PLATO




Some text from 84 Triton catalog

In mid 1983 TI and Control Data struck a deal to release the PLATO courseware for the TI-99/4A. Until this time PLATO was only available to large businesses, universities and government offices, as it ran on main frames.

TI released 108 courses with over 450 programs for students in grades 1 through 12. To be able to use the PLATO system you needed: TI-99/4A console, Disk controller and drives, memory expansion, and of course the PLATO interpreter cartridge.



The PLATO cartridge included 2 survey disks, a questionnaire for the student to determine strengths and weaknesses in reading, grammar and math. It also included a Parent's Questionnaire to assist in determining the student's academic skills.




      

The two screen shots above show actual screen shots of PLATO system. The left screen shows the opening screen and the right shows a course in progress.





The picture above shows just a few of the many courses available. The table below shows the courses that were available.

MATHEMATICS
   
PROGRAM PACKAGE GRADES
   
Numbers 0-9 1-3
Numbers 10-1000 1-4
Addition 1 1-3
Addition 2 1-4
Subtraction-Basic Concepts 1-4
Subtraction Skills 1-4
Multiplication-Basic Concepts 2-6
Multiplication Skills 1 2-6
Multiplication Skills 2 2-6
Division-Basic Concepts 2-6
Division Skills 1 2-6
Division Skills 2 3-6
Fractions-Terminology & Concepts 2-5
Addition and Subtraction 3-7
Multiplication & Division 3-7
Decimals-Terminology & Concepts 3-8
Ratio, Proportion & Percents 3-7
Geometry-Basic Concepts 2-7
Measurement 3-7
Basic Number Ideas 1 4-8
Basic Number Ideas 2 4-8
Math Sentences in One Variable 1 6-9
Math Sentences in One Variable 2 6-1
Math Sentences in Two Variables 8-1
Geometry 8-1
Measurement 6-8
Special Topics 6-9
   
   
READING
   
PROGRAM PACKAGE GRADES
   
Basic Word Building 2-5
More Basic Word Building 2-5
Complex Word Buiiding 2-6
Prefixes Suffixes and Compound Words  3-7
More Prefixes & Suffixes 3-8
Prefixes & Suffixes in Context 4-8
Se]ecting the Proper Words 3-8
Choosing the Proper Words 3-8
Dealing with Confusing Words 3-8
Word Meanings 4-8
Applying New Words 4-8
Understanding & Using New Words 4-8
Locating Basic Facts 4-7
More Basic Facts from Reading 4-7
understanding What You Read 5-8
Remembering What You Read 5-9
Remembering More of What You Read 5-9
interpreting What You Read 5-9
Understanding Basic Facts 5-9
Describers and Conclusions 6-9
Different Types of Describers and Conclusions 6-9
Understanding the Whole Story 6-9
Author’s Purpose 5-9
Evaluating What You Read  6-9
Authors Purpose and Your Conclusions 6-9
Separating Fact from Opinion 5-9
Practical Reading 1 6-9
Practical Reading 2 6-9
General Reading 1 6-9
General Reading 2 6-9
Prose Literature 1 7-10
Prose Literature 2 7-10
Prose Literature 3 7-11
Poetry 7-10
Drama 7-11
   
   
GRAMMAR
   
PROGRAM PACKAGE GRADES
   
Nouns and Verbs 3-8
More About Nouns and Verbs 3-6
Pronouns 3-6
Makin Nouns and Pronouns A ree 3-7
Adjectives and Adverbs 3-7
Prepositioris,Conjunctions,and Articles 3-8
Learning About Sentences 3-6
Phrases and C]auses 4-8
Subject and Verb Agreement 4-8
More about Sentences 4-8
More Than One 2-5
Word Confusion 3-7
Capital Letters 3-5
Punctuation 3-9
Making Letters Look Right 3-9
Giving the Employer the Correct Information 6-9
Spelling 4-7
Punctuation 4-7
Grammar 1 4-7
Grammar 2 4-7
Grammar 3 5-8
Diction 5-8
Sentence Structure 6-9
Logic & Organization 6-9
   
   
SCIENCE
   
PROGRAM PACKAGE GRADES
   
Physics 1 7-12
Physics 2 8-12
Chemistry 8-12
Earth Science 1 6-10
Earth Science 2 6-10
Biology 1 7-10
Biology 2 7-10
Biology 3 7-10
Biology 4 7-10
   
   
SOCIAL STUDIES
   
PROGRAM PACKAGE GRADES
   
Economics 1 7-12
Economics 2 7-12
Behavorial Science 1 7-12
Behavorial Science 2 7-12
Political Science 2 7-12
History! 6-12
History 2 6-11
History 3 6-11




Above is a full page ad that appeared in several computer magazines of the time.



Download the Plato manual here.

(pdf 1.1 meg)