State & Local
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The Battalion
Wednesday, June 26,19S
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
Member of:
Associated Press
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Texas Daily
Newspaper Association
Texas Intercollegiate
Press Association
The Battalion
Editorial Board
Editor
Timm Doolen
Manaoina Editor
aging
Todd Stone
City Editor
Sean Frerking
News Editors
Jennifer Jeffus
Callie Wilcher
Art Director
Richard James
Lifestyles Editor
>tyl
d N
Rob Newberry
Sports Editor
Jayme Blaschke
Opinion Editor
ipm
Kei
eith Sartin
Editorial Policy
The Battalion is published da
ily except Saturday, Sunday, holi
days, exam periods and when
school is not in session during fall
and spring semesters. Publication
is Tuesday through Friday dur
ing the summer sessions. The
newsroom phone number is 845-
3316.
The Battalion is a non-profit,
self-supporting newspaper oper
ated as a community service to
Texas A&M University and
Bryan-College Station.
The Battalion news depart
ment is managed by students at
Texas A&M University and is a
division of Student Publications, a
unit of the Department of Jour
nalism.
Opinions expressed in The
Battalion are those of the edito
rial board or the author, and do
not necessarily represent the
opinions of the Texas A&M stu
dent body, administrators, faculty
or the A&M Board of Regents.
Comments, questions or com
plaints about any of the editorial
content of the newspaper should
be directed to the managing edi
tor at 845-3313.
Subscriptions
Mail subscriptions are $20 per
semester, $40 per school year and
$50 per full year: 845-2611.
POSTMASTER: Send address
changes to The Battalion, 230
Reed McDonald, Texas A&M
University, College Station TX
77843-1111.
Second class postage paid at Col
lege Station, TX 77843.
Location: The Battalion, 216
Reed McDonald, Texas A&M
University, College Station, TX
77843-1111. Campus mail stop:
1111.
Advertising
Advertising information can be
obtained from the advertising de
partment at 845-2696 Monday
through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
or by visiting the office at the En
glish Annex.
Advertising Manager
Patricia Heck
Battalion Adviser
Robert Wegener
Production Manager
Paige Force
BATTIPS
The Battalion encourages
its readers to contribute story
ideas and suggestions by call
ing BATTIPS, The Battal
ion's phone line designed to
improve communication be
tween the newspaper and its
readers.
The BATTIPS number is
845-3315.
Ideas can include news sto
ries, feature ideas and person
ality profiles of interesting
people. Readers also are en
couraged to offer any other
suggestions that could im
prove the newspaper.
Professor animates educational software
By Susan Maguire
The Battalion
Computer animation can help teach el
ementary and secondary school children
essential skills while appealing to their
sense of curiosity, a Texas A&M faculty
member said.
Dr. Lloyd Richer, an assistant profes
sor in the Educational Curriculum In
struction (EDCI) department, said he got
the idea to do research in computer an
imation while he was teaching fifth-
grade in New Mexico in the early 1980s.
"I was interested in educational com
puting and looking at unique ways to
use a computer and animation," he said.
"My work is very preliminary," Richer
said. "But no one else in the country is
doing broad-based research on this sub
ject." I
Richer said animation tends to be used
in educational programs almost by de
fault, because there is not a lot of empiri
cal work that proves to be useful.
"As it turns out, animation in learning
is subtle," he said.
Rieber said that one of the problems
with designing educational software is
that it is hard to design animation that
adds to the learning process.
"One of the problems we find is that
experts think that what a program's an
imation teaches is obvious, but it's not so
obvious to the learners," he said.
Rieber tested children in elementary
school and college undergraduates and
ace
aws
said he found that animation has more of
an effect with children than with adults.
"Adults don't like discovery-based,
free-play instruction," he said. "They
want tell-me-what-I-want-to-know pro
grams. Animation is motivating for chil
dren, though."
Rieber said his latest software, "Sp
Shuttle Commander," teaches the la
of motion using a spaceship.
"It's important to choose a content
area that fits with animation," he said.
"You get two things with animation, mo
tion and trajectory, and the laws of mo
tion fit in perfectly with those qualities."
NASA distributes the program to tea
chers across the country for free.
Rieber received his master's degree in
elementary education and his docta
in educational technology. He said he
a self-taught programmer, though hek
taken some computer courses.
When he was getting his master's^
gree, teaching with computers wasj;
being introduced, he said.
"There were many first-time conn
that I took, or even helped to design, |
said.
Rieber said now the whole ideaofi;
to design educational software is at:
forefront of education.
