PIEDMONT VIRGINIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE
First to Network PCs
Computing at PVCC had its
genesis in the fall of 1973 with the offering of the Principles of Data
Processing (DAPR 106). G. Larry Brown, an adjunct faculty member, taught it.
Thirty-five students enrolled in this first class. At that time, the term
"microcomputer" or "personal computer (PC)" had yet to
appear in computer vocabularies. We were still in an
era of mainframe computers, a period of mystic and limited access to the
computer room.
For the next several years,
the principles course and a Data Processing Management course were the only DP courses
taught at PVCC. From the beginning, there were numerous requests for a Data
Processing Degree in Programming. In the spring of 1976, Brown’s Data
Processing Management class conducted a survey of personnel and equipment of the
organizations using computers in the local area. This survey documented the
training needs within the PVCC service region and provided evidence for the need
for a Data Processing Degree program. The Virginia Community College System (VCCS)
office gave approval for the program to
begin in August 1979. It was the first new degree program since the
founding of the college in 1972.
Introduction of the first
microcomputer kit was announced in the January 1975, issue of Popular Electronics.
In early 1976, George Harris started "H/B Computers" and began selling
Ohio Scientific Inc. (OSI) microcomputers from the basement of his home, then
later in the rear of Dixie News on Main Street. This was the
first business to sell microcomputers in Charlottesville. Not long afterwards,
Henry Marrisi and Tom Farrell began selling Apple microcomputers. Their store,
whose primary products were imported wood stoves and chain saws, was located
near Western Albemarle High School on Route 250 West.
In February 1979, in anticipation of the growing use of microcomputers, Larry Brown initiated action to establish a microcomputer lab at PVCC. A proposal for the purchase of 15 OSI micros to be connected together was presented to the VCCS. Since a purchase of this number of computers, and the concept of networking were unprecedented, the state took great pains to examine the requirements for such a system. The price of $18,804 for the total package was a significant amount of money but the precedence was what generated the high level of scrutiny. The state even sent a representative to PVCC to survey the proposed lab site. Fourteen of the micros were to have 8K RAM (double the usual amount at the time) and a 9" video monitor capable of projecting 64 characters on a single line (48 was standard).
The cost of each micro with monitor was $826 while the host computer to which they were attached cost $5,790. It had 48K RAM and two 8" floppy disk drives which were used to store student files and programs. A printer that would print only in uppercase characters, and costing $1,250 completed the system. For a fee of $150, Mr. Harris of H/B Computers installed the system during the summer of 1979. At the host computer, from left, is PVCC President George B. Vaughan, G. Larry Brown and Ronald L. Bell, Data Processing Manager of Virginia National Bank (now Bank of America.)
The economy of such a system came from
having a centralized storage instead of individual computer storage and the ability to share a
printer. Management and control of software were also strengths of the system.
As far as anyone has been able to determine, this was the first networked
microcomputer (PC) lab in the nation, or world.
In the beginning, the primary
use for the lab was to teach the programming language BASIC (DAPR 258.) For a number of years, it was what most considered being the
"computer literacy" course. To fill demand the, college offered as many
as ten sections of BASIC in a quarter. (PVCC is now on a semester calendar.)
In addition to being
used to teach BASIC, computer use as an aid to learning was recognized. Some
members of the faculty developed forms of Computer
Assisted Instruction such as quizzes to drill students in data processing, art history,
business, mathematics, psychology, French and
Spanish.
Over the next several years,
Data Processing Program Head Larry Brown presented papers at the Virginia
Association of Educational Data Systems, the Western Educational Computing
Conference in San Francisco, the National Educational Computing Conference in
Norfolk, and numerous local and state events where educators were gathered to
explore the uses of microcomputers. PVCC was clearly a leader in the use and
networking of microcomputers in all levels of education.
Word Processing, using larger
OSI microcomputers, was first taught in 1982. Demand in that field and in data
processing prompted the purchase of additional micros. The number had reached 50
by 1984.
A Computer Literacy
Committee was formed in November 1983 to describe a literacy level for students,
faculty and staff at PVCC. The college published a position paper two years
later. The paper outlined the various levels of training required to become
computer literate and a PVCC commitment to ensure its implementation. The paper
became the basis for a requirement that all degree programs include one course
in computer literacy, thought to be another first in the VCCS.
A major purchase of micros
occurred in 1985 with the acquisition of 31 AT&T 6300 model computers. When
the new computer lab became operational in January 1987, these computers, along
with more of the same became the foundation of this rapidly expanding field.
Early means of projecting
computer information for an entire class was limited to a wall mounted TV with a
computer connected to it. Unless you were near the front of the class one could
not make out the small letters. A projector was purchased in 1986 that resolved
the problem by enlarging the images projected onto a movie screen.
Academic computing resources now number in the hundreds and every faculty and staff member at PVCC has a computer on their desk. PVCC was the first community college in the state to have Internet connectivity in 1994 and ever since, that capability has provided students, faculty and staff with access to information resources second to none.
Today, computer related
courses comprise the largest segment of courses taught at PVCC. Students
enrolled in these courses outnumber all other disciplines.
PVCC began its flagship role
in the microcomputer field and continues today to set the standards which others
follow.
Revised October 26, 2004