DOCUMENT RESUME ED 330 315 IR 014 934 AUTHOR May, Charles TITLE The American Short Story: From Poe to 0. Henry. A HyperCard Application. INSTITUTION California State Univ., Long Beach. English Dept. PUB DATE 90 NOTE 38p.; Supported by the 1989-90 Dissemination Grant from the California State University Lottery Revenue Program for Instructional Development and Technology. PUB TYPE Guides - Non-Classroom Use (055) EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Authoring Aids (Programing); *Computer Assisted Instruction; Computer Software Development; Elementary Secondary Education; English Instruction; English Literature; Higher Education; *Hypermedia; Short Stories IDENTIFIERS Apple Macintosh ABSTRACT This report describes a computer-assisted instructional application created on a Macintosh computer using HyperCard software. The iL3tructional program is aimed at those who teach college-level English education courses and those whoare planning a course on the use of technology in the English classroom. It is noted that the HyperCard software was developed to aid in teaching English literature, specifically short stories, and provides access not only to the text of the short story, but also to concepts and patterns throughout the story. The rationale behind using the Macintosh computer, the concept of hypermedia and hypertext and, in particular, the use of HyperCard on the Macintosh, are discussed. Also described is the theory of short story analysis that underlies the computer application. The report concludes with a detailed discussion of programming using the HyperCard software, and suggests a method for creating unique applications to meet the needs of individual classroomE. (DB) *********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * U.S. DEPARTMINT OF !EDUCATION Office of Educational Research andimprovement EDUCA OM 4. RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) C' This clOCurnnt het beenreproduced as received from the person ororganitatton originating it Miner changes have been madeto improve reproduction ctuaIify Points of view Or oprniona statedin MS OCPC ment do not neCeelarilYrepresent official OERI poeition or poliCy The American Short Story: From Poe to O. Henry A HyperCard Application By Charles May English Department California State University, Long Beach "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY BEST COPY AVAILABLE Charles May TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC). The AmericanShort Story: From Poe to 0.Henry A HyperCard Application by Charles May English Department California State University,Long Beach Distributed Free to CSU EnglishFaculty 1989-90DisseminationGrant Funded by CSU Lottery RevenueProgram for instructional Development andTechnology Introduction American Short Story: From Poe to 0. Re.nry isa computer- assisted instructional applic.ation createdon a Macintosh computer using HyperCard. In its most basic format, itwas developed as an instructional device to teach the rudiments of HyperCardto teachers and future teachers in English 337Technology in the English Classroom,a CSULB course created to fulfill Title 5 requirements that students receiving theclear teaching credential have computer raining specificto their discipline. The preparation of the present version of the application and thisbooklet was supported by a 1989/90 dissemination grant from the Lottery Revenue Program for Instructional Development and Technology. The application is being distributed free to all interested English faculty in the CaliforniaState University system; it is particularly aimed at those who teach English alucation courses and those who are planninga Title 5 computer-instruction course. I am not a computer programmer,nor a designer of computer applications, as this "rough draft" version of American Short Story will indicate. However, by studying instructional bookson HyperCard, I have developed a basic format whereby HyperCard might be usedto assist the teacher of English teach the reading of short narrative. HyperCard, and its program language, HyperTalk, are very accessible devices for designing simple applications such Ps this one. The booklet and diskare being distributed to my colleagues in 2.nglish Departments throughout the CSU system to let theta know that useful applications can be designed even by a computer novice like myself, for with HyperCard, one does not have to learn a complex program language. Although it is impossibleto provide a complete background for the use of HyperCard in this short booklet, perhaps an account of the thinking and development whichwent into the creation of this simple application will provideeven those who are unfamiliar with the Macintosh or with HyperCard withan idea of the program's possible educational uses. With that aim in mind, I will briefly discuss the following elements which underlie the American Short Story application: American Short Story 2 1. The "look and feel" of the Macintosh computer 2. The basic concept of H xt 3. The implementation ofCa%ani on the Macintosh 4. The theory of short story analysis