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PLATO TEACHES
The best in interactive on-line learning
by MICHAEL CIRAOLO
Antic Staff Writer
There is one major source for Atari users who want on-line educational
resources. The Plato Services Network can now be accessed with Atari's
Learning Phone Cartridge ($49.95).
For $7.75 per hour of evening-weekend connect time, the
first home computer access to Plato lets you choose from over 430 lessons-from
preschool to the graduate level-in subjects from aviation to zoology.
Unlike other information services, Plato's lessons deliver computer assisted
instruction. The computer asks you questions, waits for the proper
answer, corrects wrong responses, usually gives you several options and
levels of instruction to choose from and almost always has Help available.
First-time users are confronted with a lengthy menu that
includes options to program graphics, edit text, run Plato programs and
check notes and electronic mail, among others.
Diana Ristenpart of Plato suggests that new users go to
the electronic mail feature first, where they can participate in note files,
which is what Plato calls its bulletin boards. There are special-interest
files for Atari, microcomputers, Plato games, educators, and dozens of
other areas.
"This is an excellent way to meet people and become familiar
with the system," Ristenpart said.
When you are ready to sample Plato's educational offerings,
there are several alternatives. You can go directly to the main menu
option to Run Plato Programs, which will show you an alphabetical listing
of subjects and files. If you know you are interested in biology,
you can type it in and see the page of the index that includes all programs
related to the biological sciences.
If you are interested in a particular program, you can
simply type the file name after selecting "Run Plato Program."
PLATO'S TOP TEN
If you are curious to know what others are sampling, and what the popular
programs are, you can run a program called "Topten," a listing of the previous
month's ten most used programs.
So far this year, two games (Moria and Empire) lead all
programs used. The most popular category of education programs is
"Elementary Math," followed by "English," "Computer Science," "Aviation,"
"Ages 4-7," "Biology," and 'Astronomy." The onscreen menu will tell you
what to press to see the actual file names instead of category headings,
and you can discover what experienced Plato users already know.
One popular elementary math game is Darts, which teaches
the concept of relative number sizes. A vertical line spans your
screen, with various numbers at regular intervals-let's say the numbers
0, 1 and 2. Fastened to the left side of the line are a series of balloons
shaped like clown's heads. Plato asks you to input a number with
a decimal point, or a fraction, that will tell the computer where to fire
a dart. For a balloon resting on the line near 1.3 you could fire
a dart at 1.28 and probably hit the balloon. The game requires a
perception of fractions or decimals, and teaches by allowing children to
continue to shoot at balloons until they succeed.
"All kids have trouble at some point with math," said
Plato Learning Phone manager Nancy Vernon. "These programs are fun
to look at and have good graphics."
When young children outgrow Darts, they can move on to
a host of other instructional math games. Games give way to straightforward
programs that teach subjects as advanced as calculus, differential equations
and Fourier transforms,
Unlike other on-line services, Plato offers pictures and
graphics, Vernon said. "People like graphics. They like to
see things move."
This graphics potential is used not only for young children,
but for drawings and diagrams in more advanced lessons, in the same way
a high school or college instructor might draw something on the blackboard.
GRAMMAR AND FLYING
When adults get tired of playing Plato's games (which many consider
to be some of the best computer games available), they turn to the education
programs, particularly English and computer science curricula. The
most popular English programs give you access to nearly 100 word and usage
lessons.
"I think most adults are brushing up on their grammar
and English usage," said Vernon. Older students are also fond of
Plato's planetarium and flight simulators.
For some teachers, Plato's games offer unique tools of
instruction. For example, the multiplayer, interactive dungeon game
Moria is used in several classrooms nationwide to teach strategy and offbeat
problem solving.
Other on-line databases, including the Bibliographic Reference
Service, DIALOG, CompuServe and the Source, have indices and references
for educators, but otherwise provide only marginal educational services.
CompuServe, for example, provides a news service for educators, a database
to help deaf people move into mainstream society, bulletin boards for disabled
users and educators to share information and experience, a guide to colleges
and financial aid from the College Board, and a few word-search indices
for education-related topics. The Source and CompuServe also have
a few sundry question-and-answer programs that could be called "educational"
but are more like trivia games.
DIALOG, the Bibliographic Reference Service (BRS) and
its sibling BRS After Dark offer a wide variety of databases that may be
of help to educators. Like CompuServe, these information services
include word search indices, references to colleges and high schools, and
specialized information on topics such as the disabled, technical and vocational
education. However, none of these services offer computer assisted
instruction. For more general information regarding on-fine databases,
please see "Antic Pix Online Services" in the July, 1984 Antic. In
the same issue you will find an introduction to Plato entitled "Plato Rising."
ANTIC on PLATO
Welcome, Plato users, to "ANTIC Magazine on PLATO," a Plato notes file
specifically for the readers of Antic magazine.
The file is easy to get to. From the main menu,
select "electronic mail." Then select "read or write general notes." Plato
will ask you "What file?" Type in "antic" and you will see the current
list of notes. From there, use the HELP function to learn your way
around the files.
This notes file is frequented by Atari users, Antic staff,
Vincent Wu (creator of the Atari Plato cartridge) and various Plato regulars.
It's the place to share ideas, get questions answered, make suggestions
and comments about the magazine, and more. Drop us a line-and expect
some fast feedback!