Movies/YouTubes/Articles/Books to prepare high school students for a visit to our computer museum(s) "Our" being the System Source Computer Museum https://museum.syssrc.com
I'm playing this straight, it's a real question. If I were making choices, I'd look at that museum's collection, decide what themes are present in the collection, and then look for materials that represent them 1) in a reasonably accurate way 2) present any considerations about how to "represent" them 3) are not overly long in time or overly technically challenging and 4) are geared for a pre-adult audience. Teachers have other criteria but I'll leave those to them. The collection in question, is of course about vintage computing - pre 2000 era - and seems to include printing and mobile devices and toy/instructional computers. One kind of choice might be, presentations about each or some of those subjects. A Web search of "documentaries about computers" finds all kinds of lists of *documentaries* about computers and computing. Why those and not "movies"? Documentaries are typically one or a series which often last about an hour (each), a convenient time interval. Movies are driven to be dramatic, entertaining, and sometimes non-factual; of course they last well over an hour. Some documentaries may have related course materials. Movies have been covered. I'm surprised documentaries haven't. Maybe someone has suggestions? There's plenty of them, and they are of course described on their own Web pages. One other thing. There's many ways to present vintage computing. My experience as a technical person FROM the 1970's era (and so an old person now), is that younger people today have a different view of "vintage" computing. One divide is an emphasis (or not) on video-game-enabled computing. Another divide, is between persons or objects "in the computing profession" and those not. There's others. So, a collection presents things and information, which supports one or more of these and other views. (shrug) Whoever runs a museum, makes some choices along these lines, deliberately or not. Of course instructors have their own views, as do producers of documentaries and movies. So do discerning viewers, if they are able and willing. "Does this present a point of view that serves my purposes? or doesn't? or someone else's?". It's a larger consideration in modern life. It's worth a thought for this particular matter and this particular museum. Regards, Herb Johnson old techie by profession -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com or try later herbjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT info