Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!neat.cs.toronto.edu!mgreen
Newsgroups: comp.ai.edu
From: mgreen@cs.toronto.edu (Marc Green)
Subject: re: Instructional Software
Message-ID: <90Aug17.082914edt.9144@neat.cs.toronto.edu>
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto
Date: 17 Aug 90 12:29:24 GMT
Lines: 19


>From article <82994@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu>, by patten@giza.cis.ohio-state.edu (Terry Patten):
> We are looking for instructional software for our introductory AI course

Mott Given @ Defense Logistics Agency Systems Automation Center, replies:

>    I would recommend the San Marco Explorer package for LISP from Gold HIll
>    Computers.  It has demo programs that you can run to explore various
>    topics in AI.  You can also look at the LISP code to see how the
>    algorithms were implemented.

I couldn't disagree more. The San Marco Explorer, like most Gold Hill
products, is terribly overpriced junk. Moreover, it is aimed at
teaching LISP, which is a bad idea in an intro AI course: students
spend all their time learning LISP and none learning AI.

Marc Green
Trent University
Computer Studies