CAGsoft: Force Operant

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FREE OPERANT

FreeOperant is a creative, interactive software tool for exploring principles of learning that are behind behavior modification and operant learning. A typical experiment involves presenting a simple, chained, or concurrent schedule of reinforcement on a computer. Initially, the student is the subject, discovering the exact schedule or a short sequence of of keystrokes which leads to the (secondary) reinforcer. FreeOperant is not a simulation - real data is collected which the student then, in the capacity of experimenter, analyzes. The computer displays data in the form of a cumulative record or simple rate-per-unit-of-time graph.

Andragogy

FreeOperant addresses ethical concerns involved in collecting data from others and from nonhuman animals; in having the student analyze their own data, it sensitizes students of learning theory to the difficulties and individuality of the learning experience; and complements course structures, such as PSI, which are congruent with the self-paced, mastery-oriented educational philosophies derived from learning theory.

Efficiency

The individual nature of the experience allows students to self-pace their engagement, to choose the time of learning, and produces analyzable data in as little as 15 minutes.

Versions

FreeOperant is available in 68k or PPC machines running MacOS 7.1 or later. The student version (FreeOperant Student) is freely available for download. The full-featured version (FreeOperant) is required for creating and editing one's own experiments and for saving or retrieving data as a TEXT file (the format that is most widely amenable to statistical analyses). Instructions for ordering FreeOperant are contained in the Demo version. Four demonstration experiments are included.

System Requirements	Requires Mac OS System 7.1 or later, keyboard, mouse, color monitor. PowerPC and 68k versions are available.
To Download Student	Each is a 203k to 270k file. To begin downloading, click: FreeOperant Student v1.0 (PPC) FreeOperant Student v1.0 (68k)
To Download Demo	This version does everything the Student version does, but includes a demonstration of the experiment-creation feature of FreeOperant, registration information, help for instructors, and demonstration experiments. Each is a 280k to 347k file. To begin downloading, click: FreeOperant Demo (PPC) FreeOperant Demo (68k)
Installing	Each download is an .hqx file which must be extracted by an appropriate utility. The free Stuffit Expander from Aladdin Systems can perform all the decoding and extraction. When decoded, the .hqx archive file will create a self-extrating archive file (with .sea suffix). If your extraction utility did not automatically extract all of the folders and files, double click the self-extracting archive.
Inquiries	bug reports, etc. may be sent to C Graessle at [email protected]

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