JEvents

 

Meta Project Goals: Since I first saw a painfully simplistic working example of Psychologist B.F. Skinner's "Programmed Instruction" displayed on a terminal connected to an IBM 360-40 mainframe in 1964, I have wanted to contribute to much more educationally useful forms of distance learning.  As I learned more about "artificial intelligence" (AI) in computer science classes in the 1980s, I also became acquainted with leading "thought leaders" in the Silicon Valley of the time, such as Dr. John Seely Brown and others, who predicted the advent of what we now call "Intelligent Tutoring Systems".  I have tracked the progress of the relevant software technologies from then to date and improved my technical knowledge and skills in those areas as well.

Therefore, the projects I propose on this web-site will demonstrate practical designs, prototypes, and ways to achieve "generations 2 & 3+" of Web 2.x and Web 3.x (semantics-aware systems) of combinations of emerging and to-be-developed advanced open source distance learning and intelligent tutoring system software tools.  For the non-technical reader, "we" (the world of Internet users) are at the Web 2.0 stage as of the end of 2009.  In this expert's opinion, VERY much needs to be improved in what is available commercially and as free open source for distance learning that carries the "web 2.0" label.  And projects published in summary and in-detail on this web site will demonstrate and explain those improvements for non-technical educators, administrators, and for computer technical people as well.

Interestingly, the EOE I proposed at the end of my formal Dept. of Education work period in 1998 has not been implemented in the public domain for 12+ years.  In short: The EOE is intended to integrate disparate (heterogeneous, otherwise not "friendly" or not-inter-operating) commercial and free open-source server systems of similar function.  Please see my essay-style, white-papers and public design overviews of the EOE design available elsewhere on this web-site.

The research I performed with Dept. of Education funding, 1997-1998, led to too many good ideas about how this field of distance learning technologies and what was then called "computer assisted learning" might evolve.  With post-grant financial help from my "mentor", VP of ana-systems, Inc., Mr. Stan Osborne, I further developed these ideas 3/4 to full-time into projects for which I could then prepare more concrete discrete proposals for grants.  Mr. Osborne is a long time computer contract programmer and systems administrator and a lecturer in computer security and computer systems administration at San Francisco State University.