An Integrated System, with Natural Language Management, for the Monitoring Activities in e-Learning Environments

The paper wants to describe and to show an integrated system made up of an artificial agent for the management of the natural language, with a basical knowledge written in the AIML language (ChatBot), with a PABX (Private Automatic Branch eXchange) software for the VoIP phone management and a server's controlling daemon. This system has been conceived like a support for the management of Web sections and in particular of Web-learning (w-learning) platforms. The purpose is that of watching the platform's activity everytime, to be able to "warn" immediately the teaching team in case of direct necessity with the learning community's users concerning the supplying of the learning contents and to warn the technical area in case of failures in the server system that contains the w-learning platform. The three components that complete the system have a specific operative aim: the artificial agent takes directly the role of front end on the w-learning platform, interacting in the natural language with the users of the learning community and in case of necessity it activates the PABX to send a direct short message (SMS) to the teaching team, containing the problem's object asked from the user to the agent; the controlling daemon watches the server activities where the platform is installed, checking the efficiency of the services that are important for the correct operation of the w-learning (Web server, streaming server, mail server, etc...) system; in case of failures it makes use of the PABX too to forward a direct calling, depending on the kind of problem, to the person specialized in the system's operative maintenance; in other words, the PABX manages the VoIP connection, solving the requirements of the others' monitoring system's components, forwarding the callings efficiently in accordance with the defined and planned policy. In this way, this kind of system guarantees the monitoring operation everytime, both on the teaching activity and on the right w-learning platform's technical operation.