"I know this won't save the world,:
I hope it can be used for productivef.
sons," he said.
House avoids
cutting funds
for schools
£
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AUSTIN (AP) — Lawmakers
Tuesday steered a collision
course over funding for prisons
and public schools with House
budget writers recommending
cuts that have left their Senate
counterparts dismayed.
"That comes as a great surpri-
Sen. John Montford, D-Lub-
se.
bock, said after the House Ap
propriations Committee agreed
to cut $400 million in prison
funds, which includes $345 mil
lion to build new prisons for
11,300 inmates.
Montford, chairman of the
Senate Finance Committee, also
criticized an Appropriations
Committee proposal to cut $1 bil
lion in public school monies
from a law approved earlier by
the Legislature to address court-
ordered equalization of educa
tion funding.
"I don't know what the
House's thinking was on that
point," Montford said. "It would
be a step backwards and almost
a perception of bad faith if we
don't fund what we did."
But Rep. Ric Williamson, D-
Weatherford, said the actions are
the result of simple arithmetic.
State government faces a pro
jected $4.6 billion shortfall to
continue the current level of
services for the 1992-93 budget
period, and lawmakers aren't
willing to increase taxes, he said.
Williamson, who as vice chair-
has
cuts.
Ijust our spend
ing priorities accordingly," he
said. "Texans need to admit to
themselves we don't have the re
sources to do everything we'd
like to do. So we allocate what
we got."
RICHARD S. JAMES/The Battalion
Swooossshhh!
Philip Bochat, from Moulton, takes a break from his freshman orienta
tion conference to shoot some hoops by the Northside residence halls.
GIVE
- *
BLOOD
Aggie Blood Drive
June 24 - 28th
10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
*
Bloodmobiles at SBISA & Academic Plaza
Another service of APO, OPA &
Student Government
<»
What’s Up
Wednesday
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS:
information.
General discussion at noon. Call COPE at 845-0280 formoii
TEXAS ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION COMMISSION (TEAC): General membership meeting-
mths. Evi
ring t
tal concerns welcome at7 p.m. in Zachry 119A. Call Charlie at 823-3577 orPeterr
696-0735 for more information.
EPISCOPAL STUDENT CENTER: Eucharist and community dinner at 6:15 p.m. at(
terbuiy House at 902 George Bush Drive. Contact the Rev. Lary Benfield atf
4245 for more information.
LUTHERAN STUDENT FELLOWSHIP: Evening prayer at 6:30 p.m. at the University Lutta
Chapel.
KANM RADIO - CABLE ONLY: An interview with Gary Varner, De^t. ot Philosophic
animal rights and vegetarianism. 6:00-6:30 p.m. on Cable
Thursday
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: General discussion at noon. Call COPE at 845-0280 form::
information.
CAMPUS CRUSADE FOR CHRIST: Everyone welcome at 7:30 p.m. in 308 Rudder. Callfc
ron O’Bryan at 696-1091 for more information.
ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS: General discussion at 6 p.m. Call COPE at 845-Ci:,
for more information.
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Items for What’s Up should be submitted to The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonalc:
later than three business days before the desired run date. We publish the n&‘
and phone number of the contact only if you ask us to do so. What’s Up is a Ban
ion service that lists non-profit events and activities. Submissions are run on a Hi
come, first-served basis. There is no guarantee an entry will run. If you havec,
tions, call the newsroom at 845-3316.
Richards signs prison bill
AUSTIN (AP) —. A prison bill
signed into law by Gov. Ann
Richards and approved unani
mously by lawmakers, some of
whom said it would keep crimi
nals from being released too
early, will have little effect, the
chief of the Texas prison system
said.
James Lynaugh, executive di
rector of the Texas Department
of Criminal Justice, told the
House Appropriations Commit
tee on Tuesday that the law "in
reality has not done anything."
The bill by Rep. John Culber
son, R-Houston, allows the state
prison system to increase imr
population over the 95 pert:
population cap that was seti
result of a federal court-ordf
prison reforms.
Culberson said the bill wo: I
help the state regain contn [
the prison system from fed-:
court.
Sen. J.E. "Buster" Browii
Lake Jackson, who spons:
the measure in the Sen;
touted the bill as "landmark:
islation," saying it wasawai
increase capacity so that oi
nals were not released tooeai
LSAT
M
1C
GRE
Test Your Best!
Classes Forming Now.
f STANLEY H. KAPLAN
JBk Take Kaplan Or Take Your Chances
Classes forming now.
693-3196 or stop by 707 Texas Ave.
Ste. 106E for class schedule.