Preface
Peter Brusilovsky
Ian Beaumont
Hypertext/hypermedia systems and user-model-based adaptive systems
(i.e. intelligent tutoring systems, information retrieval systems)
are most often considered as being two different approaches to
browsing information spaces and interface organisation. Adaptive
hypertext and hypermedia systems (AHSs) attempt to bridge the gap
between these approaches. AHSs enhance classic hypermedia with an
intelligent agent which supports a user in her work with hypermedia.
The intelligent agent can adapt the content of a hypermedia page to
the user's knowledge and goals or suggest the most relevant links to
follow. AHSs avoid the 'unrelevant adaptation' problem of classic
adaptive systems by providing space for user-driven adaptation. And
AHSs avoid the 'lost in hyperspace' problem of classic hypermedia
systems by providing intelligent guidance.
The goal of the workshop was to provide a forum for the comparison of
research experience in the development of adaptive hypermedia systems
and for the discussion of several important topics centered around
adaptive hypermedia. Foremost amongst these topics were:
- 1. Do we really need adaptive hypermedia systems?
- Opponents hold that the very
idea of hypermedia is that different users can adapt the hypermedia
based system to their own needs, while the system itself should
remain static.
- 2. What can be adapted in adative hypermedia.
- Several
ways of adaptive presentation support and adaptive navigation support
were put up for discussion.
- 3. How the hypermedia can be adapted?
- What types of user models and what adaptation techniques can be used.
The papers presented at the workshop and gathered in this volume
range from position papers centering on the above topics to
descriptions of implemented systems which have in some way confronted
the adaptivity problem in hypertext systems. Brusilovsky's paper
serves as an introduction and overview. Those of Beaumont and of Kay
and Kummerfeld present teaching systems using hypertext. The domain
of the former is brain anatomy, while that of the latter is
programming in C, both systems being intended for university use. De
Rosis, De Carolis and Pizzutilo present an approach for adaptive
hypertext explanations in application systems. Zeilinger discusses
the re-implementation of a standard CAL application (with user model)
as a hypermedia system. Mayfield presents a system using a semantic
net substructure for hypertext offering possibilities for adaptation
to the user. The papers of Dufresne, Mathe and Chen, and Nill each
describe a general approach to the problem.