[net.general] Automated Writing Aid

awinterb@udenva.UUCP (Art Winterbauer) (04/15/85)

                             _A_u_t_o_m_a_t_e_d _W_r_i_t_i_n_g _A_i_d

          _P_r_o_b_l_e_m: An automated system for helping students to  brain-
          storm  ideas  for  essays  and  research papers is currently
          being studied as  the  subject  of  a  dissertation  at  the
          University  of  Denver.  The programs are written in Pascal,
          with user interfaces in C scripts, and run under the collec-
          tive  name of Writeaid on a VAX750 with 4.2 BSD Unix (Unix =
          trademark Bell Labs).  Writeaid is designed to enter into  a
          dialogue with students to help them mold a topic into a more
          manageable state and to organize this  information  into  an
          outline.   Teachers have access to a special set of routines
          for altering how Writeaid works with students.

          _Q_u_e_s_t_i_o_n: I do not know if other universities,  schools,  or
          organizations  in  general would want to use Writeaid.  I do
          not intend for the system to be marketed as a package in its
          present  form,  but  would  rather  release  the  source for
          further research efforts.   However,  this  cannot  be  done
          without incurring certain expenses, especially documentation
          for system installation and the like.

          Therefore, I need to know if anyone would want this package,
          and  how  they would want it delivered (e.g., via the net in
          pieces or tape).  Also I need to know what people would con-
          sider  a  reasonable fee to pay for such a system.  There is
          no need to go through the  trouble  of  getting  the  system
          ready  for  transmittal  by  whatever  means  if there is no
          demand.

          Please reply via e-mail to me or through U.S. Mail:

          A.E. Winterbauer
          Denver Research Institute
          Electronics Division
          University of Denver
          PO Box 10127
          Denver, CO 80208


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