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Frames
A Computer-Aided Instruction Tool
v. 1.0
User's Guide
Copyright (c) 1989 by timothy weber
P.O. Box 6721
Ithaca, NY 14851
(607) 277-5301
GEnie: T.WEBER4
GC4Y@CORNELLA.BITNET
Portions Copyright (c) 1988 by Philip A. Mongelluzzo
Waterbury, Connecticut
p.1
INTRODUCTION
This manual describes how to use Frames, a tool for Computer-Aided
Instruction (CAI).
Frames implements something known as "programmed textbooks" on the
computer. Specifically, it presents the student with small bits of
material, called "frames," and requires the student to fill in words or
phrases that have been left out.
The concept is not as complex as other CAI methods; it doesn't
provide hints, respond to wrong answers with explanations, grade the
student's progress, take different paths through the lesson, or use
graphics or sound. It simply asks the student to fill in the blanks,
and shows the right answers when she has completed all the blanks on a
frame.
This has been done in paper textbooks for many years. What Frames
does that paper doesn't do is:
1. Allow the teacher to monitor a student's progress easier,
eliminating paper records or standardizing them
2. Allow a library to distribute unlimited copies of a book easily
and cheaply, and reduce paper waste
3. Give program authors an easy way to create on-line tutorials,
with little time and money.
What Frames does that other CAI programs don't do is:
1. Provide a simple user interface for the student
2. Provide a simple user interface for the teacher.
SHAREWARE
Frames is marketed as User-Supported Software. This means that
you are free to copy it, try it, and pass it along to any and everyone,
but you are expected to pay the author $30 if you use it. In exchange
for this registration fee, you will get the most recent version of the
program, and you will be notified when upgrades are made.
To register, print out the invoice included with Frames by typing
"copy invoice.doc prn" at the DOS prompt, fill it out, and send it to
me with a check or money order.
Please note that you may NOT receive any money in exchange for a
copy of this program, above the nominal cost of copying, and you MUST
copy all the files together and AS IS.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Frames has been tested on a PC-XT compatible with 640K RAM and a
Color/Graphics adapter, running DOS 3.1.
Note that future versions are planned to work identically on the
Apple Macintosh family, and support is planned for the Microsoft Mouse.
If you're interested in these, let me know.
DISTRIBUTION DISK
p.2
The following files are on the distribution disk:
FRAMES.EXE the executable file
TUTORIAL.FRA frame file for the tutorial
FRAMES.DOC documentation (this file)
INVOICE.DOC invoice
AHED.COM The Ad Hoc Editor, by Michael Covington
AHED.TXT The Ad Hoc Editor documentation
FRAME FILES
In order to use Frames, you must first enter the information that
you want presented to your students. The exact format of this
information, referred to as the "frame file," is detailed below.
There are three main restrictions on frame files:
1. The names of frame files must have an extension of ".FRA".
1. Frame files must be placed in the directory that is the current
directory when Frames is run. If you need more information
about directories or file names, see your DOS manual. (If
all your files are on one floppy disk, this probably won't be
a problem.)
2. You must create them with an editor or word processor that
creates "ASCII" or "flat" files. If you don't have such an
editor, you can use AHED, the "Ad Hoc Editor" [1], included
with Frames.
RUNNING FRAMES
To start Frames, simply type "Frames" at the DOS prompt. You will
receive instructions on how to load a tutorial on using Frames. All
the information you need to know to use Frames is contained in this
tutorial; you should read it before continuing to the next section of
this User's Guide, so you will understand the terms used there.
FRAME FILE FORMAT
Entering frames is very simple: just type the text you want to
appear. It doesn't matter where your margins are set or how the text
is formatted in the file; Frames will reformat it so that it fits on
the screen. For example, the file TUTORIAL.FRA (the frame file for the
tutorial) has a right margin at 60, but when you look at it with
Frames, it fills the whole width of the screen.
Note that you can edit TUTORIAL.FRA with AHED or your favorite
ASCII editor to see examples of all the frame file format rules. This
is recommended.
To indicate how you want your text divided into frames, place a
period (".") on a line by itself in the first column. For example:
_________
1. This is an independent product written and distributed by Michael
Covington, and is not a part of Frames. You may use it free of charge.
For more information, see the AHED.TXT file.
p.3
---------------------------------------------------
This is a sample frame file.
This is its first frame.
.
This is its second frame.
---------------------------------------------------
To separate a frame into one or more paragraphs, place a colon
(":") on a line by itself in the first column, like this:
---------------------------------------------------
This is another sample frame file.
This is its first frame, the first paragraph.
:
This is its second paragraph of the first frame.
.
And this is the second frame.
---------------------------------------------------
By default, Frames numbers all frames and all paragraphs after the
first. This is so you can use the first frame or the first paragraph
of a frame as an introduction or title.
If you want the numbering to start at some number other than one,
put the number right after the "." or the ":", like this:
---------------------------------------------------
This frame will have no number.
:
This paragraph will be numbered "1."
:5
This paragraph will be numbered "5."
.597
This frame will be numbered "597."
---------------------------------------------------
Also, if you don't want your paragraphs or your frames numbered at
all, you can put a "0" after the "." or the ":", like this:
---------------------------------------------------
This frame will have no number.
:0
This paragraph will have no number.
:
This paragraph will be numbered "1."
.0
This frame will have no number.
---------------------------------------------------
ENTERING BLANKS
To enter a multiple choice blank in the frame file, you need to:
1. Put parentheses () around the choices,
2. Separate them by slashes /, and
3. Indicate the correct answer by putting an asterisk * in front
of it.
For instance:
p.4
---------------------------------------------------
This statement is (true/false/*don't know). The
correct answer is "don't know".
---------------------------------------------------
To put a fill-in blank in the frame file, just put an underscore
character ("_") before and after it, like this:
---------------------------------------------------
This sentence has a _fill-in blank_. The correct
answer is "fill-in blank".
---------------------------------------------------
You can also have fill-in blanks with multiple correct answers,
like this:
---------------------------------------------------
This sentence has a _blank/fill-in blank_. The two
correct answers are "blank" and "fill-in blank".
---------------------------------------------------
The only restrictions on blanks are that they cannot be longer
than 80 characters so they can fit on one line of the screen, and they
cannot be broken across lines. If you break a blank across lines, it
will be seen as just plain text.
Again, there are more examples of both multiple choice and fill-in
blanks in TUTORIAL.FRA.
p.5
