Since its founding 115 years ago, Stout has always been geared to the technological fields. Great efforts have been made to keep up with current technology and respond to changes both on campus and within business and industry. As the demands of the work-force have changed, the school has evolved and created new technology-based majors to reflect ever-changing needs and the school’s career-focused mission.
UW-Stout is now designated Wisconsin’s first polytechnic university within the UW system and is a notebook campus, providing digital laptops to all students. "UW-Stout has always been an innovator in applying technology to education. Digital technology is essential to 21st century life and learning. That’s why we decided to revolutionize learning with a wireless laptop environment - the first public university in Wisconsin to do so."
CLICK HERE to learn more about the Polytechnic designation
CLICK HERE to learn more about Stout's e-Scholar Program
However, the technology of the 60’s differed vastly from today’s standards. Things our children take for granted (and probably can’t imagine living without) were barely a glimmer or dream when we were attending college.
CLICK HERE to learn more about Stout's e-Scholar Program
However, the technology of the 60’s differed vastly from today’s standards. Things our children take for granted (and probably can’t imagine living without) were barely a glimmer or dream when we were attending college.
- No cable TV, no satellite, just rabbit ears and antennas for television reception. The only TVs were in the dorm lounges...and they were black and white. No portable TVs lurked in the rooms. Some areas of the state had 4 networks to choose from, but often reception was limited or snowy. MTV, CNN, etc. were only dreams—the plethora of stations offered by cable in later years simply wasn’t out there in the 60’s. You could wait for years to see a great movie on TV if you missed it the week it was in the local, one-screen theater, as videos weren’t available.
- Portable 33 and 45 RPM record players were hot—no DVDs, no Ipods, etc.
- There WAS a computer on campus. It filled an entire room and we punched cards to program it—no PCs, no Macs, no software disks. We all learned Fortran as our computer language.
- Three gears was as good as it got on a bicycle—no high-tech, lightweight mountain bikes or 10-speeds…although motorcycles sped past occasionally.
- Most student’s cars sported fins and guzzled 19-29 cent gas (and a tank fill-up included a free glass or dish as an incentive).
- Glamor was achieved through sleeping in brush or sponge rollers overnight—no curling irons, hot rollers, etc. If you had a hair-dryer, it was large and featured a shell or hood to go over your hair—no blow dryers. It took about 40 minutes to dry wet hair in rollers with the hoods, vs. just a couple minutes with a blow dryer.
- Students wrote letters home or called long-distance on the floor’s pay-phone to keep in touch—no email, cell phones, or text-messaging.
- The School of Home Economics owned a big clunky microwave—a Litton that cost over $2000 (in 1960’s money)...and was famed for tuning brownies to charcoal if you programmed in too many seconds. By the end of the decade, the appliance’s price had dropped to around $600 and homeowners were buying them, too. One alum believes he bought this unit at a surplus purchase and recalls it being VERY heavy.
- A manual Smith-Corona typewriter was a great high school graduation gift for college-bound students, so you heard the rattle of typewriter keys a lot in the dorms. The staff on the Stoutonia and Tower publications used clunky old typewriters, although electric ones could be found on campus. No one had word-processors or computers available to them.
- While portable cassette players were becoming available, most audio tape recorders on campus were reel to reel (versus CD’s).
- Advanced math classes on campus featured slide rules versus calculators. Some recall a credit course on using the slide rule.
- Printing classes set type with linotype machines…and set headlines by hand when the Stoutonia was still printed on campus.
- Students could use self-instructional programs in several classes…vs. distance education programs over the Internet or live video to multiple locations.
- Food science classes used a balance scale vs. a digital.
- Faculty used overhead, slide, movie and opaque projectors, but for image magnification of various objects, they could bring in a full-scale black and white TV camera, producing images on a 27" black & white television screen…vs. LCD projectors.
- Digital cameras and video cameras were a long ways in the future. 35mm and 2 1/4x2 ¼” styles were popular, and some professional photographers still used 4x5” plates. Students in photography classes took black and white photos and developed the film and prints in the photo lab.
- One of the frats sponsored a computer dating night, using punch cards for making matches for the adventurous participants. The technology for computer-matched dating has advanced considerably.
- No blackberries or palm pilots—calendars ruled!
There is so much more, but a tour of the campus will provide many examples of how Stout has continued to be a technology leader. There is also an excellent exhibit - worthy of a visit - on Stout at the Dunn County, Russell J. Rassbach Historical Museum in Wakanda Park.
CLICK HERE to learn more about The Russell J. Rassbach Heritage Museum
CLICK HERE to learn more about The Russell J. Rassbach Heritage Museum
Add your recollections by clicking on "Comments" below.
No comments:
Post a Comment