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An open-source management system of Web-based teaching interventions is presented that can be used in general for science curriculum courses and especially for computer science courses. The proposed solution is called System of Teaching Intelligent Interventions (STII) and facilitates the authoring, deployment, and evaluation of Web-based metaphors. This paper discusses the use of metaphors for assisting students to comprehend the substance of cognitive concepts and their basic background. STII has been applied in a particular educational scenario during the learning process of 228 students attending the course "computer applications." The presentation of results from a pilot evaluation of two metaphors demonstrates the usefulness of the system. The evaluation focuses on the impact of the two metaphors on student learning, and on detecting potential correlations between metaphors and students' groups. STII evaluation conclusions strongly support that multimedia metaphors can be used as an alternative instructional tool to assist students in confronting their cognitive constraints and developing functional understanding of curriculum courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The broad acceptance of mobile technology has undoubtedly created new opportunities in communication. The proposed environment attempts to enhance the information flow among the members of a department and, furthermore, to provide a test-bed mobile Web application for students undertaking Internet technologies courses. The key ideas are to support the educational process to provide auxiliary access to educational information sources, such as announcements, course schedules, grades, and user directory details. As a second system integration step, additional mobile Web services were introduced, such as application forms of the department's administration office, project assignment, and discussion groups. Technological evaluation and students' feedback indicate that the proposed solution is both efficient in communication perspective and effective for student involvement in the mobile Web initiative. Future steps include multimedia messages (MMS) integration and third-generation (3G)-based information delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]