Open Corpus Adaptive Educational Hypermedia

Despite the fact that adaptive hypermedia techniques have proven their ability to provide user guidance and orientation in hyperspace, we do not currently see the widespread adoption of these techniques. A couple of reasons may explain this phenomenon. One of them is the current lack of re-usability and interoperability between adaptive techniques/systems, which – to some degree – originates in the so-called “open corpus problem” found in adaptive hypermedia. In this article, we analyze this problem in a popular arena: adaptive hypermedia systems with an emphasis on education. The origins and effects of the open corpus problem are discussed, and recent approaches are demonstrated that have – in one way or the other – developed as strategies for solving the open corpus problem. We summarize these findings and discuss how solution strategies can be successfully employed in the future, enabling adaptive hypermedia techniques within open, dynamic information spaces, such as the Semantic Web.