Towards interactive and collaborative online learning environments: Tutoring at a distance online with text-based conversational agents

As theories of learning have evolved and practices of learning have changed, pressure has been exerted on learning technologies to keep pace in the way they support learners. Collaborative and socially based learning in particular, have directed learning technology development. The utilization of conversational agents can turn learning from a passive into an interactive act, but results have been mixed. Advances in adaptability (user supported modifications) and adaptivity (automatic change in response to a situation) can provide a wider variety of learning support. Drives and demands (pedagogical, instructional and operational), required of adaptive interactive learning technologies, to create a successful interactive collaborative online learning environment are discussed. Approaches to create interactive and collaborative online learning environments, using conversational agents to complement instruction in open distance education, are described. We conclude by exploring the potential impacts in the near future, of adaptation as part of the learning system's functionality, on learning experience.