awinterb@udenva.UUCP (Art Winterbauer) (10/18/85)
WRITEAID -1- Teacher
WRITEAID MANUAL
_T_e_a_c_h_e_r'_s _S_u_p_p_l_e_m_e_n_t
_N_O_T_E: You should be familiar with the operation of the Wri-
teaid program in the student mode before using the program
in the teacher mode.
This manual will help you to alter how the Writeaid
program works. As you may know, the Writeaid program is
designed to help students with their paper-planning activi-
ties. The program conducts an interview with the student.
It begins by asking some questions which are meant to estab-
lish the general area in which the student wants to write
the paper. Then, in the second stage of the program, the
Writeaid program does two things: it recursively interviews
the student in increasing detail about the topic(s) which
were sketched out in the first part of the program, and
simultaneously it constructs an outline of the topic(s)
which the student is allowed to examine and modify periodi-
cally. After the students have had a good start in this
planning process, they are to have a paper-planning inter-
view with you. They may even bring along printouts of the
tentative outlines constructed by the Writeaid program;
these printouts can be quite useful to you, as they may
reveal much about how the student wants to write the paper.
The Writeaid program itself, however, may not interract
with students the way you want it to. In fact, the three
files that the program uses for "fuel" were originally
designed with the freshman in mind, and, more specifically,
the freshman taking a Composition and Rhetoric course. The
questions that the program asks the students, and the way
the program scans the students' responses to these ques-
tions, may seem somewhat simplistic and vague for more
advanced students. Thus, there exists a "teacher's side" to
the Writeaid program, which allows you to create more of
these "fuel" files for the program to use in interacting
with students.
_W_R_i_t_a: _A _S_t_o_r_y
Imagine that the Writeaid program is a graduate student
(we'll call her WRita). You hired WRita some time ago to
help you work with your students' writing. After you assign
a paper to your students, you encourage them to see WRita
after they've thought about their topics for a day or two.
WRita's job is to act as a "screening filter." She covers
the basic fundamentals of writing. The students brainstorm
with WRita, using her to narrow down their paper topics, to
come up with some good ideas on what to write, and to make a
first stab at organizing the basic structure of their paper.
August 16, 1984
WRITEAID -2- Teacher
Then, WRita passes the students on to you a day or two
later, so that you and the students can discuss the more
technical details of content and the most effective format
for the paper.
So far, so good. However, you teach a course in Sofa
Ergometrics, and WRita is a grad student in the English
Department. How is she to help your students, who princi-
pally write research reports within the field of furniture
Ergometrics? The fact is, she can't, unless you provide her
with some guidance.
So, you move a 3-drawer filing cabinet into WRita's
office. Into these file drawers you have placed some good
questions and strategies WRita can use to provide more
specific help for your students (WRita has heretofore relied
almost exclusively on Aristotelian heuristics for exploring
topics, an approach which has left your students cold). You
instruct WRita to refer to these file drawers in the follow-
ing manner.
The top file drawer is called QST. WRita is to refer
to this drawer first when working with a student. In QST
are a variety of "opening" questions she can use when first
exploring possible topics with your students. For example,
any of the following questions would be appropriate:
1. Why would a scholar of Sofa Ergometrics be interest-
ed in <your topic>?
2. How would you relate <your topic> to the history of
Sofa Ergometrics?
3. How would you explain <your topic> to a person un-
familiar with Sofa Ergometrics?
You instruct WRita that all she has to do when asking
these questions is to insert the tentative title of the
student's paper in the place of <your topic>, and to jot
down the student's responses to these questions for later
reference.
