1981 - Computers in Teaching
My first memories of computing are very vivid. I began graduate school in the fall of 1981. I took a computer class my first semester. (in the school of Education) We had a lab filled with a special Apple computers made by a company called Bell & Howell. We spent a week on "Booting" the computer. We used 5 1/2-inch floppy disks and learn to run some very basic reading programs and games. You had to boot with a disk for each thing you did. I was intrigued, and took one more class.
The following year, I was a Reading Supervisor in an Atlanta, Elementary School. I had one Apple computer and no software. I let the kids play a ping pong game on it for a reward when they got a certain amount of Stars!!
The following year, I moved to Cincinnati, and became the High School Reading Specialist. The school had just received many Bell & Howell Apple's and had no idea what to do with them. I became the expert! I taught teachers after school how to turn on the computer and boot it. I even received a certification in Technology (that is still in effect today) from the State of Ohio. During that year we began to purchase software and actually use the computers in the Reading Lab. Each year since 1983, Computers have found more of a place in classrooms, schools, and our homes!
Renee
The following year, I was a Reading Supervisor in an Atlanta, Elementary School. I had one Apple computer and no software. I let the kids play a ping pong game on it for a reward when they got a certain amount of Stars!!
The following year, I moved to Cincinnati, and became the High School Reading Specialist. The school had just received many Bell & Howell Apple's and had no idea what to do with them. I became the expert! I taught teachers after school how to turn on the computer and boot it. I even received a certification in Technology (that is still in effect today) from the State of Ohio. During that year we began to purchase software and actually use the computers in the Reading Lab. Each year since 1983, Computers have found more of a place in classrooms, schools, and our homes!
Renee
posted by Lewis | 5:28 PM
1 Comments:
I had never heard of the Bell & Howell Apple computers, so I did some snooping. "The World According to . . . The Mac Geek" claims that, "Because the Apple II Plus could run while being opened, it did not qualify for UL certification. Therefore, schools could not buy the beige Apple II Plus. Instead, what Apple did was allow Bell & Howell, who were already selling audio/video equipment to schools, to sell a version of the Apple II Plus that was compatible with their existing A/V equipment. This allowed schools to receive the Apple II Plus because it was part of the A/V equipment purchase" [source; includes pictures].
More info about, and pictures of, this early Apple II, which was primarily sold to schools and was also known as the "Darth Vader" Apple II, can be found at
Apple in History
The Obsolete Technology Website
National Museum of American History
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