The Academy

Ready Made Programs

In this episode, we touch on the issues of computer architecture and software compatibility, and how software is loaded into and saved from the computer. It also includes a panel discussion involving an instructional computing specialist, a (particularly interesting) editor-teacher-consultant, a lawyer, and an educator-consultant, and covering ready-made software, what makes a program good, how one might settle on a microcomputer, the balance between passive use of the computer as an appliance versus active/creative use through programming, the balance of 'serious' and entertaining uses of the computer (and the intersection of entertainment and education), and the role of local user groups.