- Email: [email protected]
The design and testing of computer-aided instruction in the field of architecture
Comma & Edu. Vol 3. pp. 165 to 174 Cl Pcrgamon Press Ltd 1979 Pnnwd fin Great Bntam
THE DESIGN AND TESTING OF COMPUTER-AIDED INSTRUCTION IN THE FIELD OF ARCHITECTURE ROBERT W. DVORAK
College of Architecture, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, U.S.A. (Received July 1978; revisionreceivedFebruary 1979)
Abstmct-The College of Architecture at the University of Arizona uses the Plato computer to teach lreshman basic drawing skills. The purpose of this paper is to describe how computeraided instruction was designed and used in the Graphics Communications class and to relate
the students’ reaction to this experience.
HISTORY
AND
BACKGROUND
Architecture 12, Graphic Communications in Architecture, is a one semester course designed to teach basic drawing skills to freshman architecture, landscape architecture and interior design students. The course focuses on the universal theories and principals of drawing two and three dimensional objects with shade and shadow. The weekly course format presents the background information in two l-h lectures and assigns a set of problems to be completed in a 2 h laboratory. The 14 week course content includes 1. Introduction. 2. Orthographic projections. 3. Shade and shadow and elevation. 4. Two point perspective. 5. One point perspective. 6. Perspective sketching. 7. Shade and shadow in perspective. 8. Building presentation.
2 weeks 3 weeks 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week 2 weeks 3weeks
A very real problem is that more students need this introductory course than can be accommodated. Even by turning away non-majors, interior design and landscape architecture students, the numbers far exceed the resources. Another problem is that each student, depending on his background in drawing, progresses at a different rate. It is impossible to keep the large class coordinated because the laboratories are now used for instructing slow learners in drawing theory instead of providing personal assistance in drawing application. As a result, many students are either unable to take this course or are insufficiently prepared to undertake advanced drawing. A method which has had good results with other university courses in alleviating these problems was one that provided students with computer-aided instruction on the Plato system. Ideally, a student sits at a computer terminal and interacts with the lesson the instructor has written. The lesson presents course material and tests understanding on a one to one basis. Students can then progress at their own rate and receive help with the course fundamentals.
THE PLATO SYSTEM
The Plato IV computer-based educational system was developed in the Computer-based Education Research Laboratory (CERL) of the University of Illinois, Urbana. It is composed of a large computer. more than 1300 graphic display terminals in over 100 institutions of higher learning and over 6000 instructor-written programs. The University of Arizona is a Plato site with 12 terminals linked into the computer at Urbana, Illinois. Even though the Arizona site is considered experimental, a large number of disciplines, especially in the physical and social sciences, use the system. The field of architecture has traditionally had little interest in computer-aided instruction. As a result, very few graphics communication lessons existed on the Plato system. 165
ROBERTW. DVORAK
166
PROJECT
DEVELOPMENT
The Plato project was sponsored through a research grant from the National Science Foundation. The first year proposed development consisted of the following operations 1. Evaluate graphic communications course content. 2. Restructure course content to Plato teaming modules. 3. Write programs on Plato computer system. 4. Use by students (1976-1977 school year). 5. Evaluate learning modules. 6. Reprogram learning modules. 7. Implement course (Fail, 1977). The project officially began in fune, 1976, with a team of two people, an architectural professor and a research assistant. The first task was to evaluate the existing course content and to make a list of necessary course concepts. These concepts were rated according to importance+ to ease of structuring on a graphics terminal and to existence in some form as Plato lessons. After sifting all the concepts the following lesson modules were identified as forming the major portion for the new Plato course, A. Orthographic Projections. B. Shade and Shadow in Elevation. C. Two Point Perspective. D. Shade and Shadow in Perspective. E. Sketch Perspective Construction.
