The Howdy Glossary

TUTOR is an early programming language and interactive environment created in the late 1960s at the University of Illinois for use with the PLATO system. Designed to help educators create computer-based instructional programs efficiently, TUTOR offered features like branching, looping, conditional statements, and user-friendly commands enabling non-programmers to develop engaging content. Now largely outdated in educational settings, TUTOR significantly influenced educational technology advancement and programming languages tailored for non-technical users.

The development of TUTOR was a collaborative effort by individuals at the University of Illinois, including key contributors like Donald Bitzer, the principal designer of the PLATO system. Its primary purpose was to offer educators a user-friendly platform for creating sophisticated educational content that could be delivered through the PLATO system. By incorporating advanced functionalities such as branching, looping, and conditional statements alongside straightforward commands like DRAW or SET POS, TUTOR enabled non-programmers to design interactive lessons adapting to user input or performance. These capabilities allowed it to play a significant role in revolutionizing educational technology by making complex programming accessible.

During its prime, TUTOR faced competition from other educational programming tools like LOGO and BASIC but stood out due to its ease of use and advanced interactive features. Unlike LOGO's focus on graphical exploration or BASIC's general-purpose simplicity, TUTOR prioritized simplicity while offering robust capabilities that catered specifically to creating adaptive instructional programs. Its adaptability allowed educators to customize lessons dynamically based on student performance or input without requiring extensive technical expertise. This combination made TUTOR particularly innovative during its time by providing powerful yet accessible tools for developing engaging educational content tailored to individual learning needs.