Development of Web Based Courseware for Artificial Neural Networks

Abstract

Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) are important data processing algorithms which are used for solving nonlinear problems. Through classical approaches, mathematical infrastructure and complex equations in ANN are difficult to understand. Interactive and multimedia-based courseware has the potential to overcome these difficulties. In this study, a web based educational courseware for ANN was developed to provide an effective and efficient learning environment so that the difficulties can be overcome. This interactive courseware was also enriched with animations and text-based course contents. In addition to this, the effects of ANN parameters’ changes were observed directly through graphical results. In this way, users can easily understand the fundamentals and working mechanism of ANN. Without using any commercial libraries, the courseware was developed with ASP.NET, an object-oriented programming language. The courseware supports file formats such as XML, TXT, and CSV so that it can co-operate with other software. “Balance and Scale” data set was used to evaluate the performance of the courseware. 0.9918 accuracy, 1 specificity and 1 sensitivity values were achieved. When this study is compared to previous studies, improvements in terms of visuality, understandability and interactivity can clearly be identified. 

Keywords

• Artificial Neural Networks,E-Learning,Courseware

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