University of Arizona -- Architecture 12 Graphic Communication in Architecture R 15 week course designed to teach beginning Traphics. These lessons should be coupled with a 1ecttm.e and drawing lab learning experience. Fart 2
PLANS * ELEVATIONS
Here
are your selections:
a
Orthogrsphic
b
Quiz on Orthographic
c
Shade and Shadow
d
Cornrnunicate using PLATO
e_
Public Notes or-~File
Projections Projections
in Elevation
Press the letter corresponding -NEXT- for Part 3
to
your choice!
Choose a letter, or press one of these keys: SHIFT-STOP to sizn off WC'< for prcviou9 lessons >-cii_) for e:
Fig. 1. Student menu-second
page.
The design and testing of computer-aided
instruction in the field of architecture
167
Fig. 2. Perspective constructing.
Two lessons relating to the course were found on the system: one was an orthographic projection quiz that required a small amount of adaptation to be usable and the other formed the basis for the two point perspective lesson. The rest of the material needed to be written. LESSON CONSTRUCTION Each individual lesson or learning module is a building block of the computer-aided graphic communications course. The lesson contains 5 basic concepts and is accessed by the student from a course menu (Fig. 1). A student sits at a terminal, logs in and is presented with a list of lessons from this menu. He may elect to begin at the top of the menu and try each lesson in sequence or pick and choose according to hi interests. A student may advance to other menus after particular calendar days or return to previous menus. This prevents them from proceeding too far ahead of the regular lecture class. The lesson usually begins with a title page. This contains credits and a brief explanation of what a student needs to know in order to proceed and what he will learn if he completes this lesson. Directly following is the main lesson. It may begin by displaying the main heading within the lesson and allow the user to branch to special topics of interest or concern. The main lesson will contain appropriate explanations, definitions, questions and graphic displays (Fig. 2). A student may be required to interact with the lesson in a number of ways. One way is to type in an answer, another is to move a cursor or touch the screen. The last two methods are very appropriate for judging correct graphical responses. The third part of the lesson is a sample problem to give the student a chance to test his understanding.
ROBERTW. DVORAK
168
COURSE
CONSTRUCTION
The course is constructed of a series of menus that are linked together in any desired order. The name of each lesson is placed on a menu for access by the students. In addition to the regular course lessons, an instructor may place on his menu prewritten system lessons which explain the use of the terminals and how to respond to questions. Note files can also be used which allow written communication between students and the instructor. After the course is established all students with proper credentials may use the lessons. This includes any PLATO site across the country. The system provides the instructor with the student’s records which include: date last on; number of different days using the lessons: total number of hours spent at the terminals; number of sessions and amount of CPU used in the last lesson. An instructor can also determine how each student is progressing by observing which lessons he has completed (Fig. 3). Some lessons are designed to score a student’s performance. other lessons only indicate when they have been completed. The most current grades are recorded and averaged. WRITING
THE LESSONS
The Plato computer system uses the ‘tutor’ language (Fig. 4) to construct programs. This language was especially developed to allow instructors with little or no computer background to write lessons. This is an important concept since it is the instructor who is most familiar with his course material and method of presentation. He will most likely want to modify his lessons and will personally be able to do so-without the help of a computer-programmer.
Scot-w and
chap i n danncman davenport engelsberg-
lessons completed
course
1*1*19%1*1 * * *
*
feltham
for
* *I%%* * 3%G? xt 9%a:
* * *
archl2:
I
I
l-l
I
I
!
* * *
* * *
-
I
I
I
I
I
I-
-
j as0 kc1 Iy kohl hepp lamar lamar
c v
lane
f luth
j ($1 completed lessons; (-1 ;ncomplcte I+) lessons with no real “end”
Fig. 3. Course completion records.
( lessons;
98!
