GIFT, the Generalized Intelligent Framework for Tutoring, is a modular, service-oriented architecture developed to lower the skills and time needed to author effective adaptive instruction.  Design goals for GIFT also include capturing best instructional practices,  promoting standardization and reuse for adaptive instructional content and methods, and methods for evaluating the effectiveness of tutoring technologies.   Truly adaptive systems make intelligent (optimal) decisions about  tailoring instruction in real-time and make these decisions based on information about the learner and conditions in the instructional environment.

The GIFT Users Symposia were started in 2013 to capture successful implementations of GIFT from the user community and to share recommendations leading to more useful capabilities for GIFT authors, researchers, and learners.