Editing PLATO (computer system) (section)

== Custom character sets ==
In the early 1970s, some people working in the modern foreign languages group at the University of Illinois began working on a set of [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] lessons, originally without good system support for leftward writing. In preparation for a PLATO demo in [[Tehran]], that {{ill|Bruce Sherwood|eo}} would participate in, Sherwood worked with Don Lee to implement support for leftward writing, including [[Persian language|Persian]] (Farsi), which uses the Arabic script. There was no funding for this work, which was undertaken only due to Sherwood's personal interest, and no curriculum development occurred for either Persian or Arabic. However, Peter Cole, Robert Lebowitz, and Robert Hart<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cole|first1=Peter|last2=Lebowitz|first2=Robert|last3=Hart|first3=Robert|year=1984|title=Teaching Hebrew with the Aid of Computers: The Illinois Program|journal=Computers and the Humanities|volume=18|issue=2|pages=87–99|doi=10.1007/BF02274163|jstor=30199999|s2cid=1185100}}</ref> used the new system capabilities to re-do the Hebrew lessons. The PLATO hardware and software supported the design and use of one's own 8-by-16 characters, so most languages could be displayed on the graphics screen (including those written right-to-left).