BBC
1 HN recommender · recommended in 3 months, 2010–2026
7:26 · 113K views · Jan 7, 2010
A 1969 BBC Tomorrow's World segment about Nellie, a school computer used by pupils at Forest Grammar School to solve equations and play music. Students learn programming and maintenance, and act out binary arithmetic.
Shared as a charming historical look at children learning computing, including kids acting as register bits.
3 comments from Hacker News
Wow, I have never seen this: human digital logic. this video Kids acting as bits in a machine register and performing binary arithmetic by raising their hands if set, or not raising when cleared. Really cute.
Or was it a product of the computers at the time? Here's a 1959 computer, donated to a school in 1965. This was filmed in 1969. One of the children wrote a language - minigol - so the younger children didn't have to use assembler. this video Just turning the machine on requires coordination between several people using intercom.
Is this close enough? it’s from 1969, I wonder what became of them: “Tomorrow's World: Nellie the School Computer 15 February 1969 - BBC” this video