Intercom, Volume 14, Number 7, January 1981 Page: 6 of 58
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Students learn computer programming
TRS-80 computers donated to schoolIn our modern day society, the
computer has become so vitally im-
portant that its impact is felt in vir-
tually every part of the business world.
School administrators are now recog-
nizing the siginificance of the com-
puter in the classroom, the need to
acquaint their students with com-
puters and the importance of intro-
ducing courses which will help
students to establish basic computer
skills while still in grade school.
Recently, Nolan Catholic High
School, located in Fort Worth, Texas,
was the lucky recipient of 18 Model I,
Level II TRS-80 computers donated
to them by a Tandy Corporation
executive who preferred to remain
anonymous. The computers are
presently serving several functions
at the school. The payroll system, fi-
nancial records and business trans-
actions are being performed by the
TRS-80. The school library also uses
a TRS-80 unit for a variety of func-
tions including keeping a library in-
ventory, cataloging records, storing
teaching records, maintaining a li-
brary circulation profile and keeping
a log of overdue notices.
The remaining units are serving
perhaps the most important function
of all-that of teaching introductory
computer programming to students at
Nolan High, "Beginning with this
year's freshmen, there will be a one-
half credit requirement for gradua-
tion in basic computer competency,"
stated Principal Brother TonyPistone. "Starting next year, the com-
puter course will be a required fresh-
man course.
When asked what sort of response
they have received from parents of
those students enrolled in the com-
puter course, Brother Richard Villa
replied, "The feedback that we have
gotten from a number of parents is
that they are glad to hear that we are
moving in this direction simply be-
cause I think they feel it is such an
integral part of daily life." In fact,
school officials have received such a
positive response that they now hope
to offer a summer school computer
course and perhaps include an evening
class for interested parents and other
Nolan teachers.
Brother Tony echoed the feelings
of all those in Nolan High when he
said, "The idea I would like to sug-
gest is that reading, writing and
arithmetic are the three R's of the
past and they still are the basic com-
- gmmnjg mJUNIOR Jennifer Hood "talks" to her TRS-80.
The computer course has become so popular
that school officials hope to offer a special sum-
mer school computer course to interested
students.petencies, but computer literacy is
perhaps the fourth R, and we really
look forward to preparing our stu-
dents well both for entering college
and for entering life in terms of this
almost basic skill of, not the future,
but the here and now."
BEN DOSKOCIL works out a problem. Be-
sides using the TRS-80 computers in the class-
room, the school uses two of the units donated
to them in a variety of administrative functions.- a
INSTRUCTOR Jim May teaches two of the
four computer classes currently being offered
at Nolan High.NOLAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT Joe Rach contemplates the next
entry into his TRS-80 computer. Approximately 67 students in junior
and senior class levels are currently enrolled in the pilot programming
course at Nolan High.
4HARD AT WORK, Charles Lagon works on a programming exercise.
Beginning in 1981, Nolan High officials will require entering freshmen
to take a basic computer programming course. Four classes are presently
being offered, limiting the size of each class to approximately 15 students.
INTERCOM, JANUARY 1981I I
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Tandy Corporation. Radio Shack Division. Intercom, Volume 14, Number 7, January 1981, periodical, January 1981; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1764414/m1/6/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.