Willamette Apple Connection Vol1No8 Sep87

WAC Journal | September 1987 Vol. 1 / No.8 A Monthly Publication of the Willamette Apple Connection, Inc. An Apple Il & Compatible User Education Group P. O. Box 7252 . Salem, OR 97303-0053 . (503) 585-0811 I you mail the nomination, send it to: Harry Haley, Secretary _ Willamette Apple Connection, Inc. 0. Box 725 Salem, OR 97303-0053 _ We will also have a question and answer session; so, bring your solutions, problems and programs to the meeting. We hope we can help one another. ANNUAL BALLOTING The ballots will be mailed out to the members during the month of October. Make your voice count, VOTE! We will need three volunteers to serve as "Election Tellers" the first week in November. These volunteers will have to be members which SEPTEMBER MEETING INFORMATION The meeting is scheduled for September 17th, 1987, with a starting time of 7:00 p.m.. The meeting will be held on the Chemeketa Community College campus, in Building 2, Room 112. The “Main Event" will be the nomination of members to serve on the Board of Directors. The positions are: President, Vice President, Secretary, are not on the ballot. -at-' The ballots will need to be returned to: _ Treasurer and one (1) Member-at ‘Large. . Election Tellers ; 2 It is important, that You participate. Willamette le Connection, Inc. lemember, if you can’t mi je meetin e sa nomination(s) in be submitted and postmarked, Salem, OR 97303-0053 The ballots must be postmarked no later than October 3ist, 1987. Any ballots returned past that date will not be tabulated. through the U.S. Mail, by September 30th, 1987. oa Special Help for Special People Charter NSEA members Finding the perfect product to meet _by Apple's Office of Special Education, will receive computer a specific need is a challenge we all as well as to SpecialNet, an independ- equipment, training, face. But that task just got a lot easier ent network from National Systems and technical assist- National Special Education Alliance for the many local community groups who support disabled computer users. ‘Apple has announced the formation of the National Special Education Alliance (NSEA) ~ a coalition that gives these groups access to the information and resources they need. Until now, these groups and organi- zations have been working indepen- dently to help disabled individuals use microcomputers in schools, at home, and on the job - from finding the best hardware and software tools to provid- ing the necessary training and equip- ment. As members of the NSEA, these groups can now share their information, ideas, and expertise on a daily basis using AppleLink®- Apple's on-line database, electronic mail, and bulletin board system. They will also have ac- cess to. a comprehensive special educa- tion database, maintained and updated Management, Inc. In addition, charter members will receive computer equipment. training, and technical assistance from Apple, and will work closely with about 50 de- velopers who have designed special software and adaptive peripheral devices to aid the handicapped. The NSEA will also put members in touch with professional associations across the country. As the director of one resource cen- ter described it. “The excitement gener- ated in local community groups as they teach, leam, and support one another can now be shared at a national level.” User Groups wanting more access to groups supporting the disabled should contact: Robin Coles or Jacquelyn Brand Apple Computer, Inc. Office of Special Education/NSEA 20525 Mariani Ave., MS 36-M Cupertino, CA 95014 (408) 973-6087 WILLAMETTE APPLE CONNECTION, Inc. P.O. Box 7252 Salem, Oregon 97303-0053 President and Editor of the Journal Lawrence E. Tucker (503) 585-0814 Vice President Darwin Wuerch (503) 364-4194 Secretary Harry Hale (503) Et 1-3 197 Treasurer and Telecommunications System Operator Neal Layton (503) 370-9324 Salem Public Library Bulletin Board (303) 588-6130 Head Librarian John Moore (503) 838-4966 MEETINGS . The Regular Membership Meeting is held on the third Thursday of the month, with a start time of 7:00 p.m. The meeting is held on the Chemeketa Community College campus, in Building ’ Room 112. The general public is invited to attend. WAC JOURNAL _ ; The journal is published monthly. | Authors should submit their copy via MODEM to the Salem lic Librar BBS (Apple SIG), in Binary I form; or mail a diskette with the article written in ASCII text file form, AppleWorks or Apelebrater files by the 7th of the month. ard copy should be mailed by the last day of the month preceding the publishing month. DISCLAIMER The Willamette Apple Connection, Inc. discourages the unlawful duplication of copyrighted software and other materials; and encourages prompt payment for “shareware” which members Keep and use. Persons who do not adhere to these guidelines bear sole responsibility for their actions. APPLE I] NEWSLETTER WORKSHOP, APPLE DAYTON "Why do a newsletter on an Apple II?" Richard Hulsman the moderator began. Perhaps the main reason to stay on the Apple II is that it costs a lot of money to convert to Mac. In addition it costs Jess to produce a newsletter on an Apple Il. When we began some years ago, all there was was Apple II. The most used word processing program of that era was Word Star because it columned and it could handle almost any format in which an article could be submitted. Other people use AppleWriter, and some of them have moved to AppleWorks. In most cases, the selection of a word processor was a personal matter. With the number of word processors for the Apple I, file conversion is sometimes a problem. The solution seems to be to have everything done as a text file. The next general choice is ASCII files. One of the techniques for getting two columns on an Apple II is to format a right column and then a left column. Print the first column and then rewind the printer to print the left column. Another group prints one column and then pastes the second column in. Graphics pose a problem for most Apple II newsletters. Print Shop is used a lot. Its output is cut and pasted into locations. Since most people user a letter quality printer, the other most used solution is to have the graphic printed on a sheet of paper then format the text around it and then pass it through the letter quality printer. If there was one quality that represented all Apple II newsletters represented in the workshop, it was that the groups tended to be smaller to moderate size groups, and the newsletters tended to reflect that in their size. For the most part the newsletters were strictly one person operations, with most of the articles coming from the newsletter editors. The scale of putting out the newsletter was. manageable by one person. Whereas larger groups produced their newsletters on 11 by 17 paper with a