JOHN BLACKWELL

Educating students about computers
takes a special kind of person. To
qualify, an instructor must possess
practical knowledge and skills, deter-
mination to continually update their
own experience, and preferably a
strong background in the real world
applications of computers.

John Blackwell, coordinator of the
Computer Information § Systems
program at Douglas College, fits the
description. Since joining the College
faculty in 1980, he has helped nurture
the CIS program into an extremely
rewarding and practical two-year
training program.

Blackwell, a Vancouver native, ente-
red the computer field in the mid-
1960's.

“It was my Math 101 instructor who en-
couraged me, just as a lot of my current
students developed their interest in the
field,” he says.

But in 1965, there were few places in
B.C. offering instruction in this new
technology, so Blackwell went to
Seattle to train at a private technical
institute. At the age of 2! he returned to
Vancouver to begin work with Sears
department stores as manager of
computer development.

“| remember the first computer | worked
with was a monstrous IBM |/40I,”
Blackwell says. “Although the compu-
ter only operated with 16 kilobytes of
memory, it filled an entire room and
cost about $500,000.”

Blackwell found the corporate world an
exciting place. To keep abreast of the
latest technological advancements,
his employer sent him on an average
of six training sessions each year
throughout North America.

 

Besides the numerous company-
related educational sessions Black-
well attended, he also found time to
complete the then-new Data Process-
ing Management’ program at
Vancouver Community College and
the Computer Systems Technology
program at B.C.I.T.

During the first years of computer use
in the workplace, Blackwell was a
highly motivated employee with

management experience. After ten

years with Sears, he left the company

‘to become Vice-President and owner
of the Seattle-based Data-Mite, a

computer consulting software
company specializing in accounting
programs for restaurants and travel
agencies.

In 1976, Blackwell was again
approached by Sears, this time with a
promotion offer as their Manager of
Technical Support and Systems Coor-
dinator, responsible for setting up and
maintaining a Canada-wide
Catalogue Order System for their
customers. Blackwell at first kept his
interest in Data-Mite, but eventually
sold his shares and took a position on
thé company’s board of directors.

He joined Douglas College in 1979 for
a part-time faculty position in the El-
ectronic Data Processing program
(now CIS).

With a wealth of practical experience,
and a business approach to teaching,
he soon found himself a_ full-time
faculty member, lured away from the
corporate world.

“I's not something | regret,” he says.
“Sure, | could earn more with a large
company, but | really enjoy the oppor-
tunity to teach.”

“It's an exciting field to be in, giving
young people the skills to take full
advantage of the technical society
we're approaching. New things are
happening every day with computers,
and | make sure Douglas College is on
top of the latest advancements.”

 

“And it's a great environment to work
in.”

Blackwell still keeps his corporate
contacts. His professional assocations
are wide, including a past presidency
of the Vancouver chapter of the Data
Processing Management Association
(DPMA), a current position as faculty
advisor for the Douglas College
student chapter of DPMA, and
memberships in the Canadian Inform-
ation Processing Society, the Lower
Mainland PC Users Group, and the
Vancouver Network Users Group. He
is also the current secretary to the B.C.
Computer Education Committee
(BCCEC).

With the computer advisory committee
at Douglas College, Blackwell is in
contact with representatives from IBM,
the Vancouver Stock Exchange, First
City Trust, U.B.C., Computech and
Rolm. In the BCCEC, he shares in-
formation with colleges, universities
and technical institutes throughout the

province. O

In 1985, Blackwell received his Certi-
fied Systems Professional (CSP)
designation, and recently he and some
students played a large role in seeing
the Douglas College name added to
the list of credits in the computer
manuals used by the CGA program.

Blackwell has also written a dozen
technical documents for computer
users in various corporate settings.

But, according to Blackwell, the
greatest advancement in the Douglas
College CIS program has very little to
do with technology.

Co-op Ed will bring long term
benefits to students

“The Co-op Education option will
probably bring the most long-term
benefits to our students,” he says. Giv-
ing our graduates the opportunity to
work and learn at the same time is real

progress.” QO