Computer-aided learning in artificial neural networks

This paper describes the development and evaluation of a computer-aided learning (CAL) package for a graduate course in artificial neural networks (ANNs). The package has been evaluated over a period of two academic years, both as an educational supplement to a conventional lecture course and as a completely self-sufficient, remotely taught course. The course is accessed via the World Wide Web (WWW). The course features Java applets for animation/demonstration purposes, employing the MATLAB computational engine for interactive examples and assignments. In an effort to provide a classroom-like environment, an interactive discussion forum is provided, along with weekly lecture summaries from the conventional lecture course. Automatically marked question pools are available for self-assessment.