The Uses Of Plato: A Computer Controlled Teaching System

Abstract

The use of a high-speed digital computer as a central control element provides great flexibility in an automatic teaching system. Using a computer-based system like PLATO permits versatility in teaching logics, since changing the type of teacher merely requires changing the computer program but not the hardware. In addition, having access to the decision-making capacity of a large computer located as one unit permits complicated decisions to be made for each student. Such capacity would be prohibitively expensive to provide by means of decision-making equipment located at each student station. Studies of queuing that occurs with multiple student requests show that the system could teach as many as a thousand students simultaneously without incurring a noticeable delay in processing any student's request. The educational results thus far have been extremely encouraging. However, reliable conclusions on educational achievement must await the results of more thorough experiments now in progress which include larger numbers of students learning under a variety of conditions. The adaptability and usability of the system for a variety of purposes in education (including the behavioral and physical sciences) have been clearly demonstrated.