Page 82 - Educational Technology A Primer for the 21st Century

4.3 Educational Technology from a System’s Perspective 71
from CAI, ICAI to ITS, with personalized and adaptive learning are more and more
emphasized.

4.3.2.1 Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI)
The formation of CAI is influenced by machine teaching and program teaching. It
was first used in education and training during the 1950s, such as PLATO (Pro-
grammed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations; see https://chip.web.ischool.
illinois.edu/people/projects/timeline/1960won.html). Early work was done at IBM
and other mainframe computer companies and by Gordon Pask, O.M. Moore, and
others, but CAI grew rapidly in the 1960s when federal funding for research and
development in education and industrial laboratories was implemented. (See http://
cehdclass.gmu.edu/ndabbagh/Resources/IDKB/models.htm)
CAI is a method of instruction in which there is a purposeful interaction between
a learner and the computer device (having useful instructional material as software)
for helping the individual learner achieve the desired instructional objectives with
his own pace and abilities at his command (Mangal & Mangal, 2009). It stands for
the type of instruction aided or carried out with the help of a computer as a teaching
machine.
CAI is characterized as one-to-one interaction between a computer system and a
student; the system elicits responses from a student and provides feedback, and
allowing students to proceed at their own pace. (See https://www.britannica.com/
topic/computer-assisted-instruction). Yet, CAI also has some limitations and
drawbacks: (1) simple man-machine conversation; (2) passive acceptance of
knowledge; (3) single learning style; (4) the stable studying procedure.

Extended Reading
TICCIT (Time-Shared Interactive Computer Controlled Information Televi-
sion) is another major CAI system developed at the University of Texas and
Brigham Young University and funded by a grant from the National Science
Foundation in 1977.
In December, 1971, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Technological
Innovations Group granted a contract to MITRE to further develop the
TICCIT system as a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) system for com-
munity colleges. MITRE subcontracted with the CAI Laboratory at the
University of Texas at Austin and also with the Department of Instructional
Research, Development, and Evaluation of Brigham Young University to
refine the user interface and create the massive amounts of courseware needed
to teach a complete college-level English and algebra course. A trial imple-
mentation of the English and algebra courseware took place through the
1975–77 school years, and was evaluated by the Educational Testing Service
(ETS).
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TICCIT