Early Mechanical Systems
The possibility of intelligent machines have been discussed for centuries. Blais Pascal created the first calculating machine capable of mathematical functions in the 17th century simply called Pascal's Calculator. At this time the mathematician and philosopher Leibniz envisioned machines capable of reasoning and applying rules of logic to settle disputes (Buchanan, 2006). These early works contributed to the development of the computer and future applications.
The concept of intelligent machines for instructional use date back as early as 1924, when Sidney Pressey of Ohio State University created a mechanical teaching machine to instruct students without a human teacher. His machine resembled closely a typewriter with several keys and a window that provided the learner with questions. The Pressey Machine allowed user input and provided immediate feedback by recording their score on a counter.
Pressey himself was influenced by Edward L. Thorndike, a learning theorist and educational psychologist at the Columbia University Teacher College of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Thorndike posited laws for maximizing learning. Thorndike’s laws included the law of effect, the law of exercise, and the law of recency. Following later standards, Pressey’s teaching and testing machine would not considered intelligent as it was mechanically run and was based on one question and answer at a time, but it set an early precedent for future projects. By the 1950s and 1960s, new perspectives on learning were emerging. Burrhus Frederic "B.F." Skinner at Harvard University did not agree with Thorndike's learning theory of connectionism or Pressey's teaching machine. Rather, Skinner was a behaviourist who believed that learners should construct their answers and not rely on recognition. He too, constructed a teaching machine structured using an incremental mechanical system that would reward students for correct responses to questions.
Read more about this topic: Intelligent Tutoring System, History of ITS
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