After WRita has asked all these questions, it is time
for her to help the student to expand on what has been
covered so far. In the past, WRita would bring up in turn
each of the issues raised during the initial questioning
session, make some remark about the student's original
response to these questions, and then listen attentively for
certain clues that would reveal to her how well prepared the
student was to pursue discussion of that issue. Even if she
August 16, 1984
WRITEAID -3- Teacher
wasn't quite prepared technically to follow the arguements
advanced by the student, she did recognize certain rhetori-
cal patterns that told her if the student seemed to be very
sure of a certain position ("because," "thus," "therefore,"
"I know," "I really do think"), very uncertain ("I'm not
sure," "I think that perhaps," "probably"), or maybe just
lost ("I don't know," "have no idea," "what's going on,"
"confused"). Now, you want WRita to be really sharp. You
recognize that her present listening skills and strategies
are sound in themselves, but they're inadequate to help your
students in Sofa Ergometrics. Thus, you refer WRita to the
other two drawers in the filing cabinet: KEY and RND. You
instruct WRita to peruse the contents of these two file
drawers and to become familiar with their contents. Upon
inspection, WRita discovers that KEY is a set of files that
consists of key phrases or "triggers" with which she should
become familiar. In addition to her own, native-grown voca-
bulary, these key phrases are like an additional glossary of
Sofa Ergometrics jargon to which she should attune her ear.
She also finds that you have even jotted down a couple of
possible remarks she can make if she encounters any of these
expressions in her conversations with your students. And to
save WRita any embarrassing pauses in conversations with
students, you have provided her with the RND file. It con-
tains some helpful "random" conversation starters and fill-
ers she can use in dialogues with your students (especially
when she doesn't have an opportunity to use the materials
from the KEY files).
WRita uses KEY and RND while she engages in more
detailed interviews with your students. As she conducts
these interviews, she keeps notes of the conversation, and
attempts to build outlines of the topics under discussion.
She gives these outlines to the students when they leave,
but she also tells them that these are simply "trial" out-
lines; any final plans for the paper shouldn't be made
without consulting you, the instructor. These trial out-
lines only serve the purpose of grist for the student's mill
(food for thought?), and that the student should critically
examine these outlines that WRita has come up with on the
spur of the moment. WRita has also found it helpful to
encourage the student to pay her more than one visit before
coming to you; in fact, WRita can have two or three half-
hour conversations with each of your students before you
even see them. WRita saves her notes from one interview to
the next, and gives students copies of her notes as well.
Insert the term Writeaid for WRita, and you have a good
idea of how the program is designed to work. Now, I can
introduce the following "computer jargon" terms to you, and
they will hopefully make sense:
August 16, 1984
WRITEAID -4- Teacher
1. file = one of the file drawers; in this case, QST,
RND, and KEY. If you don't like the way Writeaid
currently counsels students, you can move in your
own file cabinet (i.e., create your own files, OR
simply modify what presently exist).
2. parsing = look at the contents of a sentence for its
meaning. I don't use the term in its most rigorous
(linguistic) sense. When you add to, or modify,
Writeaid's abilities to recognize certain patterns
in students' responses (i.e., when you modify the
contents of the KEY file), you change the patterns
that Writeaid is looking for. Thus, you've altered
how Writeaid parses students' sentences. I'll talk
more about this in a moment, because altering the
KEY file is probably the more complicated process
involved in working with Writeaid.
_T_h_e _M_a_i_n _M_e_n_u
When you type in the word _t_e_a_c_h_e_r, you will see the
following Main Menu appear:
1. Review a Question File
2. Review a Random Response File
3. Review a Keymatch File
4. Make a Copy of a File for Modification
5. Exit
Please enter number of choice:
These menu choices will now be discussed.
_M_A_I_N _M_E_N_U: _1. _R_e_v_i_e_w _a _Q_u_e_s_t_i_o_n _F_i_l_e
This menu option allows you to do several different
things. You can 1) look at a question file (remember the
QST drawer that WRita used?), 2) create a new question file,
and 3) modify a question file that already exists.
To _l_o_o_k at a question file, you will have to know the
name of one. For example, when you choose #1 above, Review
a Question File, the computer will ask you:
August 16, 1984
WRITEAID -5- Teacher
What is the filename?
That word "filename" is computer jargon for "file name" (I
don't know why we cram it together). The computer needs to
know the name of the file drawer, in other words. WRita
used one called QST, but a file by that name may not be in
the system. If you know the name of a file that already
exists, type it in. If you don't, hang on a second and
we'll create one.
