Besides helping students become familiar with basic computer operation, the emphasis of the course of study also gave students experience in using the BASIC language in writing simple programs. I still have the course of study we used and the assignments that were given to the students.Įach of the five middle schools ran this 10-week class, 4 times a year, for all students in the school. The 'Math Lab' became known as the 'Computer Room.' I was selected to operate the Computer Room and together, with teachers from other buildings, helped design a 10-week course of study for Computer Literacy classes. Then in 1982, the electronic calculators were replaced with a roomful of TI-99/4A Home Computers. The more precocious students in my Math classes were encouraged to access the mainframe computer only after they finished their assignments, of course. At the same time, the District installed teletype terminals that were tied into the District's mainframe computer system by dedicated telephone lines. The Erie School District used our middle school to initiate the Math Labs and develop the course of study to be integrated in our math curricula. Actually the TI-99/4A didn't come on the market until 1982 but I had been getting students in my math classes acquainted with some of the basic computing operations using electronic calculators in the school's Math Lab. I guess my career of teaching computer literacy using the venerable TI-99/4A Home Computer began in 1977. By Dave Howell, Computer Users of Erie, PA

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