29 Mar
2010
29 Mar
'10
12:25 p.m.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-
bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Michael Black
Sent: Sunday, March 28, 2010 1:28 PM
To: cctech at classiccmp.org
Subject: Using vintage computers in the classroom
Hello cctech community,
I am a computer science professor and an avid collector and restorer
of old computers, which I routinely use in my classes. (I am also a
long-time lurker on cctech, but haven't posted much yet, I'm afraid.)
I am interested in chatting with other professors and teachers who use
working demonstrations of vintage technology in their classes. I am
aware of many cases where professors have taught courses on computer
history, used pictures and simulations of vintage computers, or took
students on field trips to computer museums. However, I am
particularly interested in examples where professors bring actual
working vintage equipment into the classroom (like a pdp-11 or a
teletype machine) and tried to teach their students to operate it.
Has anybody on this list tried it or know of people who do it?
Thanks,
Michael Black
We've started giving lectures at the University of Washington in its Information
School (iSchool). We found that the match between what we're doing and the existing
academic program was better than that with computer science since, as Dijkstra once said,
"Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about
telescopes." However, the iSchool folks are interested in the evolution of
information technology and how it has enabled progress in information and library science.
We're still in our first steps, and haven't made a lot of use of vintage systems
in the classroom (although I do like to bring along my PDP-8/f, just to demonstrate what a
desktop computer looked like in 1970). We are creating plans for homework that would have
the students working with our online PDP-10 and/or VAX-11 machines. I'd also like to
have projects requiring them to use a system with nothing but paper tape for mass storage.
But we do get the students 'in the room' with vintage machines, by providing tours
of the Living Computer Museum that build on the substance of the lectures. It really does
make an impact when they stand in front of a history-making machine like the PDP-7 or see
DECtape in action. We tie it into modern equivalents whenever possible - for instance, I
refer to DECtape as the 'USB stick of 1970'. Comments have been overwhelmingly
positive. -- Ian