To _c_r_e_a_t_e a new question file, you can respond in the
following way. After you select #1 above (Review a Question
File), and the computer comes back with:
What is the filename?
just go ahead and make up a name and type it in. Just be
sure that the letters "qst" (for "question") are stuck some-
where in the name. This will help you later to keep all
your files straight. For example, the following question
file names would be legit:
johnqsthist
englishqst2
lfreudqstpm
Just keep the name of the file of reasonable length and the
program will accept it (about 10 to 15 letters long). The
computer will then come back with another menu of all the
options you have for playing with the question file. We'll
take a look at that in a moment.
What happens if you call up the name of someone else's
file (even accidently)? Can't you mess it up? Yes, that's
a real possibility. Although the computer usually sets up
protection routines to keep this thing from happening, I've
had to disable them so that students can fully use the
files. So, to _m_o_d_i_f_y a file that already exists (one that
you didn't create in the first place), you should use the
4th option on the main menu, Make a Copy of a File for
Modification. Again, we'll talk about that later.
_Q_u_e_s_t_i_o_n _F_i_l_e _M_e_n_u
Whenever you select #1 above, Review a Question File,
and enter in the name of a file (even a brand new one that
you're creating), you will receive another menu. This is a
sub-menu that helps you to work with your question file--the
Question File Menu. It looks like this:
August 16, 1984
WRITEAID -6- Teacher
Choose one:
1. Enter records
2. Delete records
3. Examine records
4. Freeze data and outttahere
Let's look at these one at a time.
_Q_u_e_s_t_i_o_n _F_i_l_e: _1. _E_n_t_e_r _R_e_c_o_r_d_s
With this menu option, you can enter in those leading
questions (the ones WRita used to get the ball rolling with
a student and to generate ideas about the paper). With the
Writeaid program, however, you not only have to come up with
a question, but _3 _v_e_r_s_i_o_n_s of the same question. This is to
keep the student from seeing the exact same question every
time the program is used. When you select "Enter records,"
the computer will come back with:
Enter the three record versions
1.
This is your cue to enter in the first version of your ques-
tion. [If you type in a long question, do _N_O_T hit the
return key when you get to the right margin of the screen.
Just keep typing and let the computer automatically jump you
down to the next line. When you've finished typing in the
question, _t_h_e_n hit return.] Here is an example:
1. How would you explain @ to a person unfamiliar with
the topic?
Did you notice that "@" in the middle of the question?
Whenever you type that into the body of a question, the com-
puter will automatically embed the student's topic title
into the question, to sort of personalize it. So, if a stu-
dent were to see this question on the screen, and his topic
was "Sofa Ergometrics in the Soviet Union," the computer
would ask him:
How would you explain Sofa Ergometrics in the Soviet
Union to a person unfamiliar with the topic?
August 16, 1984
WRITEAID -7- Teacher
Anyway, as soon as you press the <return key> upon comple-
tion of your first question version, the computer will come
back with:
2.
This is your cue to enter in the second version of your
question, like:
2. If someone didn't know anything about @, how would
you explain it?
When you press the return key, the machine will prompt you
for the third version. When you've finished entering in the
third version, the question file menu will reappear.
By the way, if you can't think of 3 versions of a ques-
tion, but only 2, then enter in one of the questions twice.
Or, if you're really stuck, then enter in the same question
3 times! The computer selects one group of questions only
once (and from the group of 3, only 1 of the 3). So, even
if you enter in a question 3 times, the student will only
see it once.
_Q_u_e_s_t_i_o_n _F_i_l_e: _2. _D_e_l_e_t_e _r_e_c_o_r_d_s
This option lets you delete a question _g_r_o_u_p that is in
the question file. Each group is numbered from 1 on. You
won't know what numbers are assigned to each group unless
you use the third option, "Examine records" (see below).
When you select "Delete records," the computer will come
back with:
Enter the record number to be deleted
That's your cue to enter in the group number to be deleted.
