1591	 A Model for a Multifunctional Teaching System	 A teaching system model that was incorporated into an operating system of a large computer is described. The model transferred control to the operating system to execute functions other than teaching and then recovered control in order to resume teaching. The teaching system ABAC-II was written to run under the operating system IBSYS for the IBM Graphic System. Because the teaching system automatically terminated and rescheduled itself a student studying a course presented at a cathode-ray display terminal could switch readily between student mode and programmer mode. During the latter the full resources of the operating system language processors compilers library and user s programs were at his disposal. He could for example write assemble debug and execute at the terminal a program written in any language processed by the operating system. A course could therefore include text material interleaved with programming problems which the student could solve without leaving the terminal. Exercises in simulation and gaming could also be provided. The implications of a teaching system with this degree of flexibility for industrial and executive training as well as academic education are discussed. In addition the advantages of this type of system for computer programming and operation are also considered.
