Educational Initiatives

Computers started out as mighty beasts with yards of magnetic tape and humming circuits, but now they’re accessible due to the miniaturization of technology, which in turn has made the technology more affordable for students, teachers and workers.

The ability to process thousands of complex equations, help employees keep track of information, and smooth out day-to-day operations has made it so businesses rely on computers as well.

This has resulted in computer literacy being one of the key skills for every individual seeking a job in the workforce.

This has spurred some of the top schools that offer online education to supply their students with laptops in an attempt to help them become literate with one of the most important tools they will ever learn to use. Couple this with the ability for this technology to enhance the educational experience, and the reasoning behind why educational institutes supply their students with computers becomes clear.

Where the Need for Computer Literacy Become Recognized?

The need for people to become familiarized with technology before they entered the workforce became apparent in the early 1990s when the dot-com bubble was just beginning to inflate.

For the first time, businesses and consumers could afford to purchase both computers and access to the Internet through dial-up connections. This allowed them to become accustomed to the technology that would in turn become a part of their daily lives.

Businesses began to implement technology to help expedite work and products. While these businesses initially trained employees in the use of computers, the affordability of technology soon meant that applicants would be required to know how to operate computers before being hired.

This created something known as the “digital divide”, which still exists today.

It was this same divide that forced the leading technological companies and groups, such as IBM and Ohio’s One Community, to announce that computer literacy was vital to the individual’s future.

This same recognition spurred educational institutes to begin supplying their students with computers so that they could grow accustomed to them.

Computer Literacy: Reinforced by Higher Learning

The reason educational institutes began incorporating courses that taught computer literacy resides with the usefulness that computers brought to students. It allowed them countless tools, such as spreadsheets and word processing, in one place with a connection to an unlimited fountain of information, which was otherwise known as the Internet.

The spread of computers in learning environments started with the first few online programs created to help with regular courses. Entire courses were shifted online as more learning establishments adopted this style of learning.

Today, online courses have become the norm for countless students. Some schools even offer laptops as part of a student’s education to foster an education inclusive of technology and the ability to use it properly.