A Pedagogical Ontology as a Playground in Adaptive Elearning Environments

The support for teaching and learning with semantic technologies and intelligent knowledge processing has been approached by four concepts: programmed instruction, adaptive learning environments, intelligent tutoring systems, and educational recommender systems. While the demand for automated support in teaching and learning is estimated as high, the use of developed systems is observably low. With reference to educational theories, this paper argues that one reason for this is an overestimation of the possibilities of such systems. Considering the limitations of automated systems in human communication as a constraint, a pedagogical ontology as a description language is proposed that opens up an educational playground for teachers and learners.