But at its core is an interaction model that all users can
internalize quickly. The interaction model for Microsoft PowerPoint reflects
the conceptual model of users’ writing on a sheet of transparent plastic, then
placing it on an overhead projector—for those of us who are old enough to
have actually seen this! The interaction model for each of these products is
very different, yet each, in itself, is very clear.

The Typical Example of ITS
AutoTutor is an intelligent tutoring system developed by researchers at the Institute
for Intelligent Systems at the University of Memphis in 1997. The goal was to help
students learn physics, computer literacy, and critical thinking using an intelligent
tutorial (Graesser, Chipman, Haynes, & Olney, 2005).
AutoTutor is a computer tutor that helps students learn by holding a conversation
in natural language (AutoTutor, 2018). It has produced learning gains across
multiple domains (e.g., computer literacy, physics, critical thinking). Three main
research areas of AutoTutor are: human-inspired tutoring strategies, pedagogical
agents, and technology that supports natural language tutoring.

Key Points in This Chapter

(1) A system is defined as a set of elements standing in interrelation among
themselves and within an environment.
(2) A system can be described in terms of five basic elements: the various com-
ponents comprising a system; interactions among the components of a system;
the environment in which the system exists; inputs from the environment to
the system; outputs from the system to the environment.
(3) An education system includes four elements of inputs, process, output, and
environment.