Abstract:

The Audio Interactive Tutor (Tait) is an interactive audio/oral computer-aided study device. It is most easily understood in comparison to the familiar notion of self-study audio tapes, which are non-interactive audio study devices. A self-study tape presents information and typically solicits responses from the user; however, it continues with a set pattern of instruction no matter what the user does, since it has no means of even detecting whether the user makes a response. Tait presents the same kind of output, but listens to the responses made by the user and alters the course of study depending on whether the responses are correct or incorrect. Tait supports an efficient approach to study that relies on sparse repetition carefully spread over time, rather than copious repetition.