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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 1982)
The MSC Arts Committee announces the opening of "THREE ARTISTS IN WEST TEXAS" in the MSC GALLERY Thursday, January 21 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The artists will be present — come by to meet them. Refreshments will be served. national Battalion/Page 12 January 21, 1982 Computer world non-violent Learning as easy as ABC In TWO FOR ONE SALE on All Fall and Winter Holiday Merchandise Pay original price on one item get the second item free! Your XDanskin Headquarters Ail Danskins 20% OFF Selected items up to 50% OFF MANOR EAST MALL 779-6718 United Press International In the real world, if a car runs over a rabbit, it’s curtains for the cottontail. In the computer-assisted learning world, when a child in the first, second or third grade “touches out” a sentence that reads, “The car runs over the rabbit”, something else hap pens. ' The child, sitting at a video display terminal, hits the word “next” on his touch-sensitive screen and then little lines form themselves into shapes above the sentence on the screen. The lines become a drawing depict ing the action in the sentence: A car is crossing a bridge; under neath the bridge, safe, is a rab bit. The car is “running over” the rabbit — but not killing him. The repot ter playing the role of a child got that result when trying out a computerized learn ing system into which $850 mil lion has been invested in the last 20 years. “But in real life, that is not what happens when a car runs over a rabbit,”, the reporter ob jected to Daria Skeete, educa tion consultant to Control Data Corp., the computer company that sired the system called PLATO. “That’s true,” she replied. “This is a non-violent version.” The touch-screen that goes with the PLATO system de veloped at the University of Illi nois, Urbana, gives off an elec tronic beep when the pupil puts his finger on a block or letter or circle. “But in real life, that is not what happens when a car runs over a rab bit,” the reporter ob jected. “That’s true;” the con sultant replied. “This is a non-violent version.” This is electronic learning on an individualized basis. To the fingertip the screen feels like a piece of plastic, which it is. It feels like a sheet of plastic with a pocket of air underneath it. Which it is. Touching it conveys an elec tronic message — the pupil’s choice of words or figures in a learning game. r BOB BROWN Air Line Reservations (Free Ticket Delivery) UNIVERSAL TRAVEL | (713) 846-8719 TOURS • CRUISES • TRAVEL COUNSELING HOTEL • MOTEL & RENT CAR RESERVATIONS CHARTER FLIGHTS “If You Have Tried The Rest — Why Not Try The BEST" BOB BROWN JO ANN MUZNY PAM HALL RAMADA INN LOBBY COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS 77840 Another PLATO instruction al program displayed for the re porter contained letters of the alphabet, a mouse, a mousetrap and a piece of cheese — all formed on the electronic screen. This was a program to help boys and girls with their ABCs. The entertaining aspect — the mouse gets rewarded for correct choices, punished for incorrect choices. The learning game con sisted of the first 18 letters of the alphabet, presented in block form — three rows of six letters each. In the lower left hand corner was a graphic. A mouse. In the upper right hand cor ner was a place for punishments to be recorded for wrong choices. The punishment graphic was a mousetrap. In the left hand corner was the place to record rewards. Pic tures of pieces of cheese. First a child has a choice of two letters to nick the one that come after A. One is B. One is D. Press D and the mouse gets a mousetrap. Press B and the mouse gets a piece of cheese. The fun aspect is one of the selling-points of the compute rized learning systems is that some authorities expect to be commmonplace in schools of tomorrow. Skeete, a graduate of Brook lyn College (N.Y.), was in educa tion seven years before joining the PLATO operation. She spoke of a PLATO basic skills learning system study at the Adult Learning Center in Balti more, Md. Forty-three students took the math course — 24 hours with PLATO and 13 hours with the PLATO math workbook. Re sult: a gain of two grade levels in math performance. Twenty in the adult basic edu cation course spent 21 hours on the PLATO reading program and 1 l hours with the PLA TO reading workbook. Result: an average gain of one year in read ing level. There also are about PLATO learning centert Skeete said. Catherine Brashich, a graduJ ate of St. Joseph’s College Hartford, Conn., is managerc! one in New York City. Shesaidi; person, child or adult, takingtlit Basic Skills Learning courset first tested to determine levelir ; achievement and then assigned to the computerized prograii enabling him or her to learnU his or her own pace. “The system,” she said, “let£ children learn to read, construe! sentences, and work basic mad operations without fear of fai lure, of appearing ignorant It others, or of falling behind. Tlu motivation is tremendous." 1 Brashich based her view on ! what she has seen happen aittiel center and what she haf United WASH I tional In sponsorinj study to ii course of i life-shorte that strike 600 Amer Dr. M; sickle cell National Blood Inst designed i tions aboi sickle cell \ years. Bes ment of si said it will on which f based. Even i known ab the 1940s understan ssion fron cause of tl severity Many vie others live “The system lets chil dren learn to read, con struct sentences, and work basic math opera tions without fear of fa ilure ... or of falling be hind. The motivation is. tremendous.” — Daris Skeete, education con sultant. Q< th observed among her childrei trying out PLATO courses. 1 The PLATO system is usedit about 100 school systems, in eluding universities and col leges, said a spokesman tor Con trol Data, a Minneapolis firti The system consists of hard' ware, software, and courseware — 8,000 hours of it publishedto date. Unite PALM! not clear small or tl officials order for cause mai inside cor Chid Tuesday 1 cials to c Ford Futi cost 1 cle, a ty to hear Brashich said rental of eig/if:; computer terminals wouldcoitll school about $80,000 a year. ? cars one Futi PERSPECTIVES ON SOVIET FOREIGN POLICY the the Corh 'S'. k .'S'. HON( dano, the stage ence. 'S'. Hon; week then got ON FEBRUARY 10-13, 1982 STUDENT LEADERS FROM CANADA, GERMANY, MEXICO, GUATEMALA, KUWAIT, AND VARIOUS PARTS OF THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES WILL CONVERGE ON THE TEXAS A&M CAMPUS FOR THE 27TH ANNUAL STUDENT CONFERENCE ON NATIONAL AFFAIRS. THIS YEARS CONFERENCE IS ENTITLED “PERSPECTIVES ON SOVIET FOREIGN POLICY. j > For an opportunity to represent Texas A&M as a delegate to SCONA 27, please pick up an applica tion in the Student Programs Office, room 216 in the Memorial Student Center. Interviews will be conducted Tuesday, January 26 through Thursday, January 28, 3-5 p.m. For an opportunity to serve as a host or hostess to SCONA 27, please pick up an application in the Student Programs Office, room 216 in the Memorial Student Center. Interviews will be held Tuesday, January 26 and Wednesday, January 27. MSC SCONA 27 PI