The Impact of Personal Computers in Education

Personal computers have revolutionized the world, and nowhere is that more evident than in education.

Internet
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It is impossible to talk about the effect of personal computers without mentioning Internet access. Students can do research efficiently and communicate with each other and teachers quickly and easily.

Word Processing
y

A word-processing program is standard on almost every personal computer and has changed the way students write essays, do research and learn spelling and grammar skills. This program typically highlights mistakes while showing the user the correct spelling, which is a far cry from having to use white out to fix mistakes or starting over on a new sheet of paper, as was required when typewriters were the norm.

Educational Software
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Computers' impact is less on younger students, but even elementary school learners can use educational software to help grasp basic math and English skills.

Laptops
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With the advent of laptop computing, students can now use computers at any time. This can help with note taking in class---though it can also be a distraction.

Paperless Research
y

With Internet access and the movement towards archiving information and research electronically, students can find the information they need without trolling through stacks of dusty books or making great numbers of photocopies, which saves time and resources.

Multimedia Skills
y

Personal computers can also help students easily learn media skills, such as photo and video editing, creating PowerPoint presentations, recording and transcribing audio interviews, and learning graphic design. The average personal

computer is able to do all of these things with the right software, while only a few decades ago a great deal of specialized equipment would have been required.

The Impact of Computers

Computers are commonly used items in many areas. It is an important thing to people, especially the people who run organizations, industry, etc. . . Almost anything you know is run or made by computers. Cars and jets were designed on computers, traffic signals are run by computers, most medical equipment use computers and space exploration was started with computers. Most of the jobs today require the use of computers. These 'mechanical brains' made a huge impact on our society. It would be hard if we didn't have the computer around. Let's visualize for a minute. Let's visualize a world without computers. People in the medical field wouldn't have have found a lot of cures to diseases, since most cures were found with the help of computers. Movies like Jurassic Park, Toy Story, A Bug's Life or Godzilla would never have been made without computers because they used computer graphics and animation in them. Pharmacies would have a hard time keeping track with what medications to give to patience. Counting votes would be impossible without computers and most importantly, space exploration wouldn't be possible without the help of computers. It's a pretty tough life without computers. Some may not agree and say, "Well, we don't need computers to live on." They maybe right but mostly, they are wrong. Computers help in curing diseases, make entertainment a lot better, keep track of important records, etc. . . Without computers, all this wouldn't be possible.

History of the Computer

Computers weren't as technological and complex like the ones we know. Early computers didn't use chips or monitors. They weren't as small nor big like the ones today. Back in the early 1600 to 1800s, people had theories,plans, or ideas of making a device that could do complex problems and mathematics so that they wouldn't keep writing down problems and solve them manually. They wanted a

device that could add and subtract. Many of them started building such a device. They called this device the calculator or computer, since it calculates. The first digital calculator which could add and subtract was made by Blaise Pascal, a famous mathematican. Many more people had their own versions of the calculator as well. Pretty soon, many calculators/computers were being made.

As years passed by, newer calculators or computers were being invented one after the other. In 1671, Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz invented a small computer, not the advanced technolical ones, that could add and multiply. Soon after, Charles Xavier Thomas built a newer calculator that could add, subtract, multiply, and divide. His invention was the first to become commercially succesful. Most inventions and their inventors were inspirations to other people and wanted to continue their work and improve the calculator/computer their way. To the right is Gottfried Wilheim von Leibnitz, one of the great inventors of the first calculator that could add and multiply. Image came fromhttp://www.maxmon.com/1670ad.htm.

Probably one of the first complex computer that was an important part of the computer's history was ENIAC, Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer/Calculator. This computer was big. It took a large room to fit this big computer in. ENIAC could do thousands of calculations, which it was made for. It was made by Presper Eckert, John W. Maulchy, and their associates. ENIAC was made during World War II so it was also used to calculate movement and strategies for the military during the war. It was very helpful for the Allied forces, especially America, during WWII. Computers have a long history to explain. Many scientists, inventors and computer technicians worked hard to make the computer and that hard work paid off. All the people who helped make the computer went down in history for doing so. The computer helped out the world a lot. You will see how in the next section.

The Major Impact

Computers changed the world a lot. It helped man step forward into the future. Thanks to computers, space exploraation came true, new designs of vehicles and

other trasportaion were made, entertainment became more entertaining, medical science made more cures for diseases, etc. . . The computers impacted our lives in many ways. You may not notice it but they did make life a lot easier. Without computers, the world would be a harder place to live in. Thanks to the computers, everyday life is easier for us. Some people may disagree but most wouldn't. Some people say that computers are taking away man power. That maybe true but computers did make the impossible possible. Computers impacted many items in today's society. One area the computer impacted on is the business area. Business uses computers for keeping track of accounts, money, or items that they need. You may notice business people using computers a lot, especially the laptop computers, portable computers that can be taken to your work area. You may see people use things like pie-charts and graphs when they present information to other business people in meetings. Most of those charts were made by computers. The business field uses the computers a lot for their companies and organizations.