That question group will then be especially marked, so that
when you exit this menu (with #4, Freeze data and outtahere,
see below), the question group you've selected for deletion
will not be permanently saved.
_Q_u_e_s_t_i_o_n _F_i_l_e: _3. _E_x_a_m_i_n_e _r_e_c_o_r_d_s
This option lets you look at all the questions that are
in the question file. Each question group (a group = 3 ver-
sions of the same question) will show a number assigned to
it. This is the "record number" of each group.
August 16, 1984
WRITEAID -8- Teacher
The questions may scroll across the screen pretty
quickly. If you don't have a button on your terminal to
start and stop this scrolling, then use the following pro-
cedure. While holding down the <CTRL> key on your terminal,
tap the "s" key. Then release them both. This halts the
display. To restart the display, hold down the <CTRL> key
again, and tap the "q" key. To gain more control over the
screen, hold down the <CTRL> key constantly, and with
another finger tap the "s" and "q" keys quickly, to pop for-
ward a few lines at a time.
_Q_u_e_s_t_i_o_n _F_i_l_e: _4. _F_r_e_e_z_e _d_a_t_a _a_n_d _o_u_t_t_a_h_e_r_e
This option saves all the changes you may have made
when entering and deleting records. After number 4 has been
pressed, you will again see the Main Menu.
Should you change your mind about saving any changes
you made, press down the <CTRL> key and with another finger
tap the "C" key. Then, type in "teacher" to see the Main
Menu again.
_M_A_I_N _M_E_N_U: _2. _R_e_v_i_e_w _a _R_a_n_d_o_m _R_e_s_p_o_n_s_e _F_i_l_e
This option (chosen from the Main Menu) allows you to
alter the random response files (i.e., the RND file that
WRita was using). The material in the Random Response file
is used by Writeaid when it cannot find anything specific to
say to a given student remark. If Writeaid can't find any-
thing useful in its Keyword File (discussed below), then the
program draws a response from the Random Response file to
encourage the student to pursue the discussion. The
material in the Random Response file is a more sophisticated
version of the "Uh huh, I see" that we use in conversation
with one another.
When this option is selected from the Main Menu, the
computer screen will display:
What is the filename?
You should then type in the name of the Random Response file
you wish to review. This procedure is identical to that for
typing in the filename of a Question File.
_R_a_n_d_o_m _R_e_s_p_o_n_s_e _M_e_n_u
After a filename has been entered, the following menu
will appear:
August 16, 1984
WRITEAID -9- Teacher
Choose one:
1. Enter random expression
2. Delete random expression
3. Examine random expression
4. Freeze data and outtahere
_R_a_n_d_o_m _R_e_s_p_o_n_s_e _F_i_l_e: _1. _E_n_t_e_r _R_a_n_d_o_m _E_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
Random expressions are entered one at a time, and each
one is assigned a number upon entry. When this option is
chosen, the following prompt will appear:
Enter the random expression
You may now type in a sentence or question. Some examples
are:
I see, go on please.
Why would you say that?
Please give me more detail.
After you've finished entering the expression, the computer
will show:
Hit the return key now
After you press the return key, you will be returned to the
Random Response File menu.
_R_a_n_d_o_m _R_e_s_p_o_n_s_e _F_i_l_e: _2. _D_e_l_e_t_e _r_a_n_d_o_m _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
This option allows you to delete random expressions in
the Random Response file. Each expression has a number
assigned to it. When the Delete Random Expression option is
chosen, the following prompt will appear on the screen:
Enter record number to be deleted
August 16, 1984
WRITEAID -10- Teacher
This is your cue to type in the number of the expression to
be deleted (to find out expression numbers, use the Examine
Random Expression option discussed below). After you've
entered the number, the computer will come back with the
following prompt:
Hit the return key now
This indicates that the expression to be deleted has been
especially marked, and when you exit the menu (Freeze Data
and Outtahere), that expression will be permanently deleted
from the Random Expression File.
