Our Friend the Computer

Camila is super excited about a children’s toy computer and then the girls chat about the BBC Computer Literacy Project from the 70s/80s. They discuss the TV programing which brought the need for it to the eyes of parliamentarians, how it built on previous literacy projects which combined TV shows with adult education curriculums, the creation of the BBC Micro computer and BBC Basic, and the state of computers in the mind of the public at the time. Are we in need of a new Computer Literacy Project for the modern age??

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Main research for the episode was done by Camila. Ana audio edited.
Music by Nelson Guay (SoundCloud: fluxlinkages)
OFtC is a sister project of the Media Archaeology Lab at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

America Girl tiny computer: https://www.americangirl.com/products/isabel-and-nickis-computer-and-desk-set-for-18-inch-dolls-hnr85

Research:

- Full BBC Computer Literacy Project archive: https://clp.bbcrewind.co.uk/
- Arthur, Charles. “How the BBC Micro started a computing revolution.” The Guardian, Jan 10, 2012.
- Blyth, Tilly. “Computing for the Masses? Constructing a British Culture of Computing in the Home”. AICT-387, Springer, pp.231-242, 2012, IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology
- Blyth, Tilly. “The Legacy of the BBC Micro effecting change in the UK’s cultures of computing.” Nesta, May 2012. https://media.nesta.org.uk/documents/the_legacy_of_bbc_micro.pdf
- “David Bowie predicted in 1999 the impact of the Internet in BBC interview.” Youtube, uploaded by loquenotecuentan, Jan 12, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaHcOs7mhfU
- Raspberry Pi Forums, The BBC Computer Literacy Project 2012, https://forums.raspberrypi.com/viewtopic.php?t=3102
- “The BBC Computer Literacy Project | The BBC at 100.” Youtube, uploaded by tnmoc, Dec 16, 2022.