An Experiment in Computer Based Education Using Hypertext

FAIN: EH-10520-75

Brown University (Providence, RI 02912-9100)
Andries van Dam (Project Director: November 1974 to present)

To support an experimental program to teach a college-level English poetry course, utilizing a new form of computer based "manuscript", called a hypertext. A documentary film about the project is being produced. An evaluation is being performed to determine the usefulness of this technique as an aid to humanities education.

Associated Products

Hypertext: an Educational Experiment in English and Computer Science at Brown University (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Hypertext: an Educational Experiment in English and Computer Science at Brown University
Writer: Andries van Dam
Writer: Robert Scholes
Director: Andries van Dam
Abstract: Hypertext: an Educational Experiment in English and Computer Science at Brown University is a documentary film from 1976 made by Brown University computer scientist Andries "Andy" van Dam. The film was funded by a 1974 grant provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities to support "an experimental program to teach a college-level English poetry course, utilizing a new form of computer based 'manuscript,' called a hypertext." The Hypertext system used in the film is called FRESS and was developed by Andy van Dam, Carol Chomsky, Richard Harrington, and others based on the hypertext idea developed by Theodor Nelson. The Hypertext poetry class described in the film was conducted by Jim Catano, Carol Chomsky, Nancy Comley, and Robert Scholes. Film production was done by Michael Silverman, Bill Gallery, and Peter O'Neill.
Year: 1976
Primary URL: https://archive.org/details/AndyVanDamHypertextFilm
Primary URL Description: Copy of the film in the Internet Archive
Access Model: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA
Format: Film
Format: Digital File

Poetry and Computers: Experimenting with the Communal Text (Article)
Title: Poetry and Computers: Experimenting with the Communal Text
Author: James V. Catano
Abstract: This article describes a collaboration between Brown computer scientist Andy van Dam and Brown English professor Robert Scholes. Between 1973 and 1976, they used van Dam's hypertext system, called FRESS, in a humanities classroom to see how it might impact student learning. The article describes how the system led to an early version of an online scholarly community, taking advantage of the FRESS system to encourage peer-to-peer student communications in the classroom. The work was funded, in part, by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Year: 1979
Primary URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30207275?origin=JSTOR-pdf
Primary URL Description: JSTOR link to the article
Secondary URL: http://www.worldcat.org/title/poetry-and-computers-experimenting-with-the-communal-text/oclc/5655336633&referer=brief_results
Secondary URL Description: Worldcat link to the article
Access Model: Subscription only
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Computers and the Humanities
Publisher: Springer

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