The use of natural language entry and laser videodisk technology in CAI

One reason for the limited use of computer-assisted instruction in medical education has been that the writing of lessons often requires complex programming skills. Recently developed authoring systems for microcomputers now permit teachers unfamiliar with computers to write realistic clinical simulations for use in both instruction and evaluation. The authors in this paper describe the use of an authoring system which incorporates two important features: student interaction with the computer by natural language entry at the keyboard and the use of the microcomputer to direct a random-access laser videodisk player. For the purpose of evaluation, memory registers are employed to assign scores to several aspects of performance and to derive monetary costs for components of patient assessment and treatment. Similar registers are used to codify instructions for altering the clinical state of the simulated patient. The realistic simulations facilitate both problem-based learning and the evaluation of several cognitive aspects of clinical competence.