BBC Computer Literacy Project

by Richard Millwood — published Jul 20, 2009 03:55 PM, last modified May 24, 2012 12:53 PM

The BBC Computer Literacy Project was conceived of in 1979 by the BBC's Continuing Education Television Department and led to a launch in January 1982 of a television series based on the BBC Microcomputer commissioned from and designed by computer company Acorn.

Microelectronics — by Richard Millwood — last modified Feb 25, 2021 08:58 AM: "A report prepared by Robert Albury and David Allen of the BBC Continuing Education Department for the Manpower Services Commission" December 1979
Towards Computer Literacy - The BBC Computer Literacy Project 1979-1983 — by admin — last modified May 24, 2012 12:53 PM: This is an account of the history of the BBC Computer Literacy Project created in 1983 by John Radcliffe and Roberts Salkeld. It was then transcribed from a PDF scan by Richard Millwood 4th April 2012
The Legacy of the BBC Micro - Effecting Change in the UK’s Cultures of Computing — by Richard Millwood — last modified Feb 25, 2021 08:57 AM: "The CLP was undoubtedly a success for the BBC; millions of viewers watched the TV programmes, hundreds of thousands of users bought the machine and it was a fully integrated response across BBC Enterprises, Education and Engineering. In this report, we look at how that success came about. What can ongoing attempts at rebooting creative computing across the UK learn from the CLP?" Written by Tilly Blyth and published by Nesta.
The Computer Literacy Project 1980-1989 — by Richard Millwood — last modified Apr 04, 2026 08:19 PM: In the 1980s, the BBC explored the world of computing in The Computer Literacy Project. They commissioned a home computer (the BBC Micro) and taught viewers how to program. The Computer Literacy Project chronicled a decade of information technology and was a milestone in the history of computing in Britain, helping to inspire a generation of coders. This site contains all 146 of the original Computer Literacy Project programmes plus 121 related programmes, broken down into 2,509 categorised, searchable clips. Watch any of the 267 programmes Explore 2,509 programme clips by topic or text search Find out how the BBC Computer Literacy Project came about Run 166 BBC Micro programs that were used on-screen

News: Early documents discovered Feb 10, 2026; New premises needed to store the archive Jun 09, 2015; Computers in the Curriculum Project - 30 years on Sep 01, 2014; A Celebration of the UK's Computing Heritage Jul 01, 2013; The Legacy of the BBC Microcomputer: effecting change in the UK’s cultures of computing May 24, 2012; Cataloguing the videodiscs Jun 15, 2011; Domesday Reloaded May 16, 2011; CAL 2011 conference special feature Apr 12, 2011; A Short History Offline Sep 24, 2009; BBC's Tomorrow's World presents Nellie - a computer set to revolutionise the classroom Sep 20, 2009; The BBC Domesday Book Project and its Legacy May 14, 2009; Voices Project book published Mar 10, 2009; More news…

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The archive is directed and maintained by Richard Millwood of Core Education UK supported by Sandra Crapper, Maureen Gurr, Margaret Cox, Nick Rushby and Joy Hooper. The British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) were archive sponsors in 2008 and Becta were sponsors in 2009. Much of the archive was gathered in the years 1990 - 2006 by Prof Stephen Heppell with Richard Millwood and stored at Ultralab at Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford. In its early days it was catalogued by Greta Mladenova and in 2006 Rex Wingate helped to organise the items in store. More recently, since 2011, Doreen Wright, Nick Rushby, Chris Monk and Joy Hooper have been helping catalogue the materials and develop policies.

http://www.naec.org.uk/organisations/bbc-computer-literacy-project