_R_a_n_d_o_m _R_e_s_p_o_n_s_e _F_i_l_e: _3. _E_x_a_m_i_n_e _r_a_n_d_o_m _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n
This option operates similarly to the Examine option
for the Question file. The numbered random expressions will
flow past on the screen. To control the flow of data on a
CRT terminal screen, use <CTRL> S and Q (see discussion
under Review a Question File above).
_R_a_n_d_o_m _R_e_s_p_o_n_s_e _F_i_l_e: _4. _F_r_e_e_z_e _d_a_t_a _a_n_d _o_u_t_t_a_h_e_r_e
This option saves all modifications to permanent
storage. If you have made modifications to the file which
you would rather not save, then press <CTRL> C instead of
choosing Freeze Data and Outtahere, and then retype
"teacher" to retrieve the Main Menu (see discussion under
Review a Question File, Freeze Data and Outtahere, above).
_3. _R_e_v_i_e_w _a _K_e_y_m_a_t_c_h _F_i_l_e
The Keymatch file is used by the Writeaid program when
it scans student responses. Writeaid will examine student
responses, looking for certain words, parts of words, or
syntactical patterns which have been stored in the Keymatch
file. When a match occurs, Writeaid will print one of the
responses which has been linked to that pattern. For exam-
ple, the word "thus" may be in the Keymatch file. When Wri-
teaid sees the word "thus" in the student's response to some
question, the program will select one of the two responses
linked to the patterns "thus." The program will respond to
the student with either:
You seem to be coming to a conclusion. Am I
correct?
or
Please review for me the evidence which led you to
August 16, 1984
WRITEAID -11- Teacher
this conclusion.
You will have control over the key expressions that
Writeaid will draw upon, as well as what Writeaid says to
the student when a key expression is encountered. There are
basically two types of patterns: 1) literal patterns and 2)
non-literal patterns.
_l_i_t_e_r_a_l _p_a_t_t_e_r_n_s
Literal patterns are words or parts of words. The fol-
lowing are examples of literal patterns which can be placed
in the Keymatch file:
thus
cause
ing
tion
I am lost
The word "thus" was entered with no spaces on either side of
it. This means that Writeaid will recognize the word "thus"
if it is by itself and if it is embedded in another word
(like "thusly," "Malthus," etc.). The word " cause " was
entered with spaces on either side of it. Writeaid will
only recognize " cause " if it occurs in a student's
response with spaces on either side of it. Thus, Writeaid
will only recognize " cause " if it stands alone as a single
word, and will _N_O_T recognize it if it is embedded within
other words. The patterns "ing" and "tion" were entered
without spaces on either side of them. Writeaid will recog-
nize them if they are embedded within words (e.g., "run-
ning," "organization"). The sentence "I am lost" will be
recognized if it is found in the student's response exactly
as it is shown here. There will not be a match if the stu-
dent types in some variation of the sentence, like "I am
really lost".
To handle such variations, the "non-literal" function
has been added.
_n_o_n-_l_i_t_e_r_a_l _p_a_t_t_e_r_n_s
This function will allow you to enter keymatch keys
which will handle student variations on the key patterns.
There are 3 methods for handling non-literal patterns: 1)
noise patterns, 2) any-order patterns, and 3) mixture of
noise and any-order.
August 16, 1984
WRITEAID -12- Teacher
The _n_o_i_s_e pattern allows Writeaid to skip over unimpor-
tant words (or "noise") in a student's response. In order
for Writeaid to effectively handle the example above ("I am
lost"), you could enter the following key patterns into the
Keymatch file:
I*am*lost
With this pattern, Writeaid would come up with a match on
the following student responses:
I am totally lost.
I really am totally lost.
I must say that I believe I am truly confused and
lost.
Writeaid will allow any words to be found where the *s are.
The only restriction is that the words "I", "am", and "lost"
must be found in the order indicated.
The _a_n_y-_o_r_d_e_r function allows Writeaid to scan for
words or patterns in whatever order they occur in the
student's response. You will use the "/" character to act
as a divider between these patterns. If you wanted Writeaid
to scan for the words "I am lost" in a student's response,
but without regard for the order in which they occur, you
would enter in the following key pattern:
I/am/lost
Writeaid would then come up with a match on the following
student responses:
It is lost I am.
