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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 1984)
Page 12C/The Battalion/Monday, August 27, 1984 Computer literacy becoming a necessity Several sources teach Aggies By BONNIE LANGFORD Reporter “OK class; your formal lab report will be due next week, and I want it done on a word processor.” The class listened to the lab in structor, and one disbeliever ques tioned him. “Do we have to do it on a word processor?” “Yes,” the reply came. “It’ll build character.” The poor girl was stuck. She didn’t own a word processor; she didn’t know how to operate the de partment’s computer; she didn’t even own a floppy. And she only had a week to learn. She was lucky: a f riend did it for her, but you can’t al ways count on f riends. She found out the hard way that the ability to use technology is now a prerequisite for modern survival. Computers are in, and if you can’t compute you’re out. However, the poor untechnical college student here has several choices for help, be sides generous friends. For learning to write' computer programs — those that average numbers, alphabiti/e names or cal culate means — a computer science course or a business analysis course can help. But you’ll need at least a semester, not just seven days. Seve ral classes are offered to make you fluent in any computer language you ever dreamed of. BASIC, FOR TRAN, COBOL, are just some of the tantilizing courses available. If you still have a semester to learn, but want something less than programming and more than word processing, like computer graphics, then your help may come from the Data Processing Center. They offer short courses every semester. The courses are free, but for most of them no hands-on training is pro vided. You are provided with com puters accounts so you can practice on terminals at the DPC remote cen ters, such as the Academic Comput ing Center. Courses include WYLBUR Dem onstration, which can brings the Texas A&M computer system to a level of you can understand. This course will help for later courses, be cause most later courses require a ba sic knowledge of WYLBUR. you need. For just the price of a dis kette (about $4), you can have the world of WordStar, Word Handler, Easy Writer II and more. The LRD provides the word processing software, or canned programs. It takes from four to eight hours to learn to use a word processing sys tem, unless you use something like the Peachtext. It has a training pro gram built in that teaches you how to use the computer as you are on the computer, (for people who hate to read computer manuals) and takes only a couple of hours to learn to use. But with either method, after you learn how, you’re able to write those nasty term papers in less time. Word-processing programs, such as SCRIPT are also offered. Or if fancy graphics is what you need, you can get that from the overview of computer graphics course. The course covers the graphics software and hardware systems available here. One such graphics packet is DISSPLAY. With DISSPLAY you can get two- and three-dimensional graphs, geographic maps and busi ness charts. The LRD has dot-matrix printers (the computer-looking type that WYLBUR gives you), as well as letter quality printers, (those that make the output look like it was done on a normal typewriter.) In addition, some of the personal computers can be used to create FORTRAN, CO BOL or PASCAL source codes files, but they are complicated to use. «.a > If all you want is processed words, or if time is important, then the Learning Resources Department in the Sterling C. Evans Library is what If it looks like a computer could be appearing in your future — it probably will be — get prepared now. It takes at least a semester to take a college credit or short course. And even though you can become f amiliar with one of the programs in the LRD in a few hours, there are other students trying to finish their labs, too. David McLellan, a clerk in the learning re sources department of Sterling C. Evans Li brary, offers some tips on one of the LRD’s Photo by, Rebeca Zimmermm Apple II microcomputers. The LRDalsohas microcomputers especially for word proc essing. (See related story page 3). v •Delicious Hamburgers made to order •Ice Cold Beer including Imported Brands E2BSS35 •Country Atmosphere complete with pool and games A place you’ll want to come back to.., ; 3600 South College Bryan 846-3306 HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIil fSer Acnox\ urn ADS Advertise an item in the Battalion. 845-2611 Biiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED IN A BEER. AND LESS 1984 Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, Wl A n heart < The a: Ross s friend: honon teer fir ral mai It's : “Fir The miliar third \ times i once t< rings a begin Gradu The well to the old Silvt over ti legend Lawrei to 189 1898. The of Old ing no The A Taps si New since tl Acct main f the cer ranged 1930s. the cei the re 1975. Silve during