?B
I%0 !84r 30 3R’ -I 46, 91
The design and testmg of computer-aided
Instruction m the field of architecture
169
In order to estimate the time required to writ! a lesson. an experienced programmer should allow 80 h, while a first time programmer should allow top to 300 h. This must be balanced against the fact that most students run through a lesson in about 15 minutes. It was later discovered that there was a close correlation between the type of program written and the time required to write it. For our purposes. we can group the lessons into four distinct types:
TJJW Onr lesson is written with the purpose of presenting a short amount of material without asking the student for feedback. The lesson is simply stepped through by requiring only the pressing of a single key. This type of lesson is obviously the easiest and quickest to write because the interaction segments do not need to be designed or written. On the other hand. these lessons do not keep a student interested for long because the! lack the need for participation. Type TW lesson requires interaction from the student and may be as elaborate and intricate as time and the instructor’s imagination permit. The student may be asked to respond in a number of different ways. One way is to type in an answer: another is to move a cursor or touch the screen to designate a proper location. This last method is very appropriate for judging correct graphical responses. Programs are generally written to require a correct response before a student may proceed to the next part. Type Thee lesson is a quiz. This is similar to a conventional multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank exam. A student has only one try at a question but may be allowed to retake the exam in order to raise his score. An exam may use a random sample of questions so each test will be ditTerent. Type Four lesson is a calculating type program. This type of program is used as a technical aid after the student has mastered the basic skills. Students find the programs useful in helping them draw perspectives and cast shadows of their buildings. Because of the variety of concepts and material, all four types of lessons are found in the Graphic Communications course. Students have mentioned that they like the variety of presentations.
Fig. 4. Sample tutor language.
170
ROBERT W. DVORAK
Table I. Lesson time and use comparisons
Lesson name
Type:
Draw Planshadow Twopoint Sketch
1
1 2 2
Lesson Design use (mini fh) 77.7 37.0 257.3 217.6
7 1: 15
Graphic communications Use Sem Use&cm. (Completions) fhl 10.5 7.1 16.3 18.9
45 59 27 81
course
All
use (weeks)
US
32 32 32 18
59.8 45.4 93.7 56.2
thl
Data was collected on four lessons which were uritten for the course (Table 1). They are Type One and Type Two classifications and have been in use for at least two-15 week semesters by an average of 30 students per semester. It takes a significantly shorter time to write a T>pe One lesson than a Type Two lesson. Since no response is needed for a Type One lesson. it is understandable that they can be used in less than half the time. Approximately 85:; of the total time was spent designing and writing the programs. It is necessary to spend the remaining l5”, to design the course, maintain the course files and monitor the students.
STUDENT
RESPONSE
Of the 69 freshman students in the Fall, 1976, Graphic Communications class, more than 40 volunteered to try the lesson modules throughout the semester and respond to their effectiveness. Some juniors and seniors who had previously taken the regular class showed a desire to participate in the computer experiment and were invited to use the lessons. The advantage of making this experience optional was that all the students that used the lessons did so because they were personally interested in the ,project. The average use over the semester was 4.42 h per student with a total class use averaging 12.6 h per week. Twenty-one students completed a questionnaire consisting of 48 questions about their experience using the Plato lessons. The results of 24 questions dealing with the experiment are indicated by an averaging of the coded response (Table 2). Students felt the lessons should have a practice example to work on in addition to pure instruction. Also, it was helpful to be able to go through each lesson more than once. Most students felt
Table 2. Student lesson evaluation Response Numerical equivalent 2.14 3.27 2.05 3.35 2.50 2.75 1.91 3.00 1.88 2.2 I 3.39 1.59 2.52 2.18 2.46 1.91 1.47 2.60 2.43 1.73 2.91
Agree strongly
1
Agree
2
Disagree 3
Disagree strongly 4
