What Was College Like Before Computers and the Internet?

It today’s world, computers and Internet are indispensable, be it school life, college life, or work. I do not think anyone can imagine what life would have been without a personal computer with access to the Internet. However, this article does precisely that by imagining what colleges were like before the advent of computers and the Internet. Give it a thought. The facts will astound you.

• When the Internet was just establishing a foothold, the only individuals to use this facility were IT majors.

• Students did not find it necessary to have a college email address. Laptops and tablets were not invented in those times.

• The computer laboratory ran on a Mainframe. Students used the computer for just a few minutes a day. Moreover, this usage was done in the presence of a Computer Science student who taught other students how to create messages, check them, and send them.

• With regard to searching the library for papers, students used the lexus-nexus searches. Moreover, they made use of a card catalog.

• Class memos were posted on a bulletin board outside classrooms. There was a lack of answering machines; therefore, if you desired to speak to a friend from other dorms you had to call a few times more.

  

• Getting your paperwork, such as transcripts, was a tedious process that involved a small administration serving thousands of students.

• Because there was no e-mail, you had to write to your near and dear ones by hand and send the letter through traditional mail.

• Professors in colleges primarily accepted papers written by pen; therefore, most students wrote drafts through pencil as you could easily erase it before writing the final draft in pen.

• Long hand was used for a lot of mathematics. Some students needed to purchase a “finance calculator,” whose price was more than most college textbooks.

•  Prior to the advent of the Internet, there was not much regulation during classes. In addition, individuals failed to realize the potential of computers in general.

• Before the large-scale production of computers, plenty of whiteout was used. Through the white paste, you could create a white spot on sheets of paper. This whiteout was indispensable for most students.

• With regard to scheduling, most students used day planners if they were extremely busy.

• For tentative appointments, students would make use of a pencil, whereas for serious appointments, students would write in ink because one could not un-write the document, unless you had access to a whiteout.

• College undertook communication with students via printed newsletters.

• Before the popping up of Internet cafés, students had to visit the dorm room with the one individual who had a PC.

• Because the college campus had no access to Internet, students would need to visit the library and utilize microfilm of old newspapers.

• In comparison with the modern generation, people belonging to the pre-Internet era were smarter, tougher, and extremely inventive because they could not find answers using Google.