Skills: noneConcepts: evolution (generations) of platforms for developing and delivering IT applications, changes in the IT literacy course as platforms changed, our current Internet-era IT literacy curriculum

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The evolution of IT platforms and digital literacy

Where does this topic fit?

• Internet concepts– Applications– Technology– Implications

• Internet skills– Application development– Content creation– User skills

The pioneers

What skills and concepts are needed for success as a student and after graduation as a professional and a citizen?

John Kemeny Thomas Kurtz

Which skills and concepts to include?

?The answer changes over time because IT platforms change

What is my answer (for now)

I’d like to hear your answers.

Pre-history: “computers” in the 1940s

ENIAC, 1946

UNIVAC, 1951

1st Generation: batch processing

ENIAC/UNIVAC video (7:14)

UNIVAC video (17:31)

Can you think of applications in which data is still processed in batches today?

2nd Generation: timesharing

Can you think of applications that still use a time-shared central computer today?

Dartmouth computer lab, mid 1960s

Time sharing era digital literacy

• Concepts– Applications– Technology– Implications

• Skills– Simple programming– Algorithmic thinking

Altair, January 1975

3rd Generation: personal computing

Electric Pencil and Microsoft BASIC, 1975

Do you recognize the two young men on the left?

Visicalc, 1979

PC era digital literacy

• Concepts– Applications– Technology– Implications

• Skills– Simple programming– Algorithmic thinking– Word processing– Spreadsheets

PCs with graphical user interfaces

GUI era digital literacy

• Concepts– Applications– Technology– Implications

• Skills– Word– Excel– PowerPoint– Access

NSFNet, July 1986-8, 56 kbps

4th Generation: the Internet

Internet era digital literacy

• Concepts– Applications– Technology– Implications

• Skills– Application development– Content creation– User skills

Summary

What skills and concepts are needed for success as a student and after graduation as a professional and a citizen?

John Kemeny Thomas Kurtz

Self-study questions

Without looking back, can you identify the four changing IT platforms we reviewed?

What are the three skill areas included in the Internet era digital literacy curriculum? Give an example of each.

What are the conceptual areas included in the Internet era digital literacy curriculum? Give an example of each.

Do you recall the categories of skills and concepts covered in our current digital literacy course?

Mobile devices and applications are becoming important. How might that trend effect the digital literacy curriculum?

ResourcesJohn G. kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz, “The Dartmouth Time-Sharing Computing System,” Final Report to the NSF), June 1967.http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED024602.pdf

Kemeny, John G., and Kurtz, T. E., "Dartmouth Time Sharing, “Science, Vol 162, No 3850, October 11, 1968, pp 223-228.http://dtss.dartmouth.edu/sciencearticle/ or text version

Historical site on the Dartmouth Time Sharing System project: http://dtss.dartmouth.edu/history.php

A longer description of the content of our course:http://cis275topics.blogspot.com/2010/07/course-overview.html

Blog on the process leading up to this course:http://computerliteracy3.blogspot.com/

A short paper on the evolution and content of the digital literacy course: http://som.csudh.edu/fac/lpress/presentations/DLpaper.docx

Podcast and documentary movie on the women who moved from “computing” by hand to programming the ENIAC. http://cis471.blogspot.com/2014/09/recommended-podcast-women-who.html