8
Friday, December 9, 1977
University Daily Kansan
Computer growth forseen
From page one
dicate that the computer has truly arrived, then what can we expect in the next five to ten months?
At home, experts estimate that computer-controlled thermostats will increase fuel efficiency from 20 to 30 per cent. Home appliances will be connected to repair shops through the computer, offering an instant diagnosis and prognosis of any problem.
AUTOMOBILES WILL have computerized controls to avoid accidents. Computerized wristwatches not only will show your blood temperature, body temperature and blood-sugar levels.
How about a computer with a video display that could catalog recipes, teach arithmetic, determine biorhythmic charts, balance checkbooks and chart financial investments? Don't look for that one in the inventory. You can find it at Shack, a national chain, markets a model with those capabilities for under $600. Other home computers range up to $1,300 in cost.
Education appears to be the biggest potential beneficiary of the computer boom. CONDUIT, an organization of universities involved with computer-based instruction, met in Kansas City, Mo., last month to discuss future possibilities of the computer in education. Charles Ekland, research administrator, computation center, attended the meeting.
OF ALL THE research projects in progress throughout the country, Eklund said, the largest number is with the use of the computer.
Although KU has not experienced the proliferation of computer terminals to the extent of Dartmouth or Carnegie, it has been able to form computer classes. Hallenke use the computer in a class that teaches clinical psychology students how to manage a mental health condition.
Students provide the details of the clinic's administration—staffing requirements, funding, patient care—then feed their students in a classroom that simulates a one-month operation at a clinic, running it according to the student's specifications. In a few minutes the student can view the results and determine the strengths and weaknesses of a project.
"THE STUDENTS have a chance to deal with real world settings before actually getting out in the world," Hallenbeck said. A course has computer-based in-
A course featuring computer-based instruction, he said, remains a rarity at KU.
"We're really not that well-equipped here at, Kansas with student terminals." Hallenbeck said. "At the moment we're limited in what we'd like to do, because there just aren't enough terminals available."
Hallenbeck estimated that the student to terminal ratio was one to 400 at KU, but he predicted that the ratio would decline over time andade to one terminal for every 100 students.
He said, "I fully expect computers (to be become prevalent at KU) within the next five to 10 years." He said he envisioned a system where terminals would be located in dormitories, tied into the main computer and available 24 hours a day.
EKLUND CONJECTURED that terminals would be available to individual students in the near future, providing the student could afford it. The terminal, which resembles a large typewriter attached to a telephone receiver, would cost $1,000 to $1,500.
Beyond that initial cost, Eklund said, telephone lines that the hookup would cost about $3 a month. In addition, each time a main computer is used, a charge is made.
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Ekland said that right now anyone associated with the University who had a valid reason—and the financing—could obtain and use a terminal tied into the computer system. The noted is, the total availability of the computer's memory banks to anyone who asks.
"IN THE PAST, there's a little bit of a security problem with the computer," he said.
will be operating terminals out of their homes or apartments within the next 10
The problem does not appear to be a major one, he said, and individual students
One way of cutting costs would be to own a micro-computer, he suggested. These are home computers that could be programmed for educational uses. A micro-computer contains its own terminal, memory bank and video display.
"Some you can carry in a briefcase. They may be as common as a television set in the room."
EKLUND SAID that decreasing costs would be the primary reason for the inevitable popularity of the computer. The main breakthrough have created two prizes.
"Clearly, there will be education on micro-computers," Ekland said. "You can do things like drilling practice in English or computer science." He added that very sophisticated decisions very quickly.
Despite expanding capabilities and reduced costs of micro-computers, Eklund said, the future of the computer lies with the terminal tied to a central unit.
"It's the only industry in the world where prices are decreasing," Ekland said. "If a company cuts its wages, it will affect
years ago, a computer with the same capabilities would now cost $600 to $1,500.
"The large mainframes will never go away." he said.
One advantage the main computer has over the micro-computer is the enlarged memory. Ehband said that when he recently used the data-base computer in Watson Library to find information on the topic of computer science, he was surprised with nearly a thousand different references.
BOTH EKLUND and Halenbeck said they thought that computers would change the study habits of students over the next decade.
Computers would be expedient, Hallenbeck said.
A "time-savings would be getting a report in an hour that might take a week," he said, when the judge ordered him to release.
In ordinary research, a student might overlook something important, he said, but the computer overlooks nothing, providing information necessary to an accurate report.
Eklund suggested specific areas where computers would be helpful.
"IT HAS applications in other fields, including art and music. One of the specialties is computer art. The computer is just another medium for expressing artistic forms. It kind of eliminates the messiness of paint."
Hallenbeck said he did not forsee a future where the computer completely reveries.
"I think the key thing is that computers are not going to substitute for face-to-face
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instruction," he said. "It's going to give them (instructors) a more powerful tool to
"The sophistication of the student is going up all the time," he said, and "certainly the teacher has been teaching."
Eklund said the computer should make students even more knowledgeable.
BECAUSE OF the increased sophistication, Hallenbeck said he thought that in the future, instructors would require more from students.
"He can make those demands because the
computer can help the students with the demands," he said.
If a student wanted to use the computer as a substitute for studying, Ekland said, he may run into problems. For example, he said it would be difficult for a student to meet the frequency of test questions used by a professor and to determine what he would ask in the future.
"Besides," he said, "if the professor is smart, he can use the computer to randomize the exams and give each student a slightly different exam."
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