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(***)
1. The 1980s witnessed the introduction and widespread use of personal
computers at all levels of
schooling. During the decade the number
of computers used in U.S. elementary and
secondary schools increased from under 100,000 to over 2.5 million. A majority of students now use computers and
COMPUTER SOFTWARE sometime during the school year--either to learn about
computers or as a tool for learning other subjects. By the end of the decade, the typical school
had 1 computer per 20 students, a ratio that computer educators feel is still
not high enough to affect classroom learning as much as books and classroom
conversation do.
Vocabulario
Witnessed: dar testimonio / widespread:
difundido / schooling: enseñanza / increased: aumentar / from... to:
desde...hasta / sometime: alguna vez, en algún momento / ratio: promedio /
classroom learning: aprendizaje áulico / do: reemplaza a affect, afectar.
2. Some critics see computer education as merely the latest in a series of
unsuccessful attempts to revolutionize education through the use of audio- and
visually-oriented nonprint media. For example, motion pictures, broadcast
television, audio recorders, and
videotapes were all initially heralded for their instructional potential, but
each of these ultimately became minor classroom tools alongside conventional
methods.
Vocabulario
Merely: meramente / latest: la última /
unsuccessful: sin éxito / through: por medio de / broadcast: transmisión /
heralded: estimados / tools: herramientas / alongside: en comparación con .
3. Supporters believe, however, that computers are a much more powerful
learning medium than the others that preceded it. They cite the essential
interactive nature of using computers programmed to provoke decision making and
manipulations of visual environments.
Also, each computer is controlled by one student or pair of
students. Learning tasks can become more
individualized, enabling each student to receive immediate feedback. Some experts say that having students work
collaboratively on computers leads to greater initiative and more autonomous
learning.
Vocabulario
Supporters: los que están a favor /
learning medium: recurso de aprendizaje / cite: nombrar / decision making: toma
de decisiones / environments: entornos / tasks: tareas / enabling: autorizar /
feedback: retroalimentación / having
students work: hacer trabajar a los estudiantes / leads: conducir .
4. Computers in elementary and secondary schools are used in two major
contexts. The first is
computer-education instruction: how to
use WORD PROCESSING programs; how to program computers in languages such as
BASIC, PASCAL, and LOGO ; and how to use
other computer applications such as database programs.and spread-sheets. One-half of computer use by secondary
students and one-third of the use of elementary students is of this kind. From 1985 to 1989, keyboarding and
word-processing instruction increased rapidly, but computer-programming
instruction declined, as schools sought to involve all students in computer
education, not just the few excited by programming.
Vocabulalrio
Spread-sheets: planillas de cálculo /
use: sust., uso / kind: tipo, forma /
declined: declinar / sought: pasado de seek, buscar / few: pocos / excited:
entusiasmados
Personal Computers
(+++)
1. A personal computer is a computer that is based on a MICROPROCESSOR, a
small SEMICONDUCTOR chip that performs the operations of a CENTRAL PROCESSING
UNIT (CPU). The general class of
microcomputers comprises computers based on microprocessors. The personal
computer is a microcomputer.
Personal computers are single-user machines, whereas larger computers
generally have multiple users. The first
generation of personal computers were distinguishable from MINICOMPUTERS by a small memory capacity, typically in the
16-64 kilobyte range (a kilobyte, or K, is 1,024 BYTES). Models available from
the mid-1980s, however, had memories in the megabyte to gigabyte range (a
megabyte, or M, is 1,024K, and a gigabyte is 1,024M); this increased memory capacity equaled and
even surpassed the power of earlier mini-computers.
Vocabulario
Comprises: comprender, abarcar /
single-user: usuario único / whereas: en cambio, mientras que / range: rango /
available: disponibles / mid-1980s: mediados de los '80 / however: sin embargo
/ surpassed: sobrepasar / earlier: (las) primeras
2. Basic Structure
A computer system consists of three parts: the central processing unit (CPU),
INPUT-OUTPUT DEVICES, and memory. A CPU
performs arithmetic and logic operations.
The microprocessors of personal computers process data in 8-bit, 16-bit,
or 32-bit chunks (see BIT, COMPUTER).
The most common input-output devices are keyboards and cathode-ray tube
(CRT) displays, which can provide both graphic and text modes. Other input-output devices include modems,
for interacting over the telephone; the
mouse, joystick, and light pen, for making tactile input; and printers, for producing hard, or
permanent, output.
Vocabulario
Performs: ejecutar, llevar a cabo / devices: instrumentos / both: ambos /
tactile inputs: entradas dactilográficas.
3. Primary memory refers to memory that is directly accessible by the
CPU. Many older CPUs have primary
memories with 64-kilobyte capacities.
Newer processors can handle 1 megabyte or more. Personal computers are often packaged with
less primary memory than the CPU can handle.
A wide range of add-on memory devices, have, therefore, been made
available.
Vocabulario
Older: más viejos / newer: más nuevos /
handle: manejar / packaged: (en este caso) vendidas / add-on memory: que
agregan memoria.
4. Secondary memory refers to external memory required for storing data
that will not fit into the computer's primary memory. Secondary-memory media
typically used in personal computers include one or more magnetic floppy disks,
each of which can store up to about 1.4 million characters of text information,
and internally mounted hard disks that can store about 20 million or more
characters each. (Continued)
Vocabulario
Storing: almacenar / fit: caber
.
INTELIGENCIA ARTIFICIAL
(+++)
1. Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of an artificial mechanism
to exhibit intelligent behavior.
Artificial intelligence is also the name of the field in which
artificial mechanisms that exhibit intelligence are developed and studied. The
term invites philosophical speculation about what constitutes the mind or
intelligence. Such questions can be
considered separately, however, as the endeavor to construct and understand
increasingly sophisticated mechanisms remains.
Vocabulario
Behavior conducta / developed: desarrollar
/ term: término / mind: mente / endeavor: esfuerzo / increasingly: que
aumentan / remains: permanecer.
2. While research in all aspects of AI is vigorous, there is concern that
both the progress and expectations of AI have been overstated. AI programs are primitive when compared to
the kinds of intuitive reasoning and induction of which the human brain is
capable. AI has shown great promise in
the area of EXPERT SYSTEMS, or knowledge-based expert programs, which, although
powerful when answering questions within a specific domain, are nevertheless
incapable of any type of adaptable, or truly intelligent, reasoning.
Vocabulario
While: mientras / research: investigación / concern: acuerdo /
overstated: sobreestimado / kinds: tipos, clases / reasoning: razonamiento /
brain: cerebro / capable: capaz / shown: mostrar / knowledge-based: basados en
el conocimiento / although: aunque / within: dentro de / nevertheless: sin
embargo.
3. Examples of artificially intelligent
systems include computer programs that perform medical diagnoses, legal
reasoning, speech understanding, vision interpretation, natural-language
processing, problem solving, and learning. Most of these systems are far from
being perfected. Most have proved
valuable, however, either as research vehicles or in specific, practical
applications. (Continued)
Vocabulario
Speech: habla / solving:
resolución / far from: lejos de /
either...or: o...o / DICTIONARY: WORD REFERENCE
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