TO: Dr. Joe Scarcella (EVOC 502/3 Instructor)
FROM: Leonard A. Moreno
DATE: August 25, 2005
RE: Session 8 - Educational Video Report

EDUCATIONAL VIDEO REPORT

Title of Video
BBS Documentary

Cost of Video
$50.00 (+ S/H)

Where can it be Purchased
BBS Documentary - Amazon.com

Report
Long before the Internet escaped from the lab, connected the planet and redefined what it meant to use a computer.......there was a brave and pioneering band of computer users who spent their time, money and sanity setting up their home computers and phone lines to welcome anyone who called. By using a modem, anyone else who knew the phone number of these computers could connect to them, leave messages, send and receive files.... and millions did. They called these places "Bulletin Board Systems", or BBSes. And their collections of messages, rants, thoughts and dreams became the way that an entire generation learned about being online. When the Internet grew in popularity in the early 1990s, the world of the BBS faded, changed, and became a part of the present networked world...but it wasn't the same. In the Summer of 2001, Jason Scott, a computer historian (and proprietor of the textfiles.com history site) wondered if anyone had made a film about these BBSes. They hadn't, so he decided he would.

One of the courses I teach in Information Technology is Networking.  The very notion that the most advanced and widespread tool of communication ever created started here unknown to all is a story that students can benefit in the class.  Today, we take for granted how the Internet allows our daily lives the potential for a limitless portal of information.  As network technicians, students are currently learning technical and the setup aspects of networking that make this internet happen, but its history and where it might go falls short.  The networking world of computer servers, wiring, protocols and tech support are still in the stages of infancy but exposure to this film will allow student to see the life of when the internet was actually still in the 'womb'.  The positive education impact I foresee are a richness of history that they will be exposed to, with a current state of mind that they themselves are still shaping the internet and our world as they both grow up.  The old adage, "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it" will also show a professional responsibility in their careers.

This video will be available in the classroom once it is purchased for our Information Technology department.  The video has the benefit to be included as part of the curriculum and also be added to our library of video files stored on our classroom server played as needed.  If the student decides to purchase a copy of this video, it is available from the website listed at Amazon (or any other online DVD sales) or can be rented from Blockbuster or Netflix.