which unlerlies the application 5. How the American Short Story application works 6. How the American Short Story application was put together The actual HyperCard program cannot be shipped with this disk; thus it is assumed that you have access to a copy of it. Having been distributed fite ',with all Macintosh computers since August 1987, it is ubiquitous. If you do not have your own copy, find a Macintosh lab on your campus, and it will surely be then, probably on a fixed disk or on a network file server. Although this application makes use of ten nineteenth-century American short stories, it is not being distributed primarily for use by teachers of the American short story, but rather for use by teachers of English education courses. The emphasis is not on the history of the form, but on analysis of individual stories.Short stories were chosen because I have done a great deal of research and writing on the form over the past several years; these particular American short stories were chosen because they are relatively short, are fairy well-known and representative, and are in the public domain. Teachers of the short story are, of course, free to use the application in their classroom. You may make as many copies of the disk as you like; however, I would appreciate it if you would give credit to me for designing the application and to the Lottery Revenue Program for Instructional Development and Technology for supporting it.I am currently preparing a short story text book, which, when published, will be distributed with disks similar to this one. The Macintosh Computer The Macintosh is manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. which was founded by two young entrepreneurs, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, in the early 1970s. The Apple I computer, created in a garage, was followed by the Apple II, which became the computer of choice for public school systems throughout the country. Apple, wanting to develop a mare po erful machine to appeal to the business market, created a computerin American Short Story 3 the late 1970s called the Lisa. However, because itwas so expensive and because IBM had practically come:cal the business market with its computer by that time, the Lisa failul to take off. Steve Jobs then pioneered the transformation of the Lisa into what he envisionedas the'people's computer- -the Macintosha computer "for the rest of us" as the ad sloganwent, which anyone could set up and use "right out of the box." The Macintosh was introduced in 1984 to mixed reviews. The public took to it immediately, for it seemed the ultimate in "friendliness," right down to the opening "happy face." However, the old handsat computer use--who had cut their teeth on the CPM world of criptic commands lines, considered it an expensive toy, not fit for serious work. That has all changed now, and the machine has been upgraded and expanded through several different models since then. The Mac SE is only slightly faster and can be purchased with an internal fixed disk drive witha 20 megabyte capacity. The SE30 runs about four times faster thana plain SE and, in addition to being provided with a fixed disk drive of 20 megabytes or more, has a 1.44 Megabyte internal "superdrive" whichcan also access data created on an IBM-compatible computer. The Mac II series constitutes the so-called high end of the Mac family. Thereare several models, all of which support color monitors and all of whichare faster (except for the now discontinued "plain" Mac II),more "open" and more easily expandable than the relatively closed Mac Plus, Mac SE, and SE30. Two primary factors distinguished the Macintosh from other computers when it was first introduced: the use of the mouse and a graphic user interface (now widely imitated and called a GUI) Before the Mac, the basic way that one "made things happen" on a computerwas by typing in instrucLons on a typewriter style keyboard. This seemed quite natural, given the fact that the most common uses of the computer involved manipulating words and figuresby word processing, data base management, and spreadsheet programs. However, the creators of the Macintosh felt that such a ''command line" orientation frightenedmany potential computer users away because they had to memorizea large number of keystrokes. Steve Jobs wanted to developa "user interface" (what one sees on the screen and uses to operate the machine) which would be more "friendly" because it featured images of familiar "real world" objects. Thus, the first thing you see whenyou turn on the Mac is not the enigmatic A> pr-mpt of the IBM, but a "desktop." American Short Story 4 Although the "desktop" is simplya gray opening screen, the graphic images on it, appropriately knownas "icons," resemble real objects.For example, if you start up the Mac witha 3 1/2 "floppy" disk, you will see an icon or graphic image of that disk (with itsname under it) at the top right corner of thescreen. You will also see the image of a trash can at the bonum right of the screen, where you "dump" thingsyou no longer want to useon the desktop.