Another area computers impacted on is the entertainment area. Most of the people out there like science fiction or action movies, especially the ones with the neat looking effects. Well, those graphics were mostly made by computers. Most of the movies today use computer graphics to make things more realistic but not real. Computer graphics are mostly used on spaceships, aliens, monsters, and special effects. To the left is a picture from the movie "Godzilla." Godzilla was created by computer animation, texturing, and graphics to make him more realistic then the older version when they used a man in a costume to play godzilla. This wasn't the only movie made with computers. Movies like Jurassic Park, Wing Commander, Starship Troopers, Star Wars SE, and the latest Star Trek Movies used computers to make them look more interesting and realistic. There are even movies completely made by computers like Toy Story and A Bugs' Life.

Not only movies used computer animations and graphics. Games on the latest game consoles like the PC, Playstation and Nintendo 64 used the computers to make the coolest games ever. Of course all of you heard of the game Final Fantasy VII. It was the first Final Fantasy game to have a 3D environment and neat computer animation. It was a big money-making seller. Games now and days use computer graphics and animations to make the coolest games. Computer games also have their share. Wing Commander Prophecy, Shogo and all the other new 3D games were made by really cool computer graphics. It would be really boring

without all this wouldn't you think? That's how computers impacted today's entertainment. Education was impacted by computers as well. Computers help out students in a lot of today's projects and essays. If a student were to do an essay on the planet Saturn, they could look in an electronic encyclopedia in the computer or they could look up their topic on the internet. They could also type their essays and reports on what's called a word-processing program. This program allows you to type anything out from a school essay to business papers. You can make your paper look very neat by adding images and neat looking text to impress your teacher. Now and days, typing out essays and reports are mandatory, especially in High School. Computers help students in any way they need, researching, typing, searching, etc. . . Teachers use computers as well. They use computers to keep track of grades, type out instruction for their students, and to let students use the computer for school purposes. An important field computers impacted on is the medical field. The computers helped the hospitals out very much. In pharmacies, the pharmacists use computers to keep a record of what medication to give to a patient and the amount they need. Most computers in the hospital are used to keep data of patience and their status. Computers also keep track of equipment placement and status as well. Scientists need the help of computers to find cures for diseases that need cures like cancer and STDs. Without the computers help, cures for a lot of diseases woudn't have been found. Computer helped the medical area a lot and we are greatful for that since they keep track of our health. Other areas the computer impacted on is space exploration and designs of transportation.

Summary
Computers helped the world a lot and helped us take a large step into the future. Businesses and entertainment uses them to make profits, Education uses them to help educate students better, the Medical field uses computers in amny different ways, and other areas. Without the computers help, none of this would be possible. The world would be a dull and primitave place. No cures for diseases, ne good entertainment, less transportaion, etc. . . You see how the computers changed today's society? It changed society it a lot. You may think that the computer didn't impact you. If you play computer or playstation games, if you

watch the latest movies like Wing Commander, or you did research on a topic for your school on computer, you were affected by the computer. Everyone was impacted by this remarkable device.

A personal computer (PC) is any generalpurpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an enduser with no intervening computer operator. In contrast, the batch processing or time-sharing models allowed large expensive mainframe systems to be used by many people, usually at the same time. Large data processing systems require a full-time staff to operate efficiently. Software applications for personal computers include, but are not limited to, word processing, spreadsheets, databases, Web browsersand e-mail clients, digital media playback, games, and myriad personal productivity and special-purpose software applications. Modern personal computers often have connections to the Internet, allowing access to the World Wide Web and a wide range of other resources. Personal computers may be connected to a local area network (LAN), either by a cable or a wireless

connection. A personal computer may be a desktop computer or a laptop, tablet, or a handheld PC. While early PC owners usually had to write their own programs to do anything useful with the machines, today's users have access to a wide range of commercial software and free software, which is provided in ready-to-run or ready-to-compile form. Since the early 1990s,Microsoft software and Intel hardware have dominated much of the personal computer market, first with MS-DOS and then with the Wintelplatform. Alternatives to Microsoft's Windows operating systems include Apple's Mac OS X and the opensource Linux OSes. AMD is the major alternative to Intel's central processing units. Applications and games for PCs are typically developed and distributed independently from the hardware or OS manufacturers, whereas software for many mobile phones and other portable systems is approved and distributed through a centralized online store.[1][2] In July and August 2011, marketing businesses and journalists began to talk about the 'Post-PC Era', in which the desktop form factor was being replaced with more portable computing such as netbooks, Tablet [3] PCs, and smartphones.

This study aimed on determining the Influence of Social Networking Sites to theinterpersonal relationship of the students. Particularly, the researchers seeked for theanswers in the following questions:

1.What is the profile of the students in terms of: 1.1 Age? 1.2 Gender? 1.3 Year Level? 2.What is the profile of the students in terms of using Social Networking Sites? 2.1Frequency of Using 2.2Purpose of Using 2.3Number of close friends. Online friends

3.What is the influence of SNS to interpersonal relationship of students toward their: 3.1Family 3.2Friends 3.3Teachers 3.4 Others

Significance of the study

The researchers conducted a study about the influence of social networking sites on the students of Bitungol Elementary School.This study considered every aspect of studentsincluding the age, gender and year level in terms of social networking sites and their social interaction at home, with classmates, teachers and friends. They also studied the interpersonal relationship of students toward their friends, teachers, and parents as well as the influences of social networking sites to their interpersonal relationship. This study focused on the influences of social networking sites to the interpersonal relationship of students. This research involved 239 current Elementary student of Bitungol Elementary School within the school year 2011 to 2012 who use social networking sites every day.