Revolutionary development of computer education : A success story

The University of Colombo, Sri Lanka has been in the forefront of the “Computer Revolution” in Sri Lanka. It has introduced the teaching of computer programming and applications as early as in 1967, more than a decade before other educational institutions, thereby producing, over the years, a large number of pioneer computer scientists and IT graduates out of students entering the university from a variety of disciplines. They are presently employed as researchers, educators, data processing managers, analyst programmers, software engineers and in many others in the professional field of information technology, not only in Sri Lanka but also in other countries. Established in 1870 as the Ceylon Medical College by the government of that day under the leadership of Governor Sir Hercules Robinson, the University of Colombo could claim to have been associated with higher education for over 130 years. The University has become a center of excellence of international repute that contributes significantly towards national development and human resource development in the field on computer science and information communication technology, particularly in the South and South East Asian Region. This paper presents the milestones of the success story, which did not occur without a policy, plan, leadership, group work, collaboration, and donor support.2nd IFIP Conference on the History of Computing and EducationRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

The role of information technology in supporting the development of science linked technology education

This study builds on my earlier 1983 Masters research at Cranfield, which was an investigation of early technology education in the UK and USA and a pilot evaluation of the introduction of technology education into the curriculum of Stantonbury Campus in Milton Keynes, England. This gave an indication of the international trends in technology education and showed some of the potential of a problem-oriented approach to learning in schools based around a new integration of subjects and skills. It also showed the challenge to existing school teaching staff who often had to learn new skills themselves, often had to teach in new ways, and had to broaden their orientation after being single subject specialists most of their careers. Teaching materials had to be developed from scratch. IT had to be got to grips with. In September 1984, I took the post of Co-ordinator of the Schools Science and Technology Centre at the University of Oxford and had to implement a policy for sciencelinked technology education through a fast-changing period. During 1987 the pace of change accelerated rapidly being driven by the demands of the emerging new National Curriculum. By that time technology education, including IT, seemed to have become accepted as an important theme in the school curriculum in its own right. The Oxford Centre was there to offer in-service support in the development of training and teaching materials. It was, therefore, a good base for a study which could document the challenge of implementing technology education on a wide scale. In the end the sheer pace of change enacted by the government between 1987 and 1992, and shifts of position over the place of technology education, made the study a harder task than I expected. I was aiming at a fast moving target. But I hope the work is of value in exploring the link between the aspirations of those who advocate "technological capability and literacy" in our school population and what is currently being achieved. This thesis tries to explore the key areas of progress we need to make if technology education is to become a reality in our schools

Commoditization: a threat or an opportunity?: a case study on IBM

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and EconomicsThe purpose of this work project is to analyze the concept of commoditization in the information technology industry (IT). It is based on a case study that describes how IBM, a successful company for more than seventy years, was affected by the commoditization of the personal computer segment in the early 1990s and the strategic transformation undertook by the company to overcome this problem. Furthermore, it is also emphasized IBM’s decisions to exit commoditized segments and to shift its portfolio towards services and software, due to their major contribution in bringing the company back to its leading position in the marketplace

Study of microcomputer applications in police services

Issued as Final report, Project no. A-364