Evaluating authoring tools for teachers as instructional designers

The REDEEM authoring environment was developed to allow educators with no programming knowledge to design learning environments (simple Intelligent Tutoring Systems) for their students in a time-effective manner. The success of this approach depends on two key factors. Firstly, on the extent to which the authoring tool is usable by its intended author population (classroom teachers, university lecturers, adult trainers), and secondly, whether the resulting systems are effective at supporting learning. In this paper, a five year program is reviewed that evaluated the extent to which REDEEM has met these goals. The conclusion of the research is that in many ways REDEEM has exceeded the initial expectations for it, but that improvements to its design could further enhance its functionality.