INTRODUCTION
PUBLICATIONS
LINKS
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My research interests are focused along two paths:
Computational Linguistics, also called Natural Language Processing, has to do with enabling computers to process and produce the kinds of natural language utterances you and I use on a daily basis, as opposed to interacting with us only through the restricted, artificial languages we have designed for programming.
User Modeling is the practice of designing systems that track their users' actions, creating a model of the user's skills, knowledge, intents, or beliefs.
These areas intersect in my work with the development of Intelligent Tutoring Systems to aid classroom instruction, particularly in the field of Second Language Acquisition. These systems are also called Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) systems.
My dissertation work was focused on the ICICLE project at the University of Delaware. ICICLE stands for Interactive Computer Identification and Correction of Language Errors. The idea behind the project is the desire to enable a computer program to examine the writing of a student and help him or her fix the grammatical errors in it.
On the Wheaton campus, I have been developing the King Alfred system, a collaboration with Professor Michael Drout in the English department. King Alfred is a CALL system for students learning Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon). This system aids students in their translation practice by providing both hints and a "scratch pad" for noting down information as they decode the original sentence.
The following students have helped to make King Alfred a reality:
- Nathan Pierce, Computer Science Minor, class of '04
- Joe Lavoine, Computer Science Major, English Minor, class of '06