Sam and I are lost.
(See if you can figure out why Writeaid would recognize that
last sentence.)
Last, there can be a _m_i_x_t_u_r_e _o_f _n_o_i_s_e _a_n_d _a_n_y-_o_r_d_e_r
_p_a_t_t_e_r_n_s. Although the sentence "I am lost" is rather
short, I'll use it as an example for the sake of
August 16, 1984
WRITEAID -13- Teacher
consistency. In actual practice, the "mixture" is more use-
ful for interpreting rather lengthy and complex student
responses.
If you wanted to scan for the words "I am" in the order
indicated, but allow for "noise" between the two words, and
if you wanted the word "lost" to also be recognized, wher-
ever it may occur in a student's response, then you could
enter the following key pattern:
I*am/lost
Writeaid would then recognize the following student
responses:
I am lost.
It is lost that I think I am.
In the event that Sam gets lost, call the police im-
mediately.
(That last one is tricky). Of course, other examples of
recognizable student variations are possible (I don't know
how many).
Before I go into detail about how you can use the Key-
match File program, there are two other items that should be
mentioned: 1) level indicators and 2) "hits."
The _l_e_v_e_l _i_n_d_i_c_a_t_o_r_s are displayed in the keymatch file
right next to each key pattern, and you are responsible for
entering them. A "level" is the level of the questioning,
and you have the option of having Writeaid only look for key
patterns at certain questioning levels. As you remember
from using Writeaid in the student mode, each level of ques-
tioning corresponds to the level or depth of the outline.
Thus, level 0 (zero) is the "least deep," and corresponds to
the far-left margin in the student outline. So, if you want
the key pattern "thus" or some variation of "I am lost" only
scanned at the top level of the interview process, then you
would place a 0 (zero) next to that key pattern in the key-
match file. Similarly, if you want the pattern to only be
scanned at level 1, 2, etc., then so indicate. An interest-
ing byproduct of this is the ability of having the same word
(say "thus") scanned at different levels, with different
responses coming back to the student from the keymatch file.
For example, you might believe that the student shouldn't
reach conclusions too early in the paper-planning process,
August 16, 1984
WRITEAID -14- Teacher
but you do want to encourage this activity at all other lev-
els. So, you enter the word "thus" as a key pattern, with a
level indicator of 0, and compose a couple of responses that
Writeaid can deliver to the student should the word "thus"
be encountered at the top level. Then, you enter the word
"thus" again, with a level indicator of "@" (that means at
all levels), with responses that question the conclusive
statement. The result of this would be:
1. The student, at the highest level, enters the sen-
tence: "I thus believe that so-and-so is true." The
machine would respond with both the 0 and @ level
remarks, perhaps: "Isn't it too early to start
reaching for conclusions? What support do you have
for this conclusion?"
2. Later, the student at a deeper part of the interview
enters the sentence: "And thus the medieval knight
was a mythical invention of later years." The
machine would then respond with only the @ level re-
marks, (assuming it randomly chooses the same
response for "thus"): "What support do you have for
this conclusion?"
The _h_i_t indicator also appears next to the key pattern
in the keymatch file, but you don't put that in. It merely
indicates which key patterns have been found in student
responses since the key patterns was entered. If there is a
"-" next to the key pattern, that means that Writeaid has
never found that pattern in a student response. However, a
"&" next to the pattern indicates that it has been encoun-
tered in a student response. This rather crude indicator
should help you to determine which key patterns are useful
and which are not. You may want to delete those key pat-
terns which are never used.
Now for the nuts and bolts about entering information
into the keymatch file. Remember that if you want to make a
copy of someone else's keymatch file in order to modify it
for your own reasons, see the instructions later on in this
manual under Make a Copy of a File for Modification.
_K_e_y_m_a_t_c_h _M_e_n_u
When you select the Review a Keymatch File option from
the Main Menu, the computer will respond with the prompt:
What is the filename?
