History of computing (ICT) in education...

Response to:

Report on history of ICT in UK schools, with future trends analysed. References to sourced data in this.

• Technology take-up ...VS... Technology development

To start I'll explain the path in with computers started to appear in school.

Computers started to appear in primary schools in the mid 80s. The first to hit the market were the Apricot and the Commodore PET in the early 80s. Although the take up of these computers was decent in secondary education, primary schools saw little benefit in them, as at this stage the computers were very basic; essentially their only use was for word processing, and spreadsheets. These computers were unable to output sound, and didn't have graphical capabilities, which was not at all ideal for young children. Once these computers had established a certain degree of kudos; the government at the time decided that computers in schools were worth subsidising. So in 1984 the "Department of Trade and Industry" interfered by offering to pay half of the cost for primary schools purchasing new computers, so schools throughout the UK began to purchase more computers. The Department for Trade and Industry chose three UK based computer manufacturers which school could purchase the computers. In 1984 (until the 90s) the "Local Education Authority" was centrally in charge of schools budgets, purchasing, etc... so it decided on which computer system it would purchase for its area. These were:

Acorn's BBC model B

 

RM's 380Z

 

Sinclair Spectrum


(bloody gorgeous aren't they...)

The more popular models were the Acorn and the RM, as it was found the Sinclair wasn't robust enough for general classroom usage. All of these were state of the art at the time, which meant they all had sound, and they all were able to display graphical pictures in colour, allowing for much richer interaction, making computer technology more accessible to younger children.

A major issue with early computing in primary schools was the software, very few programs were actually written for them, and some which were, were often crude with little or no educational benefit, or too wordy and stale. The way in which software was loaded onto the computers also became a stigma, tapes were used in early models that were a task to load, clumsy, and easily broken. This was followed by a leap to floppy disks which were an improvement, but suffered from similar problems.

Early use of computers in primary schools, positioned them as a separate entity - they were used as a learning station, like an education video games console, each piece of software set out an activity and alone or in small groups the children would complete it, in most cases it wasn't part of any subject or subject area of which the child was currently studying in class, schools often had a very limited library of software. Computers were seen as a separate subject rather than something that was integrated, and the concept that computers were not simply a teaching station but were in fact a creative tool to learn through not from. A big social leap in the wider use of computers was that of word processing, the old guards opinion was that of "why use computers when pen and paper is fine?", this opinion was drowned out when it became abundantly clear that the ability to print, share and collaborate was highly beneficial in teaching/learning. The National Curriculum was a key driver and really pushed the idea of computers as objects to learn through not from, setting out guidelines and integrating methodology into the curriculum which schools were guided.

A key landmark in educational computing was when "Windows, icons mouse and pointer" operating systems were introduced, the first of which was the RM Nimbus, which was released in 1985/86, and was the first
Department of Trade and Industry supported WIMP computer. It had much improved graphics, better sound and was considerably faster:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WIMP_(computing)



Soon after RM, in 1987 Acorn released the Archimedes computer which also had a WIMP operating system, which had again had improved graphics, better sound and was much faster. Some models even had IBM/or PC emulation software.

Next came the Acorn A3000 which was quickly adopted by primary schools

RM equipped with their "286" version of processors decided to conform to the standards which were shaping the market, and they scrapped their operating system in favour of an industry standard model, although it wasn't until the early to mid 90s they halted production of their Nimbus 186 range. The Sinclair faded from educational use, in 1986 Sinclair sold its computer range (Sinclair spectrum) to Amstrad. The spectrum range established a place in the market as a "home computer", where it increasingly competed with video game consoles, leading to its demise.

One major player in the education computer market at this time was Apple computers. Apple computers had WIMP operating systems before both Acorn and RM, focusing on ease of use, perfect for education. They had a large market share in the USA elementary schools, but due to the UK Department for Trade and Industry, they were never subsidised and therefore introduced into UK schools.

The battle between computer platforms in schools raged on until the mid 90s, where ultimately the omnipotent PC ruled supreme, and other systems were rendered obsolete. The overwhelming dominance of PCs in the "real world" finally took control in primary schools, and PCs became the only type of computer to have in schools. Microsoft Windows 3 and then Windows 95, were the first highly polished fully functioning operating systems, this coupled with PC's superior sound, graphical capabilities, CD-ROMs



















Acorn dropped out of the race in the late 90s. RM changed its business model to a service/software business in the mid 90s. Apple continued without real market penetration, biding its time, it ventured into emerging trends and technologies, and is now worth more than Microsoft! Apple are once again trying to establish themselves in UK primary school classrooms, and with their perceived simpleness, usability, and general kudos there may well be another platform battle in UK primary schools in the coming years.

By the start of the 21st century any computer platform battle in schools had virtually disappeared, the PC had prevailed and a different type of competition for market share ensue. PC manufacturers competed with each other, companies such as RM, Stone & Dell, all offer product system services, with different software packages and support to suit the needs of schools.

All that said, the real future is not in hardware platforms but in methods of interaction and online learning environments, as in generally people are wiser to the real power of technology, as a method of increasing experience relative to education, rather than an experience in itself.