JCE Software, SP2: KC? Discoverer with Knowledgeable Counselor

KC? Discoverer with Knowledgeable Counselor

Daniel Carol University de Nice,F 06034 NICE CEDE, France
John W. Moore University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
Robert C. Rittenhouse Walla Walla College, College Place, WA 99324

Note:
This issue is out of print. See 1) is a program that permits students and faculty to explore a wide range of properties (physical, chemical, and microscopic) of the elements and is closely coordinated with the periodic table. The program has been extended by adding as integrated functions: displaying stills and video sequences from the Periodic Table Videodisc (2), either on a separate video monitor or using an IBM M-Motion video adapter; building (and manipulating with Boolean logic) sets of elements that satisfy a variety of conditions; and consulting a Knowledgeable Counselor (KC, the source of part of the name of the program) that advises students about how to approach specific problems that they might be assigned. The advice generated by the KC is not programmed in but rather generated on the fly by an artificial intelligence program.
An example of a problem that students could use the program to solve is: "A mystery element is expensive because it is not readily available on the surface of earth. It has a high density and can be scratched by glass or iron. It can be melted in a chromium or vanadium crucible. It forms a chloride MC_l3. What is it?" All of the necessary information on terrestrial abundances, densities, hardnesses, melting points, and formulas of chlorides is available and can be found easily, provided the student has a reasonably logical approach to the problem. The KC is an expert system designed to provide advice and guidance to a student working on such a problem. It consists of a supervisor that keeps track of student activities and records significant choices that have been made, an inference engine that uses a pedagogical knowledge base to generate appropriate advice, and a user interface that allows the KC to ask questions of the student and to recognize the student's answers.

Screen from Special Issue 2.
The pedagogical knowledge base embodies a teaching strategy and must be devised by an experienced teacher who is familiar with the subject matter and pedagogical objectives of the problem that the student is working on. Two sample knowledge bases are included, and a separate knowledge-base-development environment (KBDE) allows teachers to develop their own problems and construct and modify knowledge bases to suit their personal teaching strategies. This can be done by making selections from a series of menus to construct the knowledge base and does not require that a teacher learn a programming language.
Hardware and Software Requirements
KC? Discoverer with Knowledgeable Counselor requires an IBM PS/2, PC, or PC Compatible with at least 640K memory, a hard (fixed) disk, at least one 3.5-in. disk drive, and CGA (Color Graphics Adapter) or compatible graphics. It runs under MS-DOS version 2.1 or greater and is supplied on three 720-K 3.5-in. disks. If graphs and other information are to be printed a printer compatible with the IBM/Epson graphics standard will be needed. If the program is to be used with the Periodic Table Videodisc (not included), a Pioneer LD-V6000 series, LD-V4200, LD-V2200, or compatible laser videodisc player, or a Sony laser videodisc player with computer interface must be connected to the computer through a serial (RS-232) interface with an appropriate cable. The M-Motion version requires the IBM M-Motion adapter card and a compatible color monitor; the two-monitor version requires a separate video monitor to display the output from the videodisc player. Both M-Motion and two-monitor versions are included in this issue.
Literature Cited

Feng, Aw; Moore, J. W.; Harwood, W.; Gayhart, R. J. Chem. Educ.: Software 1988 1B(1).
Banks, A. J. J. Chem. Educ.: Software 1989 Special Issue Number 1.

First Published: March 1992
Citation: Carol, D.; Moore, J. W.; Rittenhouse, R. C. . KC? Discoverer with Knowledgeable Counselor J. Chem. Educ. Software SP2
Keywords: Lecture Aid; Computer Room; Instructor; High School; General; Inorganic; History of chemistry; Periodic table; Structural chemistry of elements; Descriptive chemistry of elements

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Last Updated: August 14, 2001
Created: December 3, 1996 Created by: J. L. Holmes
Comments to: jceonline@chem.wisc.edu

© 1997 Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.



KC? Discoverer with Knowledgeable Counselor
Daniel Carol University de Nice,F 06034 NICE CEDE, France John W. Moore University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706 Robert C. Rittenhouse Walla Walla College, College Place, WA 99324

Note:	This issue is out of print. See 1) is a program that permits students and faculty to explore a wide range of properties (physical, chemical, and microscopic) of the elements and is closely coordinated with the periodic table. The program has been extended by adding as integrated functions: displaying stills and video sequences from the Periodic Table Videodisc (2), either on a separate video monitor or using an IBM M-Motion video adapter; building (and manipulating with Boolean logic) sets of elements that satisfy a variety of conditions; and consulting a Knowledgeable Counselor (KC, the source of part of the name of the program) that advises students about how to approach specific problems that they might be assigned. The advice generated by the KC is not programmed in but rather generated on the fly by an artificial intelligence program. An example of a problem that students could use the program to solve is: "A mystery element is expensive because it is not readily available on the surface of earth. It has a high density and can be scratched by glass or iron. It can be melted in a chromium or vanadium crucible. It forms a chloride MC_l3. What is it?" All of the necessary information on terrestrial abundances, densities, hardnesses, melting points, and formulas of chlorides is available and can be found easily, provided the student has a reasonably logical approach to the problem. The KC is an expert system designed to provide advice and guidance to a student working on such a problem. It consists of a supervisor that keeps track of student activities and records significant choices that have been made, an inference engine that uses a pedagogical knowledge base to generate appropriate advice, and a user interface that allows the KC to ask questions of the student and to recognize the student's answers. Screen from Special Issue 2. The pedagogical knowledge base embodies a teaching strategy and must be devised by an experienced teacher who is familiar with the subject matter and pedagogical objectives of the problem that the student is working on. Two sample knowledge bases are included, and a separate knowledge-base-development environment (KBDE) allows teachers to develop their own problems and construct and modify knowledge bases to suit their personal teaching strategies. This can be done by making selections from a series of menus to construct the knowledge base and does not require that a teacher learn a programming language. Hardware and Software Requirements KC? Discoverer with Knowledgeable Counselor requires an IBM PS/2, PC, or PC Compatible with at least 640K memory, a hard (fixed) disk, at least one 3.5-in. disk drive, and CGA (Color Graphics Adapter) or compatible graphics. It runs under MS-DOS version 2.1 or greater and is supplied on three 720-K 3.5-in. disks. If graphs and other information are to be printed a printer compatible with the IBM/Epson graphics standard will be needed. If the program is to be used with the Periodic Table Videodisc (not included), a Pioneer LD-V6000 series, LD-V4200, LD-V2200, or compatible laser videodisc player, or a Sony laser videodisc player with computer interface must be connected to the computer through a serial (RS-232) interface with an appropriate cable. The M-Motion version requires the IBM M-Motion adapter card and a compatible color monitor; the two-monitor version requires a separate video monitor to display the output from the videodisc player. Both M-Motion and two-monitor versions are included in this issue. Literature Cited Feng, Aw; Moore, J. W.; Harwood, W.; Gayhart, R. J. Chem. Educ.: Software 1988 1B(1). Banks, A. J. J. Chem. Educ.: Software 1989 Special Issue Number 1.


News \| Issues \| CD-ROM / Video \| Find It! \| Technical Support \| For Authors
JCE Online \| Journal \| Software \| Internet \| Happenings \| About JCE \| Contact JCE

Last Updated: August 14, 2001 Created: December 3, 1996	Created by: J. L. Holmes Comments to: jceonline@chem.wisc.edu

© 1997 Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.