WebQuest: Computer History

Clicking into Computer History

A WebQuest for 6th Grade Computer Studies

Carl Lund, Cheyenne-Eagle Butte Upper Elementary School
[email protected]

Introduction

The Power Mac or iMac you're sitting in front of is the culmination of years of work by many people around the world. Since the time you were born, personal computers have become many many times more powerful than they were. Just twelve years ago, if you had a Macintosh, it would be black and white. If you a computer at home, it would probably have 128K RAM. That is around one-tenth as much as is stored on a floppy disk today. As you complete this WebQuest, you will discover information about this history of computers and technology, and you will be able to think about its impact on all of us and our futures.

How have computers changed and how will future changes affect society?

The Task

After you have completed this WebQuest you will be prepared to

describe one generation of computers to others;
list contributions of a computer pioneer;
place some key computers in proper chronological order;
describe some possible future technologies and how they will affect society;
search for information on the Internet;
create a presentation about this information using Power Point

The Process

You will work as cooperative groups for your Internet research.
Each group will be given one era of computer history to focus on: go to Group Assignments and Background
Now, go to Computer History Timeline and examine this timeline of computer history.
Next, go to Computer Pioneers.
Choose one person from your era to read about. Follow his or her link and read the information with your partner.
You next will explore information about the era of computing your group was assigned. I have provided one link to information; use a search site such as Yahooligans to look for other sites, also.
All Groups: You should all go to Computer History and read about your era and the eras around it.
Group 1: Read about the first electronic computers (1945-1956). Here is a first generation computer page.
Group 2: Read about the second generation of computers (1956-1963). Here is a second generation computer page.
Group 3: Read about the third generation of computers (1964-1971) Here is a third generation computer page.
Group 4: Read about the fourth generation of computers (1971-present). Focus on computers from the 1970s to 1980s. Here is a fourth generation computer page. (Ignore the late 1980s Atari ST computers!)
Group 5: Read about the fourth generation of computers (1971-present). Focus on computers from the 1980s to today. Here is a fourth generation computer page. (Ignore the 1970s Apple II computers!)
All Groups: Explore this page for additional links.
Be sure to write down interesting and important facts, names, and years from the sites you have explored.

Also make sure you copy down the URL of the site you get your information from!

Go back to Computer History and read about the fifth generation of computers. Explore other web sources about how computers will affect our future.

Using Power Point create a presentation detailing what you have learned. Be sure to include the sections listed on your hand-out!

Present your presentations to the class.

Complete a worksheet on computers' history.

Evaluate your groups.

Evaluation
Describe to the learners how their performance will be evaluated. Specify whether there will be a common grade for group work vs. individual grades.

Beginning

1

Developing

2

Accomplished

3

Exemplary

4

Score

Describe given generation of computers

Facts presented give a murky picture of computers of the era. Information from 1 source only. A few facts presented about computers of the era. Information from 2 sources. Some confusion about basic facts, facts presented give a fairly complete picture of computers of the era. Information from 3-4 sources. Facts presented give complete picture of computers of the era. Information from 4 or more sources.

List contributions of computer pioneer

Pioneer named. One contribution given. A few contributions listed. Five or more contributions listed. Five or more contributions listed with annotations.

Describe future computers and their possible impact

One or more future technologies are listed. One or more future technologies are listed with a little attention to societal impact. Two-three future technologies explained in some detail with a little attention to societal impact. Three or more future technologies explained in detail with thoughtful attention to societal impact.

Place key computers in proper chronological order

No computers in the proper place.   One to three computers in correct place. Two to four computers misplaced. All computers placed in proper order but one.

Create a Power Point presentation Meets criteria for a "1" given in Power Point criteria handout. Meets criteria for a "2" given in Power Point criteria handout. Meets criteria for a "3" given in Power Point criteria handout. Meets criteria for a "4" given in Power Point criteria handout.

Conclusion

You now have discovered a little bit about computer history. You have also thought about what computers--and our lives with them--might be like in the future. There are, as you saw, lots of sites for computer history on the Internet. Speaking of the Internet, check out this site for information on its history!

Credits & References
http://www.cyberport.com/~tangent/history.html

http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/icom/vlmp/computing.html

http://www.atari-history.com/

http://www.digitalcentury.com/encyclo/update/comp_hd.html

http://members.iinet.net.au/~dgreen/

http://www.yahooligans.com

http://www.applemuseum.seastar.net/

http://www.dg.com/about/html/generations.html

http://www.infotec.org/history.htm

http://www.pbs.org/internet/timeline/timeline-txt.html

http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~jones/pdp8/

http://archive.comlab.ox.ac.uk/museums/computing/pioneers.html

Click Art 360,000 Premier Image Pak, Broderbund/The Learning Company/Mattel Interactive



Appendices
POWER POINT PRESENTATION CRITERIA
Your Power Point presentation will be scored from 1 (lowest) to 4 (highest).
A "4" presentation will include:
        CONTENT

Information about your computer era

Biographical information about a person from that era

Thoughts on computers' future impact on society

MECHANICS & PRESENTATION

Title and group members' names

Clearly presented thoughts

Few mechanical errors

RESEARCH SKILLS

URLs included

URLs include: sites provided you and sites searched for on your own

A "3" presentation will include/meet six of the 8 criteria for a "4" (at least one criterion from each area must be met!)

A "2" presentation will include/meet four of the 8 criteria for a "4" (at least one criterion from each area must be met!)

A "1" presentation will include/meet less than four of the 8 criteria for a "4" OR will fail to meet at least one criterion from each area

If you have any questions about any of these requirements, please ask your teacher.

GROUP EVALUATION

When you have finished please complete this evaluation of your group's effectiveness.

Use a scale where 5 is excellent, 3 is average, and 1 is poor.

___ All group members contributed to the research.

___ All group members contributed to the presentation.

___ The group worked through problems on its own.

___ The group stayed on task.

___ The group's overall rating.

Please list all group members and rate their participation on the same scale:

If any group member's rating is more than 1 point different from the group's overall rating, please explain.

CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

Place the following computers/technology milestones in the correct chronological order. You may use the Internet to aid your search.

a) abacus

b) Apple II

c) IBM PC

d) iMac

e) ENIAC

f) Charles Babbage's Difference Engine

g) PONG

h) transistor invented

Last updated on August 15, 1999. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page