Recent trends in the design of learning support systems are characterized by
considering group interaction, by combining intelligent support with interactive learning
environments, by providing reusable domain-independent components, and by using agentstructured
architectures. Taking these trends into account, an open framework system has been
developed for integrating distributed intelligent support components with an interactive and
collaborative learning environment. Work in shared activity spaces with synchronized objects is
facilitated by a specific user interface library and communication server. A modular architecture
allows for flexibly plugging in intelligent components, e.g. for knowledge assessment and
diagnosis, individual feedback, multiple student modeling, or simulated students as a partner.
The intelligent subsystem is organized as a cluster of student modeling agents and is inspectable
through a WWW interface. Our approach is exemplified by several applications, one providing
individual feedback for physics exercises, a second one supporting the teacher in supervising a
group of students in a math class, and, thirdly, a generic tool based on card networks for diverse
domains.