The terminal room is an excellent place to learn The terminals are had to use The lab assistants were very helpful I was bewildered with the use of the terminals The lessons were too easy for me The lessons increased my drawing competence The lessons increased my understanding of drawing theory It was difficult to obtain information from the lab assistants This course should use more Plato lessons The lessons are a valuable part of this course The lessons were more confusing than helpful to my learning It was very helpful to be able to go through the lessons more than once I found writing comments on the system difficult I had few comments to make Using the cursor helped me learn to draw two-point perspectives faster Each lesson should have a quiz Each lesson should have a practice example to work on The lessons seemed too short It was hard to move the cursor around using the keys I found it easy to use the touch panel Using the Plato terminal should be a required part of this course
The design and testing of computer-aided
instruction in the field of architecture
Table 3. Student,,grade comparisons --w&&+ Number Grade averagt A’s B’s
Students
60 63
Plato users Non users
‘SO 2.36
c’s
D’s
171
E’s
1
29
29
0
0
5
IS
‘5
4
4
the graphics course should incorporate more Plato lessons because those they used increased their unde~tanding of drawing theory. It was genera& agreed that each lesson module should have a quiz to test their underst~ding and give them immediate feedback. The questionnaire revealed that the lessons were of proper length and complexity and the terminals were comfortable to use. When asked if the Plato lessons should be required, most answered no, preferring their use on a voluntary basis. Clearly three quarters of the students went through the fessons more than once, indicating a desire to use them to review or refresh their unde~tanding of the concepts. Even a larger percentage felt the experience valuable enough to take another course offering Plato instruction. The following results are by percentage of response: indicate
rhe hourly
group
in which you used the
637; = lOa.m.-5p.m.;
terminal most:
47; = 5p.m.-7p.m.:
29”~ = 7p.m.+
I only went through each lesson once:
I would take another
course which incorporated 85”/,-Yes
Plato
instruction:
1.50/,--No.
The final grades of two semesters of Graphic Communications students were tabulated (TabIe 3). Students that did have the Plato experience had a slightly higher average than the non-PIato users. The Plato users were composed entireety of those students with grades of B and C. Those that did not use Plato had more A’s but, also, more E’s (failures). A number of students now have author status on the Plato computer and are writing programs for this course and others. Some faculty are interested in programming their material for use in their courses in the future. This first experience of using computer-aided instruction has been very rewarding for the College of Architecture. The University of Arizona is sup~rting the Plato experiment through the use of University overhead research funds. At 54.50 per terminal hour, it is an instructional bargain. The future looks bright enough for the State to contemplate its own computer-supported system independent of Illinois. Enough professors are now using Plato at the University of Arizona for lessons and exams to begin to ask when does computer-aided instruction cease being an experiment and begin to be considered a reality. A condensed version of the fifth lesson sketch perspective is shown at the end (Fig. 5). The screen displays should be read from left to right and illustrates the basic steps a student goes through when using this lesson. Because of limited space not ail the screen displays are illustrated. The sequence numbers in the lower left hand comer indicate the quantity of displays or interactions which takes place in this particular part of the lesson. The tutor language example (Fig. 4) was used to generate the title page in the upper left corner of Fig. 5.
sketch perspective
sub dividing practice -. *i 1 ? li ,n*.w...~^ _X_.j..,
sub dividing practice
-.. ..,..:. xb.1,..“,. .._j.hC ... .- *.: .* _-e-..
.-SC
-. Xr 2 . -,.v.._., >I._., _ __ >_a.<_. ,. .. .
‘_ -.._ ..*...-._. j
.”
,L,_,
------_: . .s.. .,. -. :*. .I..__. ..*: _*_,.D .*,*, .I ? . i -*,.r-%*,*.. . ._i c .. .: .- 1..C
-.
.
:
.*_.__:
-
extending practice
extending the square
i. .,.: /, ,_. ,, .., I.“r,F ,:..YL ,l_./l7 .........._ h,~. ,.-, . ..“_ ~ ,,” ..,..l., .-t* * .*.1 f ,.
_ ,.
vanishing
-‘-------%,,.--., -.-... ^._ ..,.,. ,. ._*..i. L..
-x
-*.I..*_
*-*-.
.
..z:_-...
SC...
-.+A--
extending practice -1. 3f .; . =..*.s. . ...
points
e,,! ,,.a-..-.. ... .I, ,. .-aY.-..l ..:I,*
/
\
f
\
Fig. 5. ‘Sketch perspective’ lesson.
