IEEE Adaptive Instructional System (AIS) Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Introduction

Hi and Welcome to the Adaptive Instructional Systems (AIS) Technical Advisory Group (TAG) blog site... as a member of the AIS TAG, this is where you will be receiving news on the AIS TAG meetings and the development of a concept of operations for an AIS consortium... below is the text for the point paper that went out to the IEEE Learning Technologies Standards Committee (LTSC) membership on 24 August 2020. The point paper serves as an introduction to the impetus and motivation for the AIS TAG.

IEEE Adaptive Instructional System (AIS) Technical Advisory Group (TAG)

Robert A. Sottilare, Richard Tong, Avron Barr & Robby Robson

INTRODUCTION

This point paper discusses the proposed formation of an IEEE AIS TAG as a subgroup under the Learning Technologies Standards Committee (LTSC). AISs are commonly defined as artificially-intelligent, computer-based systems that guide learning experiences by tailoring instruction and recommendations based on the goals, needs, preferences, and interests of each individual learner or team in the context of domain learning objectives.

The impetus for this proposal arose from the AIS community and specifically from participants at the HCII AIS Conference held virtually in July 2020. This brief covers information about the AIS TAG’s relevance to LTSC and the instructional community, the potential benefits of such an advisory group, and recommendations for its purpose, intended outcomes and operations.  Our intent is to create an AIS Consortium that is a rally point for AIS stakeholders (e.g., researchers, developers of products and services, technology integrators, and users in classrooms, school districts, colleges, and enterprise training programs for the military and industry) to enhance AIS capabilities and promote the benefits of tailored instruction through AIS technologies (tools and methods).

RELEVANCE TO IEEE AND LTSC

The AIS community continues to gain momentum through research, product & services, and standardization activities. The LTSC currently sponsors an AIS Standards Working Group under Project 2247 which has three active, approved project authorization requests (PARs) and one pending PAR on AIS ethics. The AIS community established an annual AIS conference in 2019 as part of the annual Human Computer Interaction International multi-conference. AIS technologies provide effective instructional solutions in the education and training marketplace. Yet there is growing momentum to provide a coordinating organization to holistically represent the AIS community and its multiple dimensions.   

The purpose of the AIS TAG is to plan the formation of a consortium of industry, academic and government members who mutually support the development of affordable, practical adaptive instructional solutions. AIS technologies make the learning process more effective, efficient and fulfilling for all learners: pre-K learners, K-12 learners, adult learners, socially or economically-disadvantaged learners, and learners with physical and cognitive disabilities. AIS technologies will be extensible to a broad variety of instructional domains including cognitive, physical, and collaborative tasks, and conditions including mobile, desktop, classrooms and extended reality (XR) environments (e.g., real, augmented, mixed, and virtual reality).

INTENDED BENEFITS OF THE AIS CONSORTIUM

An AIS TAG would form the basis for a consortium of members with common interests and a network of collaborators to influence AIS capabilities in the marketplace for the benefit of AIS consumers. Toward this goal, the AIS TAG and follow-on consortium’s mission would be to:

·        Educate consumers and stakeholders - develop a global presence to highlight the benefits and capabilities of AIS technologies (tools and methods) through technical demonstrations, published papers, proposals, presentations and public events

·        Lower accessibility barriers for current/potential users - pursue opportunities to enhance AIS capabilities and accessibility to AIS technologies for user barriers (e.g., physical limitations)

·        Enhance opportunities for reuse – influence AIS interoperability standards and recommended practices to promote reuse and thereby increase consumer options and decrease capability costs

·        Promote open source AIS capabilities - identify opportunities to transition AIS capabilities to the public domain

CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS OF THE AIS TAG

The long term forum, an AIS Consortium, will evolve from the AIS TAG.  This section addresses concepts of operations or normal business practices for the AIS TAG along with targeted affiliations & partnerships. The AIS TAG will schedule regular monthly meetings to develop its vision and business plan for the ensuing AIS Consortium. Beginning in October 2020, monthly online meetings are scheduled for the 3^rd Thursday of each month at 10am eastern time. Information about meeting access will be posted to the AIS TAG Blog -  https://aistag.blogspot.com/

In addition to monthly meetings, the TAG chair will engage the current and potential stakeholders through surveys. The data will be used to help define the consortium’s mission, scope, primary goals, value propositions for various stakeholders, guiding principles, timelines, and targeted affiliations and partnerships. After its deliberations, the TAG will deliver the Consortium’s name and its target audience, mission, scope, governance structure, financial plan, and funding options. The TAG will also consider how the new Consortium might affiliate with the IEEE and other organizations.

Conference affiliations offer opportunities to gather and focus on challenges and progress (e.g., new and emerging capabilities, new research results) that are relevant to the AIS community. One ready-made affiliation opportunity is through the HCII AIS Conference (annually in July or August). As the conference venue shifts between locations in Europe and North America each year. This exposure enables a broader AIS stakeholder base to participate in the future AIS Consortium than a typical static venue. COVID-19 has also had some impact on the accessibility of conferences with a shift to a more virtual or hybrid live and virtual format. Additional conferences that may be natural alliances to the AIS TAG and Consortium include: AI in Education (AIED) Conference (annually in July; shifts between Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific locations); AI in Adaptive Education (AIAED) Conference (annually in May); Intelligent Tutoring System Conference (annually in June); and International Training Technology Exhibition & Conference (IT2EC – annually in May; typically in Europe).

There is a natural partnership opportunity between the AIS TAG (focus on technology and consumers) and ICICLE (focus on learning engineering) as there is a large intersection of stakeholders in both of these communities. Additional partnerships may also be possible with government organizations, industry members and social entities such the Gates Foundation, the Chan-Zuckerberg initiative or the Schmidt Family Foundation. These types of partnerships may be enablers to pursuing AIS Consortium goals including open source software development and accessibility enablers for AIS users with limitations.

INFORMATION, REQUESTS & QUESTIONS

We encourage your participation in the discussion and hope you will support the approval of the AIS TAG at the September 2020 LTSC monthly meeting.

If approved, we also encourage you to participate in AIS TAG (October 2020 – March 2021). Please signup for the AIS TAG at: https://forms.gle/96BuBvJWCZktebhN9. You do not have to be an IEEE member to participate in the AIS TAG. AIS TAG news will be available at: https://aistag.blogspot.com/

Please refer any questions about the AIS TAG to Bob Sottilare at bob.sottilare@ieee.org.

Thank you for your attention and we are looking forward to working with the AIS TAG membership.