Abstract
The economic investment for education in the computer area, due to the seemingly overwhelming complexity of the subject, has been a detering factor to providing a thorough generalized introduction to computer system concepts and terminology. In the vocational environment, time is money and thus education usually is very special purpose; that is, it normally presents only those aspects necessarily for job specialization. On the other hand, with only a narrow view of the computer system forest, the employee (‘student’) is not capable of coping with or understanding the variety of problems that can arise in the use of computer based systems operational in his/her environment. In this paper, a new, low cost approach to introducing general ‘core’ concepts and terminology for those requiring or desiring literacy in the computer area is presented. The approach concentrates upon the notion of processes and systems of cooperating processes with analogies being made between the everyday human activity processes of washing and drying dishes and the processes of the various levels of the computer system. The approach has been used successfully in introducing computer system concepts and terminology to a variety of audiences including journalists, politicians, librarians, secretaries, various administrative and technical personnel as well as computer professionals to be. A book presenting the approach is currently available in English and Swedish and further versions will be available in at least five other languages. Educational assistance materials are available and an animated film, as well as a microcomputer based CAI package which builds upon the approach are being developed.
Published Version
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