The HelpBot, A Multimedia Tool to Describe Computer Systems and Educate Their Users

The educational process for a computer system is not limited to the actual users; often there is a need to educate the funders, technicians that maintain the system, beneficiaries of the system, and others. These separate groups of people have different needs and interests. Ideally, the education process can be specifically tailored to the needs and interests of a given group. This paper describes an educational tool that can cater to the requirements of any individual and give them independence to choose the depth of knowledge they require, whether it is a quick nontechnical overview, a detailed technological specification, or a policy rationale. It can be based on the World Wide Web or on a local server, and educates individuals about computer systems and their various components using a multi-level format which can support multimedia presentations. The tool is structured so that it first presents an overview of the system it is describing, and gradually explodes it into more detailed components which the user views upon request. It can use text, diagrams, animation, video, and audio to increase the user’s understanding of the system. A subset of it can be used when only a transparency projector is available without a computer. This work is supported by U.S. Army grants (DAMD17-94-V-4015) and National Library of Medicine Contract N01-LM-6-3544. The content of this manuscript does not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the U.S. Government.