Contributor to the Domesday Project
I am not sure of the exact dates, but my school years were 1979-1985. The work was submitted on a laser disc for the project. I am hoping that future technology will be able to retrieve work that was lost in the process. Some work done by BBC was retrieved in 2011 by the project named Domesday reloaded. I give my authority and copyright to BBC to see if they can ever trace my original work (Jyoti Kotecha Addey and Stanhope School 1979-1985). I also took part in computer science at school and my original hand written project work was going to be kept by the school for their archive. My school teacher Mr Mead was impressed that I thought "out of the box" to do it in colour when our computer screens were black and white.
Computers were something like a type writer with paper when I used them in the bank, year 1985. They were known as teletype writers which produced your work on paper. For example, I had to mpress o code to bring balance up for clients. I can still remember the codes but due to data protection,I will not reveal any codes.The way it worked was on loading the computer using tape which took ages. If we ever lost work we had to get in touch with the head office to retrieve work by hardcopy and we always knew that certain buttons caused this problem. I was surprised not to see a Visual display unit and my supervisor had no idea what I was referring to but I knew that my bank was still behind about 8 years.
I was really happy to learn when banks finally got VDT screens with a mouse. Computers became faster but it meant jobs were lost. Technology was embraced to make work efficient but I realised that you could easily be made redundant and need to have plan B for your career.
It was the only hand written project done in colour and I remember that we used BBC micro computer and the computer did not have colour technology. The biggest barrier I faced was not having enough access to the computers at school and therefore my dad took a loan out to buy BBC Micro computer so I could complete my O-level project in time. It was our "prized" item of the house. My brothers learnt things far more quickly on the computer and they took up their learning further and still use computers today for their work.
My advice by learning to use computers that make sure you don't rely on saving everything on computer. Transfer all your important work on a disc, memory stick and write down important contact details on paper. Computer is efficient in speeding up work but remember to still use note pad and pen for helping preserve your memory and keeping brain cells active too!
I wish I had kept my Domesday work on paper because I am missing my work and part of my school memory. If I had kept a photo copy of my work rather than rely on a school disc, I would of be happy sharing my school life about 25 years ago.
