Secondary school use of the time-shared computer at Dartmouth College

Abstract

Soon after the first Dartmouth Time-Sharing System began operation in May of 1964, the local high school installed a teletype. Within two and one-half years, eight high schools had tied into the Dartmouth System. The effects were startling. Hundreds of students were taught the BASIC language. Some of them produced highly sophisticated programs. Teachers were using computer applications in mathematics and science courses. These effects convinced Dartmouth of the high value of computing in secondary education. However, the results were not sufficiently examined. There was no documentation on recommended procedures nor written units of classroom applications. Therefore, in the spring of 1967, Dartmouth College proposed that the National Science Foundation support work in developing, expanding, sharing, documenting, and publishing the results of computing experience in secondary schools.