THE DESIGN AND TESTING OF COMPUTER-AIDED INSTRUCTION IN THE FIELD OF ARCHITECTURE ROBERT W. DVORAK
College of Architecture, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, U.S.A. (Received July 1978; revisionreceivedFebruary 1979)
Abstmct-The College of Architecture at the University of Arizona uses the Plato computer to teach lreshman basic drawing skills. The purpose of this paper is to describe how computeraided instruction was designed and used in the Graphics Communications class and to relate
the students’ reaction to this experience.
HISTORY
AND
BACKGROUND
Architecture 12, Graphic Communications in Architecture, is a one semester course designed to teach basic drawing skills to freshman architecture, landscape architecture and interior design students. The course focuses on the universal theories and principals of drawing two and three dimensional objects with shade and shadow. The weekly course format presents the background information in two l-h lectures and assigns a set of problems to be completed in a 2 h laboratory. The 14 week course content includes 1. Introduction. 2. Orthographic projections. 3. Shade and shadow and elevation. 4. Two point perspective. 5. One point perspective. 6. Perspective sketching. 7. Shade and shadow in perspective. 8. Building presentation.
2 weeks 3 weeks 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week 2 weeks 3weeks
A very real problem is that more students need this introductory course than can be accommodated. Even by turning away non-majors, interior design and landscape architecture students, the numbers far exceed the resources. Another problem is that each student, depending on his background in drawing, progresses at a different rate. It is impossible to keep the large class coordinated because the laboratories are now used for instructing slow learners in drawing theory instead of providing personal assistance in drawing application. As a result, many students are either unable to take this course or are insufficiently prepared to undertake advanced drawing. A method which has had good results with other university courses in alleviating these problems was one that provided students with computer-aided instruction on the Plato system. Ideally, a student sits at a computer terminal and interacts with the lesson the instructor has written. The lesson presents course material and tests understanding on a one to one basis. Students can then progress at their own rate and receive help with the course fundamentals.
THE PLATO SYSTEM
The Plato IV computer-based educational system was developed in the Computer-based Education Research Laboratory (CERL) of the University of Illinois, Urbana. It is composed of a large computer. more than 1300 graphic display terminals in over 100 institutions of higher learning and over 6000 instructor-written programs. The University of Arizona is a Plato site with 12 terminals linked into the computer at Urbana, Illinois. Even though the Arizona site is considered experimental, a large number of disciplines, especially in the physical and social sciences, use the system. The field of architecture has traditionally had little interest in computer-aided instruction. As a result, very few graphics communication lessons existed on the Plato system. 165
ROBERTW. DVORAK
166
PROJECT
DEVELOPMENT
The Plato project was sponsored through a research grant from the National Science Foundation. The first year proposed development consisted of the following operations 1. Evaluate graphic communications course content. 2. Restructure course content to Plato teaming modules. 3. Write programs on Plato computer system. 4. Use by students (1976-1977 school year). 5. Evaluate learning modules. 6. Reprogram learning modules. 7. Implement course (Fail, 1977). The project officially began in fune, 1976, with a team of two people, an architectural professor and a research assistant. The first task was to evaluate the existing course content and to make a list of necessary course concepts. These concepts were rated according to importance+ to ease of structuring on a graphics terminal and to existence in some form as Plato lessons. After sifting all the concepts the following lesson modules were identified as forming the major portion for the new Plato course, A. Orthographic Projections. B. Shade and Shadow in Elevation. C. Two Point Perspective. D. Shade and Shadow in Perspective. E. Sketch Perspective Construction.
University of Arizona -- Architecture 12 Graphic Communication in Architecture R 15 week course designed to teach beginning Traphics. These lessons should be coupled with a 1ecttm.e and drawing lab learning experience. Fart 2
PLANS * ELEVATIONS
Here
are your selections:
a
Orthogrsphic
b
Quiz on Orthographic
c
Shade and Shadow
d
Cornrnunicate using PLATO
e_
Public Notes or-~File
Projections Projections
in Elevation
Press the letter corresponding -NEXT- for Part 3
to
your choice!
