Computers at the University
by Kris M. Bergquist
Kansan staff writer
When Jerry Niebium began working at
computer company one Apple i micro-
computer on campus.
"We had as many pop machines as microcomputers, and one was used a lot more," said Nieburg, director of Academic Computing Services.
Onc眼看了 as a complex tool reserved for advanced scientists, computers are now available.
Now, in 23 computer labs on campus, 489 computers are available for students' use.
Niebaum said one of the priorities for the Center was to make a commitment to get a microcomputer for each student. He said he would have labs for any student who needed them.
Cook said that between the 40 computers in the business lab and 37 computers at the center, there were enough for the students to use. "Most of the usually has about 80 students in his class."
Cook said that computer use seemed to grow on his students.
"The more they use it, the more they like computers." Cook said. "Once they get over their fear, they could see that the dumb machine actually could help them."
"Some people who teach classes in business hesitate to move into that area." Cook said. "They're afraid students won't have access. I don't believe that's a burden."
Cook said he would not use computers for his introductory level classes because there were too many students in them. He said that about 800 students were enrolled in introductory classes and that there were not enough computers on campus for that many students.
Harold Cook, assistant professor of business, requires students in his Cost Accounting class to use the computer to solve problems.
He said his only concern was that the computer sometimes did too much work and that students didn't learn how to do the problems themselves.
Not 'magic boxes'
Computers are capable of many things, but computer experts still contend that they have not gone beyond the brain, said Jack Schatz. "They can't do what Instruction lab in the English department."
"Students have a real misunderstanding of what the computer can do." he said.
"They think that they have to turn over the work to them and it will take over. It's simply not true. Students need to make judgments on their own."
Despite the threat of computers taking over too much work, many faculty members say the computer's advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
Po-Lung Yu, Carl Scupin distinguished professor of business, said speed was an important factor in his work.
The Computer Assisted Instruction Laboratory for the English department has 32 computers for students to use when writing papers. Jack Healy, director of the lab, said about 800 students used the lab each semester.
"It's a quick way to look at a building
without drawing all the angles." Spreckel man-
agement.
"We use computers to solve problems that would take many days to finish, but with the computer, will only take a few hours." Yu said. "I encourage students to use them so they'll be up to the technological frontier instead of being technically obsolete."
Writer's Workbench is the main program
Kent Sprekelmeyer, associate professor of architecture, said students used the 20 computers in the architecture lab for three-dimensional modeling and graphics.
students use to write papers. It can be used on the lab on the 12 AT&T computers.
"It's descriptive software, not prescrip- tive software," Healy said. "The computer is intelligent because it can flag things, but the dumb because it can't judge the dumb."
"It can point out problem words, such as "it and lay," or grammar sentences, sentenced to the reader."
Writer's Workbench
"We wanted to see if Writer's Workbench had any effect on writing through the year."
In the 1986-87 school year, The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences conducted a study of Writer's Workbench. About 400 students were taught English 101 and 102 by the same instructor. One class used the Writer's Workbench program to write their papers and another class wrote out their papers by band.
Healy said.
Galeye Hove, a doctoral student in study of the ill-conditioned study of the in-class essays was hired.
"The results were statistically significant in favor of the computer groups." Howe
The essays were studied by two "blind readers." Hove said, who compared the essays and judged them on style, organization and mechanics. The readers had knew nothing about the writing conditions or the students, so they were unbiased, she said.
Hove said she was working on the study of the out-of-class essays. Compilation of other data from the study will be completed by Julv, she said.
However, Hove said that student surveys and essay comparisons revealed that the computer use didn't have the biggest impact on students. The teachers made the biggest
See USING, p. 5, col. 1
New network will UNITE KU, schools
by Kris M. Bergquist
Kansan staff writer
"We have the technology," said John Poggio, associate dean of education, "but we have to know how to use the computer. To make this program work, we've got to assume that there are people who aren't knowledgeable about computers."
The School of Education contends that computers in classrooms soon will be as useful to students as a television.
The trick is understanding the computer, officials say, and that is the purpose behind the United Network for Informatics in education program that will begin this summer.
Computers are essential for many
THE UNITE program's purpose will be to link student teachers, teachers and administrators in Kansas schools with faculty from the School of Education.
This will be possible with computers that will service six school districts in Kansas: Shawnee Mission, Blue Valley, Olathe, Kan-
... See COMPUTER, p. 7, col. 1
by Kris M. Bergquist Kanson staff writer
Kansan staff writer
Mike Horsley didn't just want a compu-
sure it and was willing to do a
[to] get it.
"I sold my motorcycle," said Horsley, Overland Park senior. "Schoolwise, it was worth it. I don't know if I would have made it this far without it."
Like Horsley, many students and faculty at the University of Kansas have found computers an almost indispensable tool.
Robert Spires, chairman of the department of Spanish and Portuguese, said that of the department's 14 faculty members, only one did not use a computer.
"I guess he's just married to the typewriter," Spires said. "The department can't buy individual computers. We don't have the funds to do so. I'm sure we could get so much more work done if we could have the computers, though."
Larry Michels, Downs third-year law student, bought a Leading Edge IBM compatible computer last year and has to write papers and outline chapters.
"I think it's one of the best investments
that I've ever made,” Michels said. “It enables it to put more of an effort into doing what I do.”
"I'm more inclined to blow off making improvements if I have to retype the whole paper. With a computer, I can type on a printer without retyping the whole thing."
Yesenia Rodriguez, graduate teaching assistant in Spanish and Portuguese, said that if she hadn't been able to use a computer, she wouldn't have gone to graduate school.
"I'm the worst typist around," Rodriguez said. "It would take me two or three hours to finish a typewritten page. I can whole paper on a computer in that time."
For now, Rodriguez is using the computer in the department of Spanish and Portuguese, but she is shopping for one of her own to write her thesis.
"Prices have really been coming down
Pat McCassick, salesman at Pam-
tuland, 14 W. XIX. Sth. acreed.
"People do a little shopping, some price comparison, and I think that's a good idea," McCassick said. "The problem is that since the average person doesn't know all the computers, they may be looking at the prices than what the machine has to offer."
McCassick said that KU's computer population must be dominated by McCassick.com.
Myles Schacher, of Connecting Point Computer Center, 804 New Hampshire acres. He had said he wasn't too babbage for the KUI team's promotion of Macintosh computers.
"We've had a tremendous drop in sales to students since KU got into the computer business with Apple," Schaacter said. Since January 1986, we've had a drop of about ten business people and we've had to let eight people go. It's hard to compete with this."
However, Jerry Niebium, director of Academic Computing Services, said that
See POOR, p. 7, col. 4
KANSAN/Employment 89/Mav 3.1989 3