“Effects of computer usage to the academic performance of students”

Chapter II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The scope of Computer effects derives a wide scope of related literature that is worth mentioning.

In this regard, this literature review concerning the effects of computer usage to the academic performance of students, will address the following areas relevant to this study: History of the Computer; Importance of Computers, Negative Effects of Gaming; Computer Crime; Computer Use recommendations; and conclusion.

HISTORY OF THE COMPUTER

Many people do not know how, or even when computers were first made. Even before the first electronic computers were made, many people believe that computers started with the abacus, a simple counting device. The abacus is believed to have been built in Babylon in the fourth century B.C. The "First Generation" of computers started in the very late 1930's. These computers were grotesquely slow, colossal in size, created much heat, used hundreds of kilowatts of power, and were about as reliable as a used up match (www.pbs.org). As time went on, these computers evolved from using vacuum tubes to transistors. Transistors mark the beginning of the "Second Generation" of computers in 1947. Unfortunately, the 2nd Generation did not advance as much as most people hoped, but eventually, the "Third Generation" was brought about by the invention of integrated circuits in 1958. Integrated circuits replaced transistors, and many computer languages came out in this time. Many more computer companies were born during this time, and eventually this led to personal computers for everyday use. Microprocessors introduced the beginning of the "Fourth Generation" and a time where computers were in almost every house.

IMPORTANCE OF COMPUTERS

In the last decade the role of the computer has changed radically as the development of