Choose a letter, or press one of these keys: SHIFT-STOP to sizn off WC'< for prcviou9 lessons >-cii_) for e:
Fig. 1. Student menu-second
page.
The design and testing of computer-aided
instruction in the field of architecture
167
Fig. 2. Perspective constructing.
Two lessons relating to the course were found on the system: one was an orthographic projection quiz that required a small amount of adaptation to be usable and the other formed the basis for the two point perspective lesson. The rest of the material needed to be written. LESSON CONSTRUCTION Each individual lesson or learning module is a building block of the computer-aided graphic communications course. The lesson contains 5 basic concepts and is accessed by the student from a course menu (Fig. 1). A student sits at a terminal, logs in and is presented with a list of lessons from this menu. He may elect to begin at the top of the menu and try each lesson in sequence or pick and choose according to hi interests. A student may advance to other menus after particular calendar days or return to previous menus. This prevents them from proceeding too far ahead of the regular lecture class. The lesson usually begins with a title page. This contains credits and a brief explanation of what a student needs to know in order to proceed and what he will learn if he completes this lesson. Directly following is the main lesson. It may begin by displaying the main heading within the lesson and allow the user to branch to special topics of interest or concern. The main lesson will contain appropriate explanations, definitions, questions and graphic displays (Fig. 2). A student may be required to interact with the lesson in a number of ways. One way is to type in an answer, another is to move a cursor or touch the screen. The last two methods are very appropriate for judging correct graphical responses. The third part of the lesson is a sample problem to give the student a chance to test his understanding.
ROBERTW. DVORAK
168
COURSE
CONSTRUCTION
The course is constructed of a series of menus that are linked together in any desired order. The name of each lesson is placed on a menu for access by the students. In addition to the regular course lessons, an instructor may place on his menu prewritten system lessons which explain the use of the terminals and how to respond to questions. Note files can also be used which allow written communication between students and the instructor. After the course is established all students with proper credentials may use the lessons. This includes any PLATO site across the country. The system provides the instructor with the student’s records which include: date last on; number of different days using the lessons: total number of hours spent at the terminals; number of sessions and amount of CPU used in the last lesson. An instructor can also determine how each student is progressing by observing which lessons he has completed (Fig. 3). Some lessons are designed to score a student’s performance. other lessons only indicate when they have been completed. The most current grades are recorded and averaged. WRITING
THE LESSONS
The Plato computer system uses the ‘tutor’ language (Fig. 4) to construct programs. This language was especially developed to allow instructors with little or no computer background to write lessons. This is an important concept since it is the instructor who is most familiar with his course material and method of presentation. He will most likely want to modify his lessons and will personally be able to do so-without the help of a computer-programmer.
Scot-w and
chap i n danncman davenport engelsberg-
lessons completed
course
1*1*19%1*1 * * *
*
feltham
for
* *I%%* * 3%G? xt 9%a:
* * *
archl2:
I
I
l-l
I
I
!
* * *
* * *
-
I
I
I
I
I
I-
-
j as0 kc1 Iy kohl hepp lamar lamar
c v
lane
f luth
j ($1 completed lessons; (-1 ;ncomplcte I+) lessons with no real “end”
Fig. 3. Course completion records.
( lessons;
98!
