Retronauts Pocket Episode 11 - The Minnesota Educational Computing Corporation (MECC)
Retronauts
Retronauts
4.5 • 2.3K Ratings
🗓️ 9 December 2013
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
If you're a child of the '80s, you may remember whiling away valuable school hours planted in front of an Apple IIe, playing one of the many games developed by the Minnesota Educational Computing Corporation. From munching numbers to carving a path to the bounty of Oregon, the fine people of MECC gave plenty of kids a respite from long division and the shame of gym class -- and we thank them for it. Join Bob Mackey, Ray Barnholt, and Jeremy Parish as the Retronauts crew explores the wonderful world of Midwestern edutainment.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, Anna Richardson here. I just thought I'd leave you a quick voice note to tell you |
| 0:06.6 | about my new advice podcast. It can't just be me. |
| 0:12.8 | I'll be getting super honest about my own topsy-turvy life, as well as helping you solve your |
| 0:18.1 | life dilemmas with the support of some very special guests and experts. From Podimo |
| 0:24.0 | and Max created, it can't just be me, wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:30.6 | This week on RetroNots, here lies Pepparoni and Cheese. |
| 0:55.0 | Hello, everybody. It's me, Bob Mackie, your host for RetroNots Pocket Episode 11 |
| 1:00.8 | in today's topic is the Minnesota Educational Computing Corporation, or MECC for short, |
| 1:06.8 | and I'll always call it that because it's a mouthful. And who else is here with me today? |
| 1:10.8 | Who's on our special Skype line? It's me, Jerry Parish. I'm looking California, |
| 1:16.4 | but feeling Minnesota. I see. I don't know what that means. It's a line from a song. |
| 1:21.4 | Don't worry about it. Okay. Who else do we have here? Across the table. |
| 1:25.0 | I'm Ray Barnholt, and it's been a quite week in Lake Wolfgang. Oh, man. Oh, no. This is our horror episode. |
| 1:31.0 | We'll be reading the Prairie Home Companion. Sorry, A Prairie Home Companion. |
| 1:35.8 | I went to a liberal or art school. I know all about that. Anyhow, today's topic comes to was |
| 1:41.0 | from Amy Soutaja, and she says in the topic, of course, is MECC. And she says, |
| 1:46.6 | So the reason why I'm so interested in MECC and educational games is that as a child born |
| 1:50.9 | in the 80s, my first access to a computer was the Apple II at my Catholic private school. |
| 1:56.2 | And I'd spend pretty much every evening of third through fifth grades tinkering around with |
| 1:59.9 | it educational games. Oh, they'll like Oregon Trail, number munchers, and Lewis and Clark |
| 2:04.1 | stayed home, where some of my first computer games and stealth taught me math and history |
| 2:08.0 | with a spoonful of fun to make it go down easier. Beyond that, whenever they would inevitably crash |
... |
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