Springer Advances in Intelligent Tutoring Systems: 308 (Studies in Computational Intelligence, 308)

May the Forcing Functions be with You: The Stimulating World of AIED and ITS Research It is my pleasure to write the foreword for Advances in Intelligent Tutoring S- tems. This collection, with contributions from leading researchers in the field of artificial intelligence in education (AIED), constitutes an overview of the many challenging research problems that must be solved in order to build a truly intel- gent tutoring system (ITS). The book not only describes some of the approaches and techniques that have been explored to meet these challenges, but also some of the systems that have actually been built and deployed in this effort. As discussed in the Introduction (Chapter 1), the terms “AIED” and “ITS” are often used int- changeably, and there is a large overlap in the researchers devoted to exploring this common field. In this foreword, I will use the term “AIED” to refer to the - search area, and the term “ITS” to refer to the particular kind of system that AIED researchers build. It has often been said that AIED is “AI-complete” in that to produce a tutoring system as sophisticated and effective as a human tutor requires solving the entire gamut of artificial intelligence research (AI) problems. From the Back Cover The idea for this book on Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) was sparked by the success of the ITS’08 international conference. The number of presentations and their quality bore witness to the vitality and maturity of the field, and the enthusiasm of the participants held out a promise of sustainability and innovative research. Long life to ITS research! The book is divided into five parts. The introductory chapters to these parts, which summarize foundations, developments, strengths and weaknesses in each of the areas covered, are addressed to all readers. For those who want more in-depth knowledge, we give the floor to researchers who present their work, their results, and their view of what the future holds. It is our hope that all readers will find the book informative and thought-provoking.