"In those days television could be more didactic"

July 13, 2024 12:53 PM

In the 1980s, the BBC explored the world of computing in The Computer Literacy Project. They commissioned a home computer... and taught viewers how to program. The Computer Literacy Project chronicled a decade of information technology and was a milestone in the history of computing in Britain, helping to inspire a generation of coders. This site contains all 146 of the original Computer Literacy Project programmes plus 121 related programmes, broken down into 2,509 categorised, searchable clips.
posted by jessamyn (8 comments total)

Oh, there is so much here worth watching, and (re)watching; having flashbacks.

Homing in on this one - Why is so much educational software so lousy? - which is well-known as the BBC of the time kicks the boot firmly in some utterly pointless, and hideously expensive, "educational" software.

There's also a direct line between these TV programs and the intakes of students into UK library school masters degree programs in the early 1990s who quickly picked up HTML and early web skills, moved into running digital library projects and services, and ended up in key roles in bringing digital and online services into UK academic libraries.

Thank you for posting (and it feels an apt one, in parallel, to bridge the 25 years of MetaFilter).
posted by Wordshore at 1:16 PM on July 13 [2 favorites]

*searches "video game"* was not disappointed
posted by HearHere at 1:16 PM on July 13

Oh my: serious flashbacks. Plus the integration with the online BBC Micro emulator is just perfect. See a programme in the programme? Run it in your browser immediately.

“Roy Kinnear and Chris Serle make fun of the confusion of names of computer brands new to the high street”
posted by scruss at 1:41 PM on July 13

What an incredible resource / post.

I was just a bit too young to get more than a dabble in BBC Micro computing during my early school years in the UK - but computing proper did start for me as part of the same lineage on an Acorn Archimedes. Going through this earlier context will be a treat for a long time to come.

A hands-on experience is possible if you're in or visiting SE England / London; Bletchley Park is a very popular, extremely worthwhile site to visit for its outstanding exhibits on wartime codebreaking, however the site also houses the National Museum of Computing which deserves to be known worldwide as an attraction for computer nerds. Alongside many galleries of delights there's a working classroom for visiting students set up entirely with Beebs and hosting an archive of the Computer Literacy Project.
posted by protorp at 1:44 PM on July 13

ohgoshohgoshohgosh ... I found something I thought I hallucinated!
Micro Live, 1986-01-17: Nick Wilton's light-hearted view of 'Shows': Job Opportunities, carpets, models, bags, Wang
“Wang: it's a computer company. And the people who work there are called … employees”
To my 16½ year old brain, this was the funniest thing ever said on television.
posted by scruss at 1:57 PM on July 13 [3 favorites]

WOW. I had no idea such a thing had ever happened (teaching viewers how to program).

What a wonderful thing, and what an AMAZING website.

I am so very glad to know this exists. Thank you so much for posting this, jessamyn!
posted by kristi at 4:12 PM on July 13 [1 favorite]

Half way through the 1st episode of The Learning Machine. I'd be curious to see how today those promoting remote learning would respond to these observations. My personal take is that school based computer education tends towards a closed loop. It looks inward towards the needs of computer based education, rather than seeing computers as a tool to engage with a wider world.
posted by BrStekker at 1:17 AM on July 14

Mod note: [Added to the sidebar and Best Of blog!]
posted by taz (staff) at 3:30 AM on July 16 [1 favorite]