World Computer Literacy Day

Without a doubt, one of the major advances we’ve made in recent years has been the invention of the computer, and subsequently, the internet. It gives us the opportunity to learn, share our opinions, and stores an immense amount of information.

In today’s world, computers are used on a daily basis. They are a key part of most job roles, and allow us to create new and amazing things. World Computer Literacy Day is a celebration of computers, and is a chance for us to reflect on how many people use computers all the time. But it is also a reminder that not everyone has had the best education in ICT, and not everyone has access to an education in computers.

To mark this occasion, we’ve listed four moments which were instrumental in the creation of computers:

Charles Babbage 1820:

How could we write a post about computers without mentioning Charles Babbage? A British mathematician, Babbage’s ideas helped pave the way for the invention of computers. He had an amazing imagination, and dreamed of an Analytical Machine which would be able to perform any arithmetical calculation. The device would use punched cards to provide instructions, and would have a memory unit for the storage of numbers, in essence it was an early computer. While Babbage never completed his Analytical Machine, it was a revolutionary idea including all of the basic parts of a modern computer. Babbage’s idea was ground breaking, especially considering he was working in the 1820s. His work wasn’t all in vain though, as Herman Hollerith eventually designed his own version of the Analytical Machine, which was a stepping stone to creating computers as we know them today.

ENIAC 1946:

One thing that computers have allowed us to do is calculate and process an immense amount of information in a very short space of time, which is precisely what the inventors of the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer ENIAC were hoping to achieve. In short, the ENIAC was the first electronic computer used for working out numerical problems and other general purposes. It was initially created for the war effort of World War II to calculate artillery firing tables, though it was not completed until the war was over. The ENIAC looked extremely different to the computers of today, it filled a room of 1,800 square feet, weighed almost 50 tonnes, and consisted of 17,468 vacuum tubes.

Integrated Circuit 1958:

Most digital appliances, mobile phones, and computers include a computer chip, and have been made possible by the invention of the integrated circuit. This revolutionary approach to circuit design was first invented by Robert Noyce and Jack Kilby, and it was a huge boost to technology, meaning that electronics could now be mass produced on a large scale. Before the advent of the microchip, vacuum tubes had been the basic components of any electronic device, but the problem with this is that they are very cumbersome. Noyce and Kilby’s invention began a process which took us from a computer which filled a whole room, to a device the size of your iPhone, an amazing achievement, and certainly one of the landmark moments in the rise of the computer.

The Mouse 1964:

When you sit at your computer, typing on a screen and clicking with a mouse, you should give thanks to Douglas Engelbart. He invented the modern computer as it appears today, with a mouse and graphical user interface. Engelbart dreamed of a machine which was not as inconvenient as the machines of his day, and wanted to bring the computer to the general public. At the time, computers were highly specialised, and would not be found in homes like they are today, they were strictly used by scientists. Not only this, but Engelbart predicted how far computers could go, and put forth a theory that they would continue to shrink as technological progress continued.

World Computer Literacy Day Competition

In celebration of World Computer Literacy Day, we are giving away an ICT course for free to one lucky learner! To be in with a chance of winning simply like and share our Facebook post. The competition ends on 09/12/2017. Click Here