August 16, 1984
WRITEAID -15- Teacher
This is your cue to type in the name of the Keymatch file
you wish to review. After you've entered the name, the fol-
lowing Keymatch menu will appear:
Choose one:
1. Enter keys
2. Delete keys
3. Examine keys
4. Freeze data and outtahere
As you can see, the Keymatch options look very similar to
those for the Random Response and Question files.
_K_e_y_m_a_t_c_h _F_i_l_e: _1. _E_n_t_e_r _k_e_y_s
When you choose this option, the program will provide
the prompts that you need to guide you through the entering
of the proper information. The first prompt that will
appear is:
Enter the level of usage (0,1,2,...)
[Type in @ for all levels]
[Enter a period key to quit]
level =
This series of instructions allows you to enter in a number
to indicate the level for searching out key patterns in stu-
dent responses, or to let you enter in the @ which searches
at all levels. Should you decide to back out at this point,
typing a period (".") key next to the "level =" prompt will
get you back to the Keymatch menu.
After you've entered a number or the @ symbol to indi-
cate the level, the computer will respond with:
Enter the keyword(s)
1.
This is your cue to enter the key pattern, using the * and /
symbols as discussed previously.
After you enter in the key pattern (end it with a car-
riage return), the computer will respond with:
August 16, 1984
WRITEAID -16- Teacher
Enter the 2 response versions:
1.
Writeaid likes to have a choice of what to say after it
encounters a key pattern in a student's response. So, type
in one sentence that it can respond with. (Remember not to
hit the carriage return when you approach the right margin
of the screen--just keep typing letters until you've fin-
ished the sentence and THEN hit the carriage return).
After you've finished the first version of the
response, the machine will respond with:
2.
This means, type in the second version. After you've done
that, the machine will respond with:
Enter the level of usage (0,1,2,...)
[Type in a @ for all levels]
level =
If you don't want to enter a second key pattern, then press
the "." key and the Keymatch menu will return. Otherwise,
you can continue to enter key patterns as long as you want.
_K_e_y_m_a_t_c_h _F_i_l_e: _2. _D_e_l_e_t_e _k_e_y_s
The selection of this option from the Keymatch menu
will allow you to delete key patterns from the Keymatch
File. As with the Question and Random Response files, dele-
tion is by number, which can only be ascertained after using
the Examine Keys option (below).
Key patterns will be marked for deletion and will not
be saved once you have executed option 4, Freeze Data and
Outtahere.
_K_e_y_m_a_t_c_h _F_i_l_e: _3. _E_x_a_m_i_n_e _k_e_y_s
This option will list all the key patterns and the
responses associated with each pattern. The format is:
[Pattern #] [level of use]: [hit?] [key pattern]
[Response version 1]
[Response version 2]
August 16, 1984
WRITEAID -17- Teacher
Where:
[Pattern #] = number of keypatterns in the
file
[level of use] = @,1,2,....
[hit?] = & (this keypattern has been found
in a student's response,
- (this keypattern has NOT been
found in a student's response)
[key pattern] = the pattern being looked for
in the student's responses and which incorporates
the patterns:
* (skip noise letters)
/ (any-order divider)
For examples:
Pattern # level hit? key pattern
--------- ----- ---- -----------
: / / /
: / ------ ------
: : : /
1. @:& I*lost
Are you having troubles with the computer?
I need more information in order to assist you.
2. 1:- trouble/with/topic
That could actually be a good sign this early in the
game.
You might be coming up with more ideas than you ori-
ginally thought you could.
Again, as with viewing the Question and Random Response
files, you may find it helpful to use the <CTRL> S and Q
keys to stop and start the scrolling of information across
the screen.
_K_e_y_m_a_t_c_h _F_i_l_e: _4. _F_r_e_e_z_e _d_a_t_a _a_n_d _o_u_t_t_a_h_e_r_e
This option saves all changes permanently to off-line
storage (the big disk). It operates the same as the Freeze
options for the Question and Random Response files.
