Research

EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

The History of Computing Collection is a local centre for people to investigate and learn about the origins and development of our digital world and its influence. The Collection is eclectic. This we believe makes it useful for research into a broad and diverse range of subjects. It does have a few broad themes; currently, these are:

which are reflected in our donations, and collecting and research initiatives. However, its archives and stores are wide in scope, and new perspectives form as new ideas, questions and donations arise. If you would like to explore or contribute to our resources and services please contact us.

 

Education in computing

How have we learned to develop, apply and use computers and software? An obvious and naïve answer is through schools, colleges and universities. But the scale and strength of our innovations and competence suggests that it is equally through informal learning rather than formal learning: people have taught themselves in work and at home, supported by colleagues and friends. This seems to be a somewhat neglected area of historical research.

At Swansea, we believe that computing education plays a fundamental role in the creation of Computer Science and its applications. As in mathematics and some other sciences, the contents and capabilities of the subject are not simply the products of research in universities and corporate laboratories, but of the complex effects of pedagogy on the research, the applications and the users' understanding and practice.

The Collection has paid some attention to the historical origins and growth of people’s computing knowledge and skills. For example, it contains some materials relating to the creation of:

We also seek to build an archive of computing education at Swansea.

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