I had a good conversation with Bill MacKenzie, President of ECOO, this afternoon. One of the topics that we touched upon was how TVOntario had contributed in its way to education in the province. We both reminisced about a time a ways back.
It was time when computers were just dropped off at the school and those of us who were interested were left to our own devices to learn about them. Many of us had experience working with large machines at university but this was a whole new world.
Enter TVOntario and the hosts of a series called Bits and Bytes - Luba Goy and Billy Van.
I just had to poke around and see if I could dig up the old series. Sure enough —- some of it’s on YouTube! Play the video below. A lot of us learned so much from this series
So, does that bring back fond memories of the show for you?
I think it was an interesting time for learning. There were many television shows like Bits and Bytes that were designed to education the masses about a new technology. We don’t see the same approach these days. Have we assumed that the learning will occur in schools? Or through professional development?
Home computers were new at the time and this was a way to reach the masses in an entertaining way. We’ve got away from this sort of approach now. I can’t help but think of the varying opinions that parents have about Social Media and their child’s use. Is it time to use the traditional media to educate the masses about the new and unknown?
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The content of this blog is generated by whatever strikes my fancy at any given point. It might be computers, weather, political, or something else in nature. I experiment and comment a lot on things so don't take anything here too seriously; I might change my mind a day later but what you read is my thought and opinion at the time I wrote it! My formal education includes a Bachelor of Mathematics degree from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Toronto. Ontario Ministry of Education and Training qualifications are in Data Processing, Computer Science, Accounting, and Mathematics. My personal website is at: http://www.dougpeterson.ca Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dougpete I'm bookmarking things at: http://www.delicious.com/dougpete
Ah, TVO.
Remember the animated science series from TVO, Eureka! ?? The humourous narration and sounds were by Billy Van — such a great comic talent!
And then we then there was the educational History Bites! — and before that, the informative literary sci-fi showPrisoners of Gravity — both coming from the fertile and comical mind of former Frantics member, Rick Green.
And let’s not forget all the effort on the part of the TVO warehouse in shipping out that OSAPAC software to Ontario school districts, either. Do they still do that??
Wow, those are nice walks along memory lane, Andy. Thanks for sharing. Billy Van was such a great Canadian talent and Luba Goy continues to be.