_M_A_I_N _M_E_N_U: _4. _M_a_k_e _a _c_o_p_y _o_f _a _f_i_l_e _f_o_r _m_o_d_i_f_i_c_a_t_i_o_n
This option on the Main Menu is very important. It
allows you to make copies of other teachers' Question, Key-
match, and Random Response files so that you can modify them
for your own uses. You will choose the name of your copy,
and you can have your students use it. With this "copy"
option, you won't have to make your own files completely
August 16, 1984
WRITEAID -18- Teacher
from scratch, but can build upon the work of others.
How do you find out the name of other teachers' files?
Simple. Just ask me via electronic mail (send queries to
awinterb). I'll put you on a mailing list which will
periodically circulate the names of other teachers' files
(once they've finished their mods and with their permis-
sion). Then you can inspect the files and determine if you
want to make a copy for your own purposes.
When this option is selected, the computer will respond
with:
What is the filename of the file you want to copy?
Type in the name of the file that you want a copy of. The
machine will come back with:
And what is the new name you want to give this copy?
Give your copy a distinct name (that you can remember and
which embodies the function of the file--qst, rnd, or key).
The computer will check your request to make sure the name
you've selected doesn't clash with the name of somebody
else's file, and then will make the copy.
After that, all you have to do to modify the file is
call it up by the new name.
_5. _E_x_i_t
When you select this option, you will exit the Main
Menu, and will be returned to regular computer operation.
_Y_o_u_r _I_n_s_t_r_u_c_t_i_o_n_s _t_o _S_t_u_d_e_n_t_s
Whenever you create new files or rename old ones for
modification, you need to pass this information along to
your students. These new filenames are the "secret words"
they use to initialize the Writeaid program.
Most importantly, you must tell them the _o_r_d_e_r that
they are to enter these words. The first secret word is
created by the students themselves, and is usually their
"username" logon code (but _n_o_t their password!). The other
3 secret words are the filenames for the question, random
response, and keymatch files. The order for all 4 secret
words is:
August 16, 1984
WRITEAID -19- Teacher
1. <student username>
2. question filename
3. random response filename
4. keymatch filename
For example, for the students to use the files I've created,
they must type in:
1. <student username>
2. artqst1
3. artrnd1
4. artkey1
Should you only modify, say, artrnd1, and give it the name
"joernd," then "joernd" must be the 3rd secret word, and the
rest would stay the same:
1. <student username>
2. artqst1
3. joernd
4. artkey1
The information that the students need in order to use
Writeaid is in their Writeaid student manuals. Should they
have questions about _W_r_i_t_e_a_i_d _p_r_o_g_r_a_m _b_e_h_a_v_i_o_r, tell them to
get in touch with me. Should they have questions about _t_h_e
_q_u_e_s_t_i_o_n_s _t_h_e _m_a_c_h_i_n_e _a_s_k_s _a_n_d _h_o_w _i_t _q_u_e_r_i_e_s _t_h_e_m, then
refer them to me if they are using my files. If they're
using _y_o_u_r files, then it's up to you!
August 16, 1984
Introduction .......................................... 1
WRita: A Story ........................................ 1
The Main Menu ......................................... 4
MAIN MENU: 1. Review a Question File .................. 4
The Question File Menu ........................ 5
1. Enter Records ......................... 6
2. Delete Records ........................ 7
3. Examine Records ....................... 7
4. Freeze Data and Outtahere ............. 8
MAIN MENU: 2. Review a Random Response File ........... 8
Random Response Menu ............................. 8
1. Enter Random Expression ............... 9
2. Delete Random Expression .............. 9
3. Examine Random Expression ............. 10
4. Freeze Data and Outtahere ............. 10
MAIN MENU: 3. Review a Keymatch File .................. 10
Keymatch Menu .................................... 14
1. Enter Keys ............................ 15
2. Delete Keys ........................... 16
3. Examine Keys .......................... 16
4. Freeze Data and Outtahere ............. 17
MAIN MENU: 4. Make a Copy of a File for Modification
.................................................. 17
MAIN MENU: 5. Exit .................................... 18
Your Instructions to Students ......................... 18