Realization of E-University for Distance Learning HAZEM M. EL-BAKRY Faculty of Computer Science & Information Systems, Mansoura University, EGYPT E-mail: helbakry20@yahoo.com NIKOS MASTORAKIS Department of Computer Science, Military Institutions of University Education (MIUE) - Hellenic Naval Academy, Greece Abstract: In previous work [27], the authors proposed an E-University but they did not take into account some essential parts. In this paper, the system presented in [27] is modified and developed. New critical important items such as security in E-Learning, learning management, business continuity management and science park are added to the proposed university. According to the great development of IT, the current Web-based learning systems need to be as effective as human tutors. Recently, intelligent agents became one of the most interesting subjects of modern information technology. Agent-based technology has been taken as an important approach for developing advanced E-Learning systems. This paper presents architecture for implementing a multi-agent system within the context of a learning environment. The roles of intelligent agents within an E-Learning system, called E- University, are presented. The agents perform specific tasks on the behalf of students, professors, administrators, and other members of the university. Also a group of intelligent agents for learning activities such as user interface agents, task agents, knowledge agents and mobile agents is developed. Using the multi-agent technology in E-Learning system, gives user interaction facility to both users and designers, and adds ability to exchange information between different objects in a flexible way. Key Words: Intelligent learning systems, Agent technology, E-Learning system, Science park, Security, Learning management, Business continuity management, and Multimedia. 1. Introduction E-Learning can be considered a special form of E- business. The good involved is digital content that has to be distributed, maintained, and updated. Moreover, the value of this good has to be adequately protected from unauthorized use and modification, without preventing students from using it in a flexible way. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the requirements of using E-Learning content, which result from the technical interactions between systems and the social interactions between individual students and faculty. The complexity of such cooperative systems often requires new methodologies and theoretical directions, encompassing both technically sound solutions and user – centered design [1]. In the last few years, Internet has developed so rapidly that it makes the information technology (IT) industry grow extremely fast. It is now recognized that users require assistance to avoid being overwhelmed by this wealth of information, it is also essential that information suppliers be provided with tools that help them in authoring and monitoring it. As a result, E- Learning has been a topic of increasing interest in recent years. E-Learning is generally perceived as learning via a Web browser, over the Web itself or perhaps over an internal network (intranet). Although the term E-Learning is popular, other terms such as web-based learning, online learning, technology-based learning, Web-based learning and distributed learning are synonymous to ‘E-Learning’. Learning is continuously expanding beyond the traditional classrooms, as a result of information technology. There is a demand for learning anywhere and anytime. Many efforts have been made to build E-Learning systems [2-9]. Intelligent agents gained considerable attention in modern information technology. In [10], the authors defined an intelligent agent as a computer system that is capable of flexible autonomous action in order to meet its design objectives. This computer system may be linked with other applications and databases running within one or several computer environments [2,11,12,28]. A key difference between agents and other programs is their ability to operate in some degree of autonomy. Another property of some agents which differentiate them from traditional software is their ability to co-ordinate their actions with others. Currently, there are hundreds of agents in regular use. Major computer manufactures like Microsoft, IBM, Sun, Apple, Hewlett Packard and Digital are developing their agents. Tasks that seem to be amenable to agents include electronic mail handling (an agent helps with forwarding, deleting or archiving of mail messages), scheduling of meetings (people involved run agents that will negotiate a date and time, reserve a conference room etc.) or filtering an information source such as in Usenet news. Some of the major known applications to intelligent agents are E-commerce, distributed information retrieval, network management and telecommunication systems [13]. Agent technology has been used in educational environments and a number of agents and multiagent systems have been signed specifically for educational purposes. In these systems, agents play different roles in learning process [14]. A most notable project in this area is the Technology Integrated Learning Environment (TILE) project from Massey University. As this project developed it moved to mobile agents as its core operational software [15]. An E-Learning system that WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on COMPUTERS Hazem M. El-Bakry, Nikos Mastorakis ISSN: 1109-2750 48 Issue 1, Volume 8, January 2009