Today, education and technology go hand in hand. Students write pa pers on laptops, use the internet for research, and supplement tra ditional lectures with interactive learning tools. Modern schools are filled with computer-savvy teachers and students who make this integration possible, but that foundation didn’t form automatically.
Decades ago, as computing migrated from research labs and universities and into the mainstream, one company in Minnesota was instrumental in bringing technology into classrooms. Thanks to its focused mission and talented staff, the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC) used exceptional software like The Oregon Trail to engage and educate a generation of students – and establish an unforgettable legacy.
Pioneering Days
In the ‘60s and ‘70s, before the advent of personal computers, people didn’t have ready access to computing technology. A time-sharing system allowed organizations (and individuals) to remotely connect to computers via telecommunication, using the power of the technology more efficiently and opening it up to a broader audience. This access helped computers proliferate into businesses, and many in the computing industry saw schools as the next point of expansion. “That outlook seeped into the Minnesota legislature,” says Don Rawitsch, former MECC employee and co-creator of The Oregon Trail. “After a couple years of planning, the state was prepared to set up its own public agency that would assist schools in starting to offer computing activities. So they established MECC as a publicly funded organization.”
MECC was originally conceived in 1973 to coordinate and produce software for the time-sharing system in Minnesota schools, both for instruction and administration. Because the state funded MECC at this point in its history, profitability and popularity were not the driving forces of its mission. The company’s primary focus was on education, and this fact is key to understanding what made MECC so special.
Most of MECC’s software was created by small teams including roles like instructional designer (content specialist), artist, and programmer. “All the instructional designers had to be educators,” says Wayne Studer, who once held that position in the company. “We were all former teachers…That background in classroom education was important.” Ultimately, the software MECC offered was designed by teachers, and the programs were viewed as learning tools, not games.
That fact undoubtedly escaped many delighted students who were all too happy to take a break from traditional lessons – even if the programs were still largely academic. “In the beginning, everyone just did programming instruction or very simple drill-and-practice,” says Ken Brumbaugh, one of MECC’s former CEOs. “There weren’t many simulations or games.” However, as time went on, MECC’s mainframe library filled out with a wide variety of programs, including one legendary historical simulation.
The Oregon Trail was added to MECC’s library in 1974, and through updates over the years, became a key component of the organization’s identity and strategy. “The thing I think was important with Oregon Trail was that we didn’t just create something that the student played as a detached entity, like a spelling quiz,” Rawitsch says. “We created an experience where the student became part of the story, and that was a great motivator.”
Students outside of Minnesota would eventually get access to The Oregon Trail and other exceptional titles in MECC’s catalog, but that didn’t happen until another drastic shift in the computing landscape.
Next: MECC's role changes as computers become more accessible.
from www.GameInformer.com - The Feed http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2017/04/07/a-pioneer-story-how-mecc-blazed-new-trails.aspx
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