Virtual Teacher: Cognitive Approach to e-Learning Material

Boris Aberšek · Janez Bregant

Oct 2014 · Cambridge Scholars Publishing

About this eBook

Today in the age of technology, contemporary researchers from the fields of philosophy, cognitive science, neurobiology, and artificial intelligence ask many questions about the nature of the mind and body, originating in ancient Greek philosophy. Among those, are also questions about the relationship between humans and machines, and the implications this carries for solving traditional problems within philosophy. In this book, the term ‘machine’ is taken to refer to every system which, in the contemporary world, tries to make a task easier for humans, or even tries to replace the human altogether, such as a humanoid robot able to perform different physical activities, as well as various mental activities, like decision-making and problem-solving.

The volume makes the first step towards a connection between certain different disciplines involved in education. The gap between neurochemistry, cognitive science, neurobiology and other rapidly developing disciplines, on one side, and education as part of social sciences, on the other, currently appears to be great and even unbridgeable except by analogy, metonymy and metaphor.

From the experiences of recent years, it seems clear that the existing educational system, as a whole, is perceived as an ailing system that fails to meet the needs of a major portion of the society it serves. This book brings to attention a form of learning that transcends logic and rhetorical appeal. It defines appropriate architecture on the basis of cognitive science and methods of artificial intelligence, taking into account that a school system is a dynamical system which follows the dynamical systems theory. The volume shows how to build an intelligent tutoring system, and an intelligent teaching/learning system upon it. Through the use of intelligent tutoring systems, students are placed in an active role, as opposed to the passive role that they more or less have today.

About the author

Boris Aberšek has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Philosophy. He is Full Professor at the Faculty of Natural Science and Mathematics and the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor, Slovenia. He specialises in design, tribology, productional management, energetics and the didactics of science and technology education.

Bojan Borstner has a PhD in Philosophy. He is Full Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, Slovenia. His areas of interest are Philosophy of Science, Ontology, Philosophy of Religion and Philosophy of Nursing.

Janez Bregant has a PhD in Philosophy. He is Associate Professor at the Department of Philosophy at the Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, Slovenia. His areas of interest are Philosophy of Mind and Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence; his areas of competence are Philosophy of Art and Critical Thinking.