heavier cover, there were a greater variety of sizes and shapes in Apple I] news letters. Some were full sheet 8 1/2 by 11, some folded 8 1/2 by 11 to 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 pages. Some even used odd sizing because of special printing arrangements. Above all other considerations is the drive to Keep the costs down. Those who mail their newsletters mostly Kept to a size where one stamp was needed. Since most newsletters are done on a letter quality printer most newsletters are done in 12 CPI though some use 15 CPI. Production of pasteup are as varied as size. Some wax, some glue, some user layout sheets, and one swore by glue sticks. By not accepting the concept of a "professional standards" that come about through use of the Mac and tools like PageMaker, Apple 11 produced newsletters show a greater variety, individuality, and a creative flexibility to match the newsletter to the market. Each one was distinctly individual, and conserved the flavor of the user group it represented. ~~ The Apple Classroom of Tomorrow Today's Look at the Future If the dream of a car in every garage and a chicken in every pot has been realized, the dream of a computer in every home and every classroom is still a long way off. But for the students and teachers participating in Apple's Class- room of Tomorrow (ACOT™) project, that dream not only came true, it also got better: everyone has fo computers — one at home and one at school. It’s all part of a simulation of the future in edu- cation — a future when all students and teachers will have unlimited access to computer technology. What will happen when computers become as common as pens and pencils? To find out, Apple selected five class- rooms throughout the country to be ‘liv- ing laboratories” and provided each stu- dent and every teacher with an Apple Ie at school and an Apple IIc at home. To round things out, one 9th grade class received Macintosh computers. These computers were not intended to simply teach computer science or even to pro- vide enrichment — they were theant to be central to the daily teaching and learning of all academic subjects. So all 462 Apple computers were integrated into the entire curriculum as learning tools — tools for everything from composing teative stories to solving math problems and performing science experiments. And to help students use those tools, third-party software developers donated over $263,000 worth of programs and applications in support of the project. What happened when all this power fell into the hands of 189 lucky students? Everywhere, students demonstrated remarkable productivity with their ma- chines. Reports one ACOT coordinator, “One week was allowed for database instruction, yet within one day the stu- dents were asking for more.” Even the youngest students in the ACOT program gained proficiency faster than anyone thought possible. “These third-graders are typing 24 words per minute with 94% accuracy,” reports another coordi- nator, a fact she claims has led to more and better writing. And while students’ excitement over their computers has reached a fever's pitch, enthusiasm for the ACOT program is running equally high with parents and teachers. Testimonials continue to pour in from parents amazed at the accom- plishments of their children: “The advancement he has made in math, reading, and verbal skills has been quite astounding.” “Not only does our son feel very con- fident and competent performing any kind of computer task, he seems to be able to look for opportunities to utilize the computer.” Teachers report that the program has not only changed their method of instruc- tion, it's also changed their fundamental thinking about education. Observes one teacher, “The ACOT experience has al- lowed me to change my role from tradi- tional teacher to a facilitator, providing an environment in which children can grow and learn at more individual rates.” After one year, what are the educa- tional effects of having computers avail- able round the clock? While it's still too early to draw conclusions, everyone agrees that a computer-saturated en- vironment has had.a dramatic impact on students’ social and academic progress. According to Dr. Martin Engel, Apple's Education Manager and the project's director, “Great teaching and enthusiastic kids are giving us some very impressive results.” Teachers at all ACOT sites report more enthusiasm, better student respon- siveness, and significantly improved be- havior and motivation for learning. They also claim that student writing improved significantly in both quantity and quality. They credit the computer for freeing students from the slow and cumbersome process of handwriting, allowing them to focus their energies on the thinking and processing skills needed for good fj writing. And finally, teachers have observed more social interaction students as they spontaneous- at ly collaborate and share i ideas. This observation, The ACOT Family Blue Earth School, 5th grade Blue Earth, Minnesota Dodson School, 4th grade Nashville, Tennessee Memphis, Tennessee Cupertino, California West High School, th grade Columbus, Ohio in particular, is contrary to the general expectation — the myth — that one computer per child alienates students from one another. As one educational researcher noted, “Even in the absence of group activities .. . computers provide opportunities for interaction by their very presence.” And to prove it. some ACOT fifth-graders are telecommunicat- ing after school and at night to exchange messages with each other and even do homework on-line — sometimes as early as 5 AM! Dr. Engel attributes much of the early success of the program to the teachers who were willing to take risks. willing to participate in an adventure with their students. “The teachers and students in ACOT are true pioneers, literally leading a technological revolution.” While Apple supplied the hardware and support, the teachers and school administrators ded- icated countless hours to implementing the project, designing their curriculums, choosing software, and ultimately nur- turing the ACOT environment. In the end, perhaps the most impor- tant fact about the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow project is its very existence. Itis a visible reminder of Apple's long- term commitment to leadership in edu- cation. And if ACOT is indeed a look into the future, there's plenty of reason to be optimistic. Stevens Creek School, 3rd grade ‘MAT EH Lester Demonstration School, 5th grade “The teachers and students in ACOT are true pioneers, literally leading a technological revolution.” What will happen when computers become as ‘common as pens and pencils? OL SSVTO LSUd (os \ vioss 4 o, So. Se/ ee steht €S00-€0€26 YObaI9 ‘wales 7SZL XO “O'd *dU] ‘UOTJIaUUOD addy a33awWeTTIM CONNECTION