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Cognitive Tutors have been successful in raising students' math test scores in high school and middle-school classrooms, but their development has traditionally required considerable time and expertise. With the Cognitive Tutor Authoring Tools (CTAT), creating Cognitive Tutors is both easier for experts and possible for novices in cognitive science. The tools draw on ideas of programming by demonstration, structured editing, and others.

Project News

CTAT 3.0 Released December 14, 2011

CTAT version 3.0 is now available for download. This is a major release for CTAT. It's the first release with ActionScript 3.0 versions of the Flash components (see {CTAT}/Flash/CommComponentsAS3.mxp).

Release notes to come!

CTAT 2.12 Released August 18, 2011

CTAT version 2.12 is now available for download. In addition to the changes listed below as part of CTAT 2.12 Beta, the following features have been added (as well as many bug fixes):

  • A new checkbox on the mass production dialog, "Table file was edited with Microsoft Excel", enables CTAT to handle Excel artifacts in tab-delimited files such as "" (two quote marks) and surrounding quotes on fields.
  • The authoring tools will now warn you when you try to create a start state with no interface connected.

CTAT 2.12 Beta Released August 2, 2011

After a long period offline, CTAT is now available again. CTAT version 2.12 beta is available for download. This release includes the following changes:

  • All Java widgets have been renamed. Instead of Dormin as a prefix, it's now JComm (e.g., JCommLabel, JCommChooser).
  • DorminWidgets.jar is now ctat.jar
  • We performed a major cleanup in our Java code, resulting in a smaller JAR file size.
  • When using CTAT, the tutor type (e.g., Example-tracing or Cognitive Tutor (Jess)) is saved to and loaded from the BRD file
  • New function for use in Jess matching: lhs-predict-oa (left hand side predict observable action). This can be used to improve the efficiency of slower Jess tutors. The logic tutor example has been updated to use this function.

CTAT 2.11 Released March 28, 2011

CTAT version 2.11 is available for download. This release includes the following new features and Flash components:

  • Revised logging preferences and new channels for logging
  • On exiting the tools, CTAT no longer prompts you to save your behavior graph file if you haven't modified it.
  • New Flash components: CommCalculator, CommDragNDrop, CommEquationSolver, CommFractionBar, CommGrapher, CommHideableHintWindow, CommVideoPlayer
  • The CommShell has been optimized to be faster and smaller in size, and its visual style has been moved out into other components.

Read more in the release notes, or download CTAT.

Call for Applications - 7th Annual PSLC LearnLab Summer School March 25, 2011

To be held at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA July 25-29, 2011.
The application deadline is April 3, 2011. If you're interested in learning how to author tutors with CTAT, please consider applying.

CTAT 2.10 Released September 23, 2010

CTAT version 2.10 is available for download. This release includes the following new features and Flash components:

  • Variable Table Viewer, a new tool for viewing and inspecting variables in example-tracing tutors. It can be used to assist in writing formulas and to view variables while setting the start state (useful for Flash tutors).
  • NtpClient: Flash tutors now log a custom field with each transaction that stores the time as provided by the server using the Network Time Protocol (NTP) standard.
  • New functions for use in formula matching
  • New Flash components, CommPieChart and CommLabel
  • Logging for untutored actions
  • Updated Jess rules for fraction addition cognitive tutor example

Read more in the release notes, or download CTAT.

CTAT 2.9 Released June 14, 2010

CTAT version 2.9 is available for download. This release is primarily a bug-fix release, but also includes some new features for the authoring tools and Flash components.

  • Changed the state-triggered TPA algorithm so that hintless optional steps don’t prevent a TPA from being triggered
  • CTAT can replace a student's correct input on a step with an expression you define. You can use this feature to simplify a mathematical expression for the student.
  • Smaller “Edit Student Input Matching” dialog
  • Many improvements to the CommNumberBar Flash component, including a new partition type that allows the student to subdivide each whole-number portion of the line into fractional parts.

Read more in the release notes, or download CTAT.

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