Abstract :
It is of course very difficult to accurately project important characteristics of
the future state of any rapidly evolving field, and the field of authoring systems
for computer-assisted instruction (CAI) is no exception. However, strong trends
in evolving CAI systems of today would seem to indicate some important
characteristics of the software systems underlying tomorrow’s automated
instructional systems. Under the premise that formfollows function, this paper
will explore the functional impetus of some of the most important trends
extant in terms of their roots in a powerful, emerging technology of instructional
design. This technology promises to complement the advancing hardware
and software technologies, by supplying that sine qua non of successful
instructional materials. It is inevitable that systems of the future will make
(and indeed are making) significant accommodations of this vital technology
as it matures, and therefore some important characteristics of tomorrow’s
systems can be predicated upon what is already known of this technology of
instructional design
