Purpose-Built Educational Computers in the 1980s: The Australian Experience - History of Computing: Learning from the Past - page 107

Fig. 1. Possible implementation using a Base Unit and an Expansion Unit
Fig. 2. Implementation linking a Personal System into a Classroom System
In one possible implementation, a Classroom System could be built up by adding
appropriate extra components to a Personal System. The provision of normal (non-
portable) colour monitors to which a Personal System could be connected would be
one variant of this implementation.
Another implementation may include the attachment of an external expansion unit.
Although not the only way this system could be implemented, the use of a common
base unit which would also be the Personal System was one option [8, 11].
3.3.3 School Systems
School Systems would comprise a network to enable Personal and Classroom Sys-
tems to be connected to each other, and to devices such as printers, mass storage de-
vices, special purpose peripherals, and remote computers [13]. A School System was
envisaged to be a transparent system with a number of connection points in each
classroom and around the school [8, 11] so that students could plug Personal Systems
into connection points to use a printer or to up or down-load software or perhaps an
assignment. A number of Classroom Systems could be connected to the School Sys-
tem to facilitate use of software, sharing of resources, and the sharing of common
data. At any time the School System could be decomposed into its individual modules
to form a number of Classroom and Personal Systems.
An educational computing scene envisaged for the future was one where each stu-
dent would own a Personal System. These would be built on contract for the govern-
ment and purchased, perhaps on a long term leasing basis, by individual students.
Classroom and School systems would be purchased by schools using government
funds. Students having constant access to a Personal Computer System would revolu-
tionise the education system and make many of the dreams of computer educators
possible.