?B
I%0 !84r 30 3R’ -I 46, 91
The design and testmg of computer-aided
Instruction m the field of architecture
169
In order to estimate the time required to writ! a lesson. an experienced programmer should allow 80 h, while a first time programmer should allow top to 300 h. This must be balanced against the fact that most students run through a lesson in about 15 minutes. It was later discovered that there was a close correlation between the type of program written and the time required to write it. For our purposes. we can group the lessons into four distinct types:
TJJW Onr lesson is written with the purpose of presenting a short amount of material without asking the student for feedback. The lesson is simply stepped through by requiring only the pressing of a single key. This type of lesson is obviously the easiest and quickest to write because the interaction segments do not need to be designed or written. On the other hand. these lessons do not keep a student interested for long because the! lack the need for participation. Type TW lesson requires interaction from the student and may be as elaborate and intricate as time and the instructor’s imagination permit. The student may be asked to respond in a number of different ways. One way is to type in an answer: another is to move a cursor or touch the screen to designate a proper location. This last method is very appropriate for judging correct graphical responses. Programs are generally written to require a correct response before a student may proceed to the next part. Type Thee lesson is a quiz. This is similar to a conventional multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank exam. A student has only one try at a question but may be allowed to retake the exam in order to raise his score. An exam may use a random sample of questions so each test will be ditTerent. Type Four lesson is a calculating type program. This type of program is used as a technical aid after the student has mastered the basic skills. Students find the programs useful in helping them draw perspectives and cast shadows of their buildings. Because of the variety of concepts and material, all four types of lessons are found in the Graphic Communications course. Students have mentioned that they like the variety of presentations.
Fig. 4. Sample tutor language.
170
ROBERT W. DVORAK
Table I. Lesson time and use comparisons
Lesson name
Type:
Draw Planshadow Twopoint Sketch
1
1 2 2
Lesson Design use (mini fh) 77.7 37.0 257.3 217.6
7 1: 15
Graphic communications Use Sem Use&cm. (Completions) fhl 10.5 7.1 16.3 18.9
45 59 27 81
course
All
use (weeks)
US
32 32 32 18
59.8 45.4 93.7 56.2
thl
Data was collected on four lessons which were uritten for the course (Table 1). They are Type One and Type Two classifications and have been in use for at least two-15 week semesters by an average of 30 students per semester. It takes a significantly shorter time to write a T>pe One lesson than a Type Two lesson. Since no response is needed for a Type One lesson. it is understandable that they can be used in less than half the time. Approximately 85:; of the total time was spent designing and writing the programs. It is necessary to spend the remaining l5”, to design the course, maintain the course files and monitor the students.
STUDENT
RESPONSE
Of the 69 freshman students in the Fall, 1976, Graphic Communications class, more than 40 volunteered to try the lesson modules throughout the semester and respond to their effectiveness. Some juniors and seniors who had previously taken the regular class showed a desire to participate in the computer experiment and were invited to use the lessons. The advantage of making this experience optional was that all the students that used the lessons did so because they were personally interested in the ,project. The average use over the semester was 4.42 h per student with a total class use averaging 12.6 h per week. Twenty-one students completed a questionnaire consisting of 48 questions about their experience using the Plato lessons. The results of 24 questions dealing with the experiment are indicated by an averaging of the coded response (Table 2). Students felt the lessons should have a practice example to work on in addition to pure instruction. Also, it was helpful to be able to go through each lesson more than once. Most students felt
Table 2. Student lesson evaluation Response Numerical equivalent 2.14 3.27 2.05 3.35 2.50 2.75 1.91 3.00 1.88 2.2 I 3.39 1.59 2.52 2.18 2.46 1.91 1.47 2.60 2.43 1.73 2.91
Agree strongly
1
Agree
2
Disagree 3
Disagree strongly 4
