Knowledge servers for the classroom

We describe a knowledge-server we developed for our data structures course. This server holds information traditionally contained in textbooks. Additionally, it houses information that is not easily contained in textbooks, such as animations and presentation slides of important concepts. It furthermore references materials from diverse sources available on the World Wide Web. In addition to course materials, the server makes available a variety of ways in which to navigate the information. In addition to searching concepts and a directory listing of concepts, it makes available a navigable graph, representing the ontology of the course materials. This enables students to more quickly find information and to better see relationships between materials introduced in the course. We see knowledge servers as taking the role of textbooks in the not so distant future.