Selected Characteristics of Tutor Programs Produced in ARPA Sponsored PLATO Projects
Abstract
This report demonstrates that several categories of data useful in operating a PLATO CBE site can be gathered efficiently by means of various features of the PLATO system itself (particularly its string-searching capability). Levels of documentation and -restart- use can be monitored easily with these techniques, and the potential for study of interaction command use has been noted. This report also suggests ways for minimizing the time and expense for data collection. For example, it appears that monitoring the size of only the largest lessons may be sufficient for avoiding problems of long lessons and that merely checking for the presence of -define- commands may be an adequate measure of use of named variables. Although most of these forms of data can be easily collected by clerks having a minimal amount of training, we feel that project managers may prefer to make these checks themselves on an informal but regular basis. There is a need for personal experience before many of these procedures are internalized and managers are in the best position to make decisions about how to use the difficulty of convincing authors of the need for anything that causes even slight more work in the short term when payoffs are greatest in the long term (for an example, see the discussion regarding documentation).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1978
- Accession Number
- ADA101718
Entities
People
- A. Lynn Misselt
- Joseph A. Klecka
- Larry Francis
Organizations
- University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign