Not long ago, an information board with a surprising message appeared on the building at Łokietka Street: Computer School. It is well known that modern technological civilization is based on successive generations of computers, and that without them humanity simply will not achieve progress and development. But where did this idea come from in the quiet and rather peripheral town on the Bóbr River?
A site visit confirms that the facts are already in place: in a spacious room stand four brand-new IBM PC XT/AT computers with a printer—professional equipment suitable for use in any factory, company or institution. The lecture room is adapted for active work in teams of eight, because every student must have direct and easy access to the equipment.
Alongside theory, practical experience is what matters most: the ability to operate a computer professionally, as it gradually reveals its secrets and becomes accessible, understandable and obedient. This is already the achievement of the professional teaching staff, who are not only teachers but also hobbyists—creative people enamored of technology and modernity.
The 30-hour introductory computer science courses for beginners are organized in cooperation with the Ogólnopolska Fundacja Edukacji Komputerowej. They cover the basics of operating IBM-class computers and computer printers, the DOS operating system, and application programs (word processors and databases). The courses end with an examination and a certificate of completion. The school's popularity is measured by the more than 200 graduates and the offer from the Kuratorium Oświaty i Wychowania w Jeleniej Górze to transform it into a two-year post-secondary study program authorized to issue a technician's diploma in computer equipment operation.
Programs are planned for the modern handling of sales in shops, trading companies, wholesalers, warehouses and customs facilities. The young staff are preparing to educate school students in the operation of non-professional computers with simpler designs. In short, the school is making a sensation and has a great future ahead of it.
Today there is no holiday break here—young and old are diligently acquiring valuable skills that are the key to work and life in the rapidly approaching 21st century...