Turning Points in Computer Education - History of Computing: Learning from the Past - page 159

Turning Points in Computer Education
Bill Davey 1 and Kevin R. Parker 2
1 RMIT University, Melbourne Australia
[e-mail]
2 College of Business, Idaho State University, Pocatello USA
[e-mail]
Abstract. This history of computers in education covers two continents. By
analysing the experiences of two people a set of turning points in history is
identified. These turning points are in the experienced history and so indicate
the impact of changes on the citizens of two countries.
Keywords: Computers, education, history.
1 Introduction
One view of the history of computers and education starts with the use of computers
like CSIRAC, used some educational purposes starting in November 1949 [1]. We
can be certain that large scale roll outs of educational programs had been established
by 1968 as, in that year, reports were being published regarding the success of the use
of PLATO terminals [2-4]. Despite the certainty of facts supporting this view of his-
tory, questions remain: “How widespread were computers in education?” and “what
were the real impacts on people's lives from the computer and when did they become
real for the ordinary person?”
Trends in history can be seen by following the careers of giants and pioneers. An-
other view can be obtained by following the paths of those who are swept along by
history. This paper examines the career of two information systems academics from
either side of the Pacific, one Australian and one American. These two societies,
which were responsible for producing the first computers and using them as educa-
tional aids, are considered to be at the forefront of computers in education. A narra-
tive of these two lives shows trends and helps to identify the turning points in the
impact of computing from the standpoint of interested bystanders. Rather than laying
out the narrative in chronological order we capture the history of the two subjects in
terms of the important stages of computers in their lives.
2 Method
To prepare this paper the two authors started with an initial brief: “what was the im-
pact on our lives of information and communication technologies.” This resulted in
two narratives that were prepared independently, recounting the circumstances that
each person thought of as significant. The narratives were then swapped and some