This paper contends that students who are learning to use computers can benefit from having an overview of the history and social context of computers. The paper highlights some milestones in the history of computers, from ancient times to ENIAC to Altair to Bill Gates to the Internet. It also suggests some things for students to think about and…

A Maryland middle-school teacher can no longer imagine a math classroom without computers, word processing programs, graphing calculators, graphic design programs, and colored printers and monitors. Aided by these devices, her students made great leaps toward the 21st-century technology goals spelled out by the Department of Education in 1995.…