Back to the Future: Help! It Was 20 Years Ago, and We've Only Just Arrived!

Autor/in	Coffield, Kate
Titel	Back to the Future: Help! It Was 20 Years Ago, and We've Only Just Arrived!
Quelle	(1996), (8 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Stellungnahme; Computer Literacy; Computer Networks; Computer Peripherals; Computer Uses in Education; Computers; Costs; Foreign Countries; Futures (of Society); Higher Education; Humanities Instruction; Internet; Modernization; Online Systems; Technological Advancement; Word Processing + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Computerkenntnisse; Computernetz; Computernetze; Kommunikationsnetz; Computernutzung; Digitalrechner; Cost; Kosten; Ausland; Future; Society; Zukunft; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Geisteswissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Modernisierung; Online; Technological development; Technologische Entwicklung; Textverarbeitung
Abstract	This paper traces an educator's experiences with computers over a span of 20 years, and describes the computerization of and concomitant obstacles faced by the Humanities department at the American University in Cairo, Egypt (AUC). The computerization of AUC began in the 1980s, with workstations mainly in the science, math, engineering, and administrative units; the English Language Institute was equipped with one terminal and an incompatible printer. In 1993, the Humanities department obtained a grant for a locally networked lab with Macintosh computers and began to teach students in composition classes to use word processing. Many obstacles impeded the success of the computer classroom, including improper facilities and students' lack of computer and keyboarding skills. In 1994, AUC achieved Internet connectivity. As demand for Internet support increased, and new computer labs were begun in non-technical departments, faculty learned to teach themselves and rely on each other for technical support and ideas. In two years, even the "non-hacking" faculty became technology-aware if not technology-dependent. The Internet is now the source for technical support and the link with the rest of the academic world. The Humanities department writing classroom was updated in 1994 with proper wiring, lighting, and air-conditioning. One educator is responsible for running the center in addition to her teaching workload. The department and school continue to face difficulties related to lack of resources and lack of ability to "catch-up" and engage in strategic planning involving the future of technology. (SWC)
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC