IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies
Special Issue on :
** Real-World Applications of Intelligent Tutoring Systems **


The IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies seeks original manuscripts
for a Special Issue on Real-World Applications of Intelligent Tutoring
Systems scheduled to appear in the April-June issue of 2009.

Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) appeared during the 70's, most driven
by the success of Knowledge-based Systems and Expert Systems. ITS are able
to instruct and train students and professionals without the intervention
of human beings. ITS introduce a set of ideas like the domain knowledge
representation, most of times derived from a previous Expert System
project, allowing the possibility to reason and explain automatically on
domain problems. Developments were made in trainees' models, instructional
and pedagogical planning, and user interface. In the 90's, with the web
boom, some ITS ideas were incorporated in new computer-aided instruction
paradigms, like e-learning, distributed learning, and more recently in
learning objects. However there is a clear difference since these learning
concepts are more centred in the interaction with the instructor.

ITS are a good example of the use and combination of Artificial
Intelligence techniques. Besides expert systems, other areas like natural
language, machine learning, planning, multi-agent systems, ontologies,
semantic web, social and emotional computing have been used with success
in ITS.

On the last years ITS have experimented a meaningful development. Many
systems were developed and deployed, even for critical and complex
domains. The reported benefits experimented by the users of these systems
are impressive. ITS-taught trainees generally learn faster and translate
the learning into improved performance better than classroom-trained
participants. Today, ITS can be produced by authoring tools, and specific
evaluation and assessment methods can be used.

Papers submitted to this special issue must follow the criteria used by
IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies and defined by the nature of
this special issue, namely by covering the following mandatory items:
- presenting original research;
- offering a critical review of the state of the art in the field;
- illustrating the application of the described ITS in real-world cases;
- using Artificial Intelligence methods and techniques in the described ITS.

Submitted articles must not have been previously published or be currently
submitted for journal publication elsewhere. As an author, you are
responsible for understanding and adhering to our submission guidelines.

You can access them at
http://www.computer.org/portal/pages/transactions/tlt/mc/author.html.

The journal is now accepting submissions for this special issue through
Manuscript Central at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tlt-cs, which
provides instructions about formatting and length. If you have any
questions, please contact the Peer Review Associate Manager, Jennifer
Carruth, at jcarruth@computer.org or the guest editors at the addresses
listed below.

Important dates:
o 28 Dec. 2008: Deadline to submit a full paper.
o 15 Feb. 2009: Authors notified of acceptance, rejection, or needed
revisions.
o 1 Mar. 2009: Revisions due.
o 15 Mar. 2009: Notification of final acceptance.
o 22 Mar. 2009: Final versions due.

If you have any questions, please contact the editors of this special issue:

Carlos Ramos - Institute of Engineering / Polytechnic of Porto, Portugal,
csr@dei.isep.ipp.pt
Claude Frasson - University of Montreal, Canada, frasson@iro.umontreal.ca
Sowmya Ramachandran - Stottler Henke Associates, Inc., USA,
sowmya@stottlerhenke.com