The Instructional Microcomputer Laboratory at the UCSB Algebra Institute

The term microcomputer can reasonably apply to the small integrated circuits or chips, based on solid-state physics, used as components in computers. It can also apply to typewriter-sized computers containing such chips, which is the current usage. The Microcomputer Laboratory (MCL) of the UCSB Algebra Institute presently owns seventeen 48K APPLE 11-plus machines with dual 5-1/4 inch floppy disk drives, four dot matrix printers, and one letter quality printer. It has ordered a Corvus 20.5 megabyte hard disk. The original funding came from a Fund for Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FI.PSE) grant to the UCSB Algebra Institute. The stated purpose of the MCL was to improve the teaching of basic college mathematics (especially algebra) by linking regular instruction with reading and writing programs in BASIC.