Tuesday, May 7, 2019

A Science Guy’s Almanac #1: My First Computer Re: 6/19/1983

A Science Guy’s Almanac #1: My First Computer - Re: 6/19/1983

July 6, 2015
Re: June 19, 1983

When I first started teaching, grades were hand-written in a gradebook. Then, at report card time, we used a manual calculator (we always had an electric one at Monte Vista). The machine added and subtracted. You took the final total, determined the letter grade by hand dividing by the total number of points possible. 

On Progress Report days, you called each student up, one at a time, and hand-wrote the academic, conduct, and effort grades on the yellow top sheet of a two-sheet document with carbon paper in between the original and the copy. You could also write a comment in the space at the end of each line. Today, having a last period preparation period is kind of a perk. Back then, however, you wanted to have a last period class because you got to have the students tear the report cards apart and collect the copy with the carbon paper. 

Free carbon paper—now that was a perk!

Owen Miller, my closest colleague, and I went together and purchased a KayPro computer in June of 1983. It used a CP/M based operating system. Memory was 64K RAM and 195K storage on each of two floppy disks, although the A-drive was where you put the software disk. 

The computer itself was a metal box that housed the actual computer and a 9” green screen. The keyboard was attached to the front of the box and had to be unlatched to be functional. The back of the keyboard was placed under the box to provide the proper viewing angle for the green screen. But it had a handle, so it was a portable computer. The total cost for this technology was almost $2100, but we did get dot-matrix printer with cable and a box of 5.25” floppy disks in the deal.





Our software was “perfect”: Perfect-Writer, Perfect-Calc, etc. The software was based on old mainframe software, so you had to write command codes for whatever you wanted to do. @B{text} was the code to boldface any amount of text. If you neglected the closed parenthesis after your selected text, the rest of your document, from that point onward, was bolded in the printout. 

Owen and I both went to the word-processing class. I was chosen to learn the spreadsheet and Owen went to the database class. I learned less of the database than Owen learned about the spreadsheet. However, it is amazing how much I learned from Perfect-Calc transferred over to Microsoft Excel and other spreadsheet programs later in my computer-life.

The effect of having computer-calculated grades was both immediate and astonishing. We would post grades by student-generated codes about every other week, something no teacher I knew at the time would have considered because of the intense manual labor involved in all grade calculations. We expected that the ability of students to track their grades would be one of the results of our computer. 

What we did not expect was the second effect: Kids almost completely stopped questioning grades. I guess they figured if a computer calculated it, the grade must be right. They were blissfully unaware of the reality of operator error at that time.

Because of the blind faith of students when it came to computer-generated grades, I found myself checking my accuracy more often than ever. While that was easy, it was a pain. So, once, for an assignment in one of my better classes, I just put random numbers in as scores with absolutely no basis of fact, past history, or current grade. 

It took a couple of weeks before one student finally wondered how she got such a poor score, when the paper she had gotten back had only positive comments and a higher score than on the printout. I apologized for my “mistake” in recording her score and changed it to the correct number. As others came forward, I decided to “fess up” and told them of my plot. From that time onward, I admonished all my students to keep all returned papers at least long enough to check the recorded score on the grade printout.

SEO: grades, teachers, report cards, computers, software

Follow me on Twitter: @CRDowningAuthor and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CRDowningAuthor
My website is: www.crdowning.com

I’d appreciate your thoughts about these on blogger

18 comments:

  1. That computer is remarkable! Some days I'm overwhelmed at how fast technology is advancing. It's hard to keep up! (Cindy Burke Anderson - Monte Vista '79.)

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Opinion essay writing has become one of the most common forms of writing these days. Whether it is internet blog writing or essay writing at school level, opinion essay writing is always present there. Students at school level are taught how to write an opinion essay so that in the future they can frame the right sentences and use the right words while writing an opinion essay. Moreover, it helps the student to make the right opinion about the subject on which he is writing the opinion essay. There are many aspects which should be considered while writing an opinion essay. https://www.derincebelediyespor.com/discover-the-the-majority-of-helpful-notepad-printing-suggestions/

    ReplyDelete
  10. You can not deny the importance of admission essay because it enables the brilliant students to get through the universities of their choice. The evaluation of these essays become becomes very difficult for admission officers when there are number of students having same profile. Admission essay writing is an art. allied health assistant course

    ReplyDelete
  11. In case you have an assignment to hand in, then you will be very well advised to rely on essay writing tips. Using these tips, you will be able to perfect your essays and ensure that you get top marks once your assignment is returned to you after grading. This way, your chances of getting that 1st Class Honors or graduating Summa Cum Laude are greatly enhanced. college paper writing service

    ReplyDelete
  12. What then does it mean to be an educator? Does it signify something different than the assigned job title? What I have learned through my work in higher education is that becoming an educator is not an automatic process. Everyone who is teaching adult students is not functioning as an engaging and highly effective educator. However, it is possible to learn how to educate rather than teach and that requires making a commitment to the profession. n with tilde

    ReplyDelete
  13. When you are looking to buy articles for promoting your website, then an article writing service is the best choice. Although, there is the option of hiring freelance writes to get articles, an article writing service is the most suitable option. PhD Thesis Writing Service

    ReplyDelete
  14. Most university, college and high school students have benefited from having a coach at some point in their lives, either as a member of sports team, or as a participant in an individual sport. But they may not be aware that the same principles that apply to developing athletic skills apply to writing skills as well. And that's why having an Essay Writing Coach can be of great benefit to students. Ash Kaashh Age

    ReplyDelete
  15. This article looks to consider the age-old question that is often asked by students all over the world in relation to whether it is possible to actually write a 'Perfect Essay'. As a result, this article looks to offer tips and advice on what students like you can do to advance your studies and better enhance your essay writing skills with a view to then also escalating your potential for academic achievement. Political Candidate

    ReplyDelete
  16. This article looks to consider the age-old question that is often asked by students all over the world in relation to whether it is possible to actually write a 'Perfect Essay'. As a result, this article looks to offer tips and advice on what students like you can do to advance your studies and better enhance your essay writing skills with a view to then also escalating your potential for academic achievement. coida application form

    ReplyDelete
  17. According to the United States Department of Education, 92 million adults took part in some type of formal education to accommodate new job requirements, earn an advanced degree, keep their skills current or simply to attain a higher education. The education specialist degree program is intended for teachers, supervisors, administrators and counselors in elementary and secondary schools. This degree program offers specialization for teachers who have completed their master's degree, along with in-depth opportunities for enhanced professional growth. Pregnancy Tarot Reading

    ReplyDelete
  18. Ever since the advent of video games, there have been debates on the pros and cons of gaming. While there is no denial that gaming sharpens a number of skills of the child, it also stands for a fact that the addiction of gaming can have dire health consequences. Apart from health risks, an addiction to gaming also brings along a non-social temperament that leads to stalled emotional growth. IOS mobile games

    ReplyDelete