The terminal room is an excellent place to learn The terminals are had to use The lab assistants were very helpful I was bewildered with the use of the terminals The lessons were too easy for me The lessons increased my drawing competence The lessons increased my understanding of drawing theory It was difficult to obtain information from the lab assistants This course should use more Plato lessons The lessons are a valuable part of this course The lessons were more confusing than helpful to my learning It was very helpful to be able to go through the lessons more than once I found writing comments on the system difficult I had few comments to make Using the cursor helped me learn to draw two-point perspectives faster Each lesson should have a quiz Each lesson should have a practice example to work on The lessons seemed too short It was hard to move the cursor around using the keys I found it easy to use the touch panel Using the Plato terminal should be a required part of this course
The design and testing of computer-aided
instruction in the field of architecture
Table 3. Student,,grade comparisons --w&&+ Number Grade averagt A’s B’s
Students
60 63
Plato users Non users
‘SO 2.36
c’s
D’s
171
E’s
1
29
29
0
0
5
IS
‘5
4
4
the graphics course should incorporate more Plato lessons because those they used increased their unde~tanding of drawing theory. It was genera& agreed that each lesson module should have a quiz to test their underst~ding and give them immediate feedback. The questionnaire revealed that the lessons were of proper length and complexity and the terminals were comfortable to use. When asked if the Plato lessons should be required, most answered no, preferring their use on a voluntary basis. Clearly three quarters of the students went through the fessons more than once, indicating a desire to use them to review or refresh their unde~tanding of the concepts. Even a larger percentage felt the experience valuable enough to take another course offering Plato instruction. The following results are by percentage of response: indicate
rhe hourly
group
in which you used the
637; = lOa.m.-5p.m.;
terminal most:
47; = 5p.m.-7p.m.:
29”~ = 7p.m.+
I only went through each lesson once:
I would take another
course which incorporated 85”/,-Yes
Plato
instruction:
1.50/,--No.
The final grades of two semesters of Graphic Communications students were tabulated (TabIe 3). Students that did have the Plato experience had a slightly higher average than the non-PIato users. The Plato users were composed entireety of those students with grades of B and C. Those that did not use Plato had more A’s but, also, more E’s (failures). A number of students now have author status on the Plato computer and are writing programs for this course and others. Some faculty are interested in programming their material for use in their courses in the future. This first experience of using computer-aided instruction has been very rewarding for the College of Architecture. The University of Arizona is sup~rting the Plato experiment through the use of University overhead research funds. At 54.50 per terminal hour, it is an instructional bargain. The future looks bright enough for the State to contemplate its own computer-supported system independent of Illinois. Enough professors are now using Plato at the University of Arizona for lessons and exams to begin to ask when does computer-aided instruction cease being an experiment and begin to be considered a reality. A condensed version of the fifth lesson sketch perspective is shown at the end (Fig. 5). The screen displays should be read from left to right and illustrates the basic steps a student goes through when using this lesson. Because of limited space not ail the screen displays are illustrated. The sequence numbers in the lower left hand comer indicate the quantity of displays or interactions which takes place in this particular part of the lesson. The tutor language example (Fig. 4) was used to generate the title page in the upper left corner of Fig. 5.
sketch perspective
sub dividing practice -. *i 1 ? li ,n*.w...~^ _X_.j..,
sub dividing practice
-.. ..,..:. xb.1,..“,. .._j.hC ... .- *.: .* _-e-..
.-SC
-. Xr 2 . -,.v.._., >I._., _ __ >_a.<_. ,. .. .
‘_ -.._ ..*...-._. j
.”
,L,_,
------_: . .s.. .,. -. :*. .I..__. ..*: _*_,.D .*,*, .I ? . i -*,.r-%*,*.. . ._i c .. .: .- 1..C
-.
.
:
.*_.__:
-
extending practice
extending the square
i. .,.: /, ,_. ,, .., I.“r,F ,:..YL ,l_./l7 .........._ h,~. ,.-, . ..“_ ~ ,,” ..,..l., .-t* * .*.1 f ,.
_ ,.
vanishing
-‘-------%,,.--., -.-... ^._ ..,.,. ,. ._*..i. L..
-x
-*.I..*_
*-*-.
.
..z:_-...
SC...
-.+A--
extending practice -1. 3f .; . =..*.s. . ...
points
e,,! ,,.a-..-.. ... .I, ,. .-aY.-..l ..:I,*
/
\
f
\
Fig. 5. ‘Sketch perspective’ lesson.