INTRODUCTION 

     As an Afrocentric educator, I was initially pleased with the
incredible sudden popularity of Malcolm X tee shirts, buttons,
coloring books, clothing, caps, medallions, and other Malcolm
related paraphernalia.  I was hopeful and guardedly optimistic
that our young people might finally be waking up and heeding the
call. 
 
    Needless to say, my initial pleasure turned into horror and
disgust as I found that the kids were just wearing his likeness
for the style of it and have absolutely no idea of Malcolm's life
or philosophy.  Worse yet, many of the kids who wear Malcolm's
likeness had totally taken to heart every slanderous mis-
representation of Malcolm that they received from mass (white)
media.  To the majority of kids Malcolm was a violent, racist,
white hating communist who tried to overthrow the American
government.  This is why many of the kids pretend to look up to
him?!! 

   I have designed this program to "humanize" Malcolm X to our
young people, to show his connection with the past, present, and
future, and to stimulate further study about this very important
man.  I initially designed the program for High School students
but found that elementary students as well as adults enjoyed the
program and learned a great deal also.
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The approach of the program is very simple and unique; answer
some multiple choice, true/false, and short answer questions
about Malcolm X.  

There is no text to read nor background on Malcolm provided
within the program!  Put simply, you learn the material by TAKING
the test!  This is a surprisingly effective and unique feature.  

     
Another unique feature of the program is that every question that
is answered incorrectly will come back again LATER in the test. 
This will happen until the question is answered correctly.  After
the third incorrect attempt the correct answer will flash on the
screen so that the user can correctly answer the question when it
returns. 

*The test will NOT end until every question is answered
correctly.
  
It is therefore conceivable to have the same question three or
four times until it is answered correctly thus forcing the
retention of the material!  

Another important feature is "randomness".  Each time the program
is run the questions appear in a different order thus foiling
student (or adult) attempts at memorizing or copying down the
answers.


At the end of the test, the user's score is displayed.  The score
only reflects the percentage correct on the FIRST TRY however.  

This score is usually quite low on the first test but on
subsequent tests will rise dramatically.  This stimulates
confidence and motivates the user to strive for a perfect score.
Studies show that positive feedback is a useful motivational
tool.

Extensive testing with students  at my school as well as
extensive research and good old trial and error have shown these
techniques to be effective.
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I have tested the effectiveness of the program in several ways. 
First, before writing the program I have researched various
computerized testing methods (using E.R.I.C.) and have applied
techniques found successful.  Secondly I have followed up on the
initial results by giving students a re-test weeks after their
first test and have found consistent positive results. 
Thirdly I have also given verbal and written tests on the
material, carefully wording the questions differently than those
in the program and have found that the information is retained
very well in all cases.
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The Program Files


Malcolm.exe  (program file)
Mal1x        (test file)
Mal2x        (test file) 
Malx         (test file)
hidem.bat    (hides the text files)
showem.bat   (un-hides the text files)
x.exe        (part of hidem and showem)
readme.txt   (you are now reading this file)
register.doc (instructions for registering program)
go.bat       (quick start program)

The three tests are contained in three text files called MAL1X,
MAL2X, and MALX.  WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ALTER ANY OF THE
TEST FILES. Any alteration to them will cause the program to
crash.  This is a proven necessary securtiy feature.  

Another security feature is the HIDEM.BAT file. It's purpose is
to make the test files invisible to DOS thus cutting down on
tampering.  Hidem will hide the text files from the directory so
that kids can't simply type the file and find the answers to the
questions.

To use HIDEM simply type, at the prompt, HIDEM   The program does
the rest!

The SHOWEM file will UN-hide the files hidden with HIDEM.  Simply
type SHOWEM at the prompt.  That's all to it!

To run the program simply type "GO" at the prompt and follow
the simple on screen menu.
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There are three tests in the program.  The first 2 tests consist
of 20 questions and are typically completed in about 8 - 10
minutes for first timers and 4 - 5 minutes for those taking the
same test twice.

The advanced test consists of a combination of tests 1 and 2 and
takes about 11 - 13 minutes to complete.


Although the program was originally written for high school aged
students, it has been of great value to all other age groups as
well.


This program has been written so that it will run on virtually
any IBM system from the ancient (yet still quite common in
schools) IBM XT variety with only 128K, no hard drive, and
monochrome display, all the way through the latest 66mhz pentium
based systems.  This will ensure that it will be of value in any
school's computer lab.

I have tested the program on many systems such as the Compaq
Contura monochrome laptop, Premier 386sx, Leading Edge 486dx, and
several others and have found it to work well on each.

Have fun!
Michael J. Wallace M.S., B.S., A.A.S
December 1993

P.S.  For an excellent introduction of Malcolm X, I highly
recommend, "Malcolm X For Beginners" by Bernard Aquina Doctor,
Writers And Readers Publishing 1992 available at all good
bookstores.