The Semantic Web is the next evolution of the World Wide Web (WWW), offering new technology solutions for developing and presenting instruction. The key enabling technology supporting the Semantic Web is ontologies. A new WWW Consortium (W3C) standard, the Web Ontology Language - OWL, is used to encode ontologies for the Semantic Web. OWL can be used to represent and structure procedural knowledge for use in job aid delivery systems. By auto-authoring procedural instruction in real-time based on current conditions, development costs are reduced and just-in-time training can occur.
This paper describes the results from a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) research effort to develop ontologies and software to auto-author procedural Interactive Multimedia Instruction "on-the-fly" from disparate Semantic Web knowledgebases. The job aid delivery system dynamically selects content using specific user conditions when instruction is needed. This capability is enabled through the use of OWL-encoded procedural knowledgebases. The content is formatted based on pedagogical rules that take into consideration the end user's form factor and delivery mechanisms including user interface issues (e.g., screen real estate). Sample demonstration content has been developed for Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians responsible for handling Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).