rfc321.txt

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Network Working Group                                  Peggy M. Karp
Request for Comments:  321                             MITRE
NIC #9608                                              24 March 1972
Related RFCs:  313
Categories: F


                    CBI Networking Activity at MITRE


     This RFC is in response to Tom O'Sullivan's probe for comments

on Computer Based Instruction. MITRE is currently doing some pre-

liminary work in the area,at the present time limited to use of CAI-

related network resources.

     The most expedient way for me to respond is by attaching excerpts

taken from a recent status report prepared for internal MITRE use,

intended for staff not generally familiar with the ARPANET. Comments

directed at specific items in Tom's attachment will follow in a future

RFC.

     We welcome comments on our activities and would like to partici-

pate in any CBI dialogs that take place.




















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                       STATUS OF IR&D TASK 9780
                  ARPA NETWORK STUDIES AND EXPERIMENTS


1.0  OBJECTIVES

     MITRE/Washington became a node in the ARPA computer network in

September 1971 when a Terminal Interface Message Processor (TIP) was

installed. Since that time MITRE's use of the network has largely

been supported by IR&D funds. The objectives of the IR&D Network

Studies are:

     (a)  to promote the use of the network resources in an

          operational mode within MITRE to increase the computer

          capabilities available for supporting sponsor's work;

     (b)  to use the ARPANET itself as a research tool for

          conducting computer networking experiments; and

     (c)  to demonstrate the use of ARPANET resources to extend

          the capabilities of existing systems.

     Specifically, the proposed objectives are:

     (1)  to select ARPANET resources that can be used to support

          identified MITRE projects and to demonstrate how these

          resources can be used;














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     (2)  to use the ARPANET as a research tool to conduct data

          sharing experiments to study techniques for data handling

          on a computer network; and

     (3)  to demonstrate the feasibility of using remote

          resources on the ARPANET to augment the capabilities

          of the TICCIT* system.



*The principle use of the TICCIT (Time-Shared Interactive Computer
 Controlled Information Television) system has been for Computer
 Assisted Instruction (CAI). A TICCIT/CAI system is currently being
 developed by MITRE under a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant.

































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2.0  APPROACH

     The IR&D Network Studies and Experiments project requires soft-

ware development on selected ARPANET Host computers and extensive

exercising of network resources. The approach taken to fulfill the

project objectives involves effort in three areas.

     Task area I is designed to build up ARPANET usage by MITRE.

Task II involves conducting data sharing experiments on the network

utilizing software being built by MITRE at several network sites.

Task III is intended to demonstrate the use of CAI-related network

resources to augment the TICCIT/CAI system.

     The specific activities involved in each task area are discussed

below.

2.3  Task III - Demonstrate Extensions to TICCIT System Capabilities
     ---------------------------------------------------------------
     That Are Possibly by Drawing on ARPANET Resources
     -------------------------------------------------

     The structure of the ARPANET is such that it is technically

possible to combine resources on the network to form a "distributed

system." A first step in this direction would be to use network

resources to augment a special-purpose system connected at one of the

nodes. The special-purpose system would serve as the vertex of the

distributed system, dynamically drawing on network resources to

perform specific functions.









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     The TICCIT/CAI system is a good candidate for demonstrating the

feasibility of the concept of a distributed system. However, rather

than initially connecting TICCIT to the network, resources on the

network will first be used to demonstrate how they could augment the

capabilities of TICCIT

     Task III is organized as three subtasks to demonstrate that the

range of curriculum material can be extended, to demonstrate that the

TICCIT/CAI system can be supplemented with specialized CAI systems

that use AI techniques, and to demonstrate that TICCIT system resources

and capabilities can be augmented by using computing and storage

resources available on the network.

     (a)  Demonstrate that the range of curriculum
          material can be extended.

The range of curriculum material offered by the TICCIT/CAI system can

be extended by using network resources.  Two areas that were selected

for the demonstration are mathematics and computer science.

     The Culler-Fried On-Line Graphics-Oriented system available on

the IBM 360/75 at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB)

was selected for use in mathematics courses.  A collection of diverse

systems and languages will be selected to demonstrate how they can be

incorporated in a computer science curriculum.

     The following tasks are necessary for demonstrating that the

range of curriculum material can be extended:

     *  learn the use and structure of the Culler Fried system.

     *  use the Culler-Fried system over the network using an



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IMLAC graphics display terminal.

     *  design sample courses for demonstration of the use of

        the Culler-Fried system in a mathematics curriculum.

     *  develop software to incorporate the use of the Culler-

        Fried system in the sample courses and demonstrate.

     *  prepare a sample computer science curriculum and demonstrate

        how the wide range of systems on the network can be utilized

        in a typical computer science curriculum.

     *  determine and document the technical specifications required

        for a TICCIT/CAI system interface.

     (b)  Demonstrate that the TICCIT/CAI system can be supplemented
          with specialized CAI systems that use AI techniques.

There are two network resources utilizing AI techniques that have been

applied to computer assisted instruction tasks: SCHOLAR and LOGO.

SCHOLAR is a mixed-initiative rather than a frame-oriented CAI system.

LOGO is a LISP-based programming language designed to study whether

notions and skills of formal reasoning and problem-solving can be

taught. We will investigate if these systems can be used to supple-

ment the TICCIT system and, if possible, will demonstrate their use.

     The following tasks are required:

     *  investigate the use of SCHOLAR on the TENEX system

        at BBN over the network.

     *  investigate the use of LOGO and the "turtle" over the

        network from the PDP-10 at MIT/AI and/or from TENEX at BBN.

     *  demonstrate the use of the systems over the network.



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     *  determine and document the requirements for an interface

        with the TICCIT system.

     (c)  Demonstrate that TICCIT system resources and capabilities
          can be augmented by using computing and storage resources
          available on the network.

It should be possible for the TICCIT/CAI system to substantially in-

crease its capacity by using large data storage devices on the ARPANET

for storing student records and curriculum and by using some Host

computer to run complex statistical analysis programs to analyze and

evaluate student progress and course content.

     In order to demonstrate that such a scheme is possible, the

following tasks are necessary:

     *  determine format and requirements for curriculum

        material and student records.

     *  develop a method to store and retrieve data on a

        demand basis.

     *  select a Host on the network and develop software

        for a demonstration.

     *  determine and document requirements for an interface

        with the TICCIT system.

3.0  PROGRESS OF WORK

     In this section the progress of the work associated with each

task is presented.  Both achievements and problems encountered are

discussed.  The manpower expended thus far for each subtask is given

in graphic form, together with a proposed schedule for completing