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Radical changes in class discussion using networked computers

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Abstract

This study examines the effects of conducting class discussion on a local area network. A real time networking program (INTERCHANGE) was used for class discussion in freshman and senior literature courses and in a graduate humanities computing class. Pseudonyms, collaborative exams and essays, and computer-assisted reading were tested, along with organization of the students by sex and personality type. At the beginning and end of each semester in each class students were asked 50 to 70 multiple choice questions. Their answers revealed that the many advantages of computer assisted class discussion (CACD) clearly outweigh the disadvantages.

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Jerome Bump, Professor of English at the University of Texas, is the author of Gerard Manley Hopkins (1982) and “CAI in Writing at the University: Some Recommendations, ” Computers and Education 11, 2 (1987), 121–33. He explores the interface of CAI, psychology, and the humanities.

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Bump, J. Radical changes in class discussion using networked computers. Comput Hum 24, 49–65 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00115028

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