Never mind the technology, where’s the learning?

In an episode of “Henry’s Cat” mending his cuckoo clock takes him back in time. On his way back to the end of the 20th century he catalogues strange inventions that took place in the early decades of that century. Watching the second episode of BBC Four’s Electric Dreams last night somewhat reminded me of that list. Over 30 days, one family travel from 1970 to the year 2000 discovering the technology that was available to households in those three decades. Last night covered the 1980s, when computer technology truly became available in the home. During the 1970s the family had discovered family board games, the chopper and missed person-to-person communication. Hamish the 13 year old got so bored he even resorted to helping with the housework. This week’s episode meant an increase in the pace of change. The children were given the first hand-held elecronic games and soon retreated into individual rather than group play. As one of them put it, “It’s mine, it belongs to me and no-one else has the right to play it” as if technology is part of one’s own personal space. However, perhaps the most interesting introduction into the household was the microcomputer.

The family were taken to a microcomputer fair, 1982 style. Here they could pick the computer they would like to have from the wide choice of incompatible systems available. The final choice came down to either the ZX Spectrum or the BBC Micro. Despite the BBC Micro having the, “stench of school about it … most of the games are about ‘Fun with Counting’, or ‘Isn’t Geography Nice’ “, as one of the experts told the family, the kids are intrigued by its programming abilities and all chose it. In the real 80s, the preferred machine was the ZX Spectrum and the BBC was seen as rather ’swatty’ by comparison. Hamish even invites a friend from school to come around and program together on their new acquisition. One might speculate why this might be. Programming is certainly not as prominent in the curriculum today as it was when micros first entered schools. Indeed, one of the key components of the BBC’s success was its easy to use version of BASIC. However, I wonder if the attraction for the children in this family was a little more fundamental especially for the young lad. Unlike today’s machines, although easy to use, their inner workings are not bare. It’s the electronic equivalent of fashioning your own tool from raw materials. The screen flickers into life, and you are in control, indeed, without interacting in an elementary way, nothing happens. Despite the initial enthusiasm of all, it soon becomes apparent that it’s Hamish and his Dad are the ones that persevere with the computer coaxing life out of it. The girls soon don’t see the point and a gender gap opens while they wait for the technology “do something”.

More arrives, a VCR and camcorder, but it becomes obvious that technology is not that reliable and that incompatibilities such as stuffing a Betamax tape into a Ferguson VideoStar will break the equipment, and why the rather dangerous C5 was a flop. As Steph says, “nothing ever works“, but even she admits, “The 80s childhood was quite good actually, to be honest it wasn’t bad, and it wasn’t as boring as the 70s.”

The final programme covers the 1990s, the internet here we come!

Image credit: Richard Sandford

Tags: 1980s, technology, zxspectrum, bbcmicro, electricdreams