A computer-assisted instructional (CAI) course in applied statistics has been taught for 15 years in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba. The CAI courseware was originally created to be the primary mode of instruction for the course, and it is very extensive in terms of content and style of presentation. The course includes 14 modules of instruction and 10 examinations, and it takes the average student about 80-90 hours of online instruction to complete. Originally programmed in IBM's Coursewriter II authoring language for use on an IBM 1500 system, the course continues to exist in this language, with some enhancement provided through the development of an in-house interpreter. Under the present CAI system, the course requires about 2.3 megabytes of memory, not counting the memory needed to store the interpreter, run-time system, and graphics. Estimates suggests that it would take approximately 14 megabytes of memory to hold only the course code on a MacIntosh microcomputer using Course of Action software. The future of the course in its present mode is not certain for a number of non-technical reasons, including maintenance costs on old hardware, curriculum changes, and the capabilities of microcomputers. Two tables depict the time requirements for students and computer memory requirements for each of the 14 topics covered by the one-semester introductory course. (4 references) (Author/EW)
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