STILE - A HYPERMEDIA APPROACH TO THE PROVISION OF A FLEXIBLE, INTERDISCIPLINARY RESOURCE BASE FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING

The STILE Project is using hypermedia to provide greater opportunities for independent and flexible modes of learning both in a campus situation and for distance learning. The approach is resource-based. STILE provides a mechanism for users (both teachers and learners) to discover and access relevant resources when they need them, together with facilities that enable users readily to use and re-use existing materials and to integrate them with further materials of their own in a way that seems natural to them. The result is not a closed and finished product, but a set of tools and services and a continually developing resource base. The effect is to ease the load on academic staff in maintaining and supporting student access to resources and to enrich the set of resources available to both staff and students. This paper outlines the underlying philosophy of the project, the technical infrastructure that has been developed, and current use, and discusses some of the associated theoretical and practical issues.