Autobiography of an "Evolving" Tech User

My Technological Journey

Let me think way back...
I was probably only about 13 years old and I remember when my dad purchased our first computer – an Apple IIc. The screen felt like it was about 6”, and I remember playing Lode Runner on it. We didn’t have internet, (I don’t even know if it existed for home use yet) and we used the computer mostly for games, and typing on. 

Throughout highschool we did not use any computers at the school. Any keyboarding we learned was on a typewriter. Once in college, we had access to computers in this tiny little computer lab that had about 6 computers in it. All our assignments could be typed on it, but then saved to a floppy disk to take away with us.  (As I posted this image, my husband briefly looked over my shoulder and said, "I remember when we had the 5" floppy disk, and then dropped down to the 3" and we were like...WOW!") 

I think it was about our 3^rd or 4^th year of university that my husband and I finally had our own computer – a hand-me-down from my parents. I don’t remember what kind it was, but it took up a lot of space on my desk! It served its purpose of allowing me to type my assignments and print them at home, rather than waiting for a spot in the tiny computer lab at the college. Over the years, we did upgrade to several different types of "big computers," but we kept to the basic ones that would serve our simple purposes. 

Move ahead to internet use in the home – this took me quite awhile to jump on this wagon, as the cost involved was not something that we could afford – and I really didn’t understand the purpose of it. It was much easier to just pick up the phone to talk to someone. Once I did make the decision to get hooked up, internet was through our phone line (dial-up), so we could not be on the internet and the phone at the same time. I remember when a phone company introduced a type of “call display” so that when I was on the computer, a message would pop up that someone was trying to call me. Once again, it took quite awhile to make the move away from dial-up, as the added cost was not something we were interested in. Once the cost was comparable between the two, then we made the switch over.

My first recollections of communicating with people on the internet was through a program called ICQ. It took me awhile before I made the connection that it was named like "I seek you!". I was able to chat with people from different parts of the world, but quickly lost interest in this when some of the people I chatted with turned out to be a little strange for my liking!  We really didn’t use the internet much, mostly just for information seeking purposes. It was nice to keep in touch with my family that lived far away, but that took place mostly by emails and scanning photos to send as attachments.

It wasn’t until I started teaching-on-call that I made the decision to “invest” in a cell phone. I remember it being a Motorola flip phone, with the antennae I could pull out when a call came in. The battery was twice the size of my current cell phone, and certainly did NOT fit into any back pocket! My only purposes for my phone were for call-outs, and for emergencies. I rarely gave out my phone number to anyone. Things really haven’t changed for me much since then, but my phone style has at least changed! Over the years I have progressed through different cell phones that have shrunk in size, and I currently have a basic android cell phone. I continue to limit my use for emergencies and for texting my daughters or close relatives, but I do have a couple games on it that I like to play, like Angry Birds! I do not use wireless/data access on it, and really don’t have the desire to, when I use my computer for that.

As far as my personal technological devices, I self-proclaim myself as “Old Fashioned.” When something new comes out, it takes me a long time before I purchase it. Most times it is the cost involved, which is usually higher when they first come out, so I tend to wait. The other reason is simply, I don’t see the “need” for it when I have been getting by just fine without it. When I do decide to purchase something, it is usually after it has been on the market for some time, and I tend to use the same one for many years. My ipod is one which I have had for a few years; my laptop is about 4 years old, and as long as it works for me, I really have no desire to update. Keeping up to date on the newest gadgets for my personal/family use just doesn’t interest me too much, especially when there can be some big costs involved.

Other “old fashioned” tendencies we have are: we only sporadically have cable tv, as we only subscribe to it when there are special deals, then disconnect it afterwards. Yes, my teenage daughters know what rabbit ears are!! We only recently purchased a flat screen tv, mostly due to the fact that when our daughter’s friends came over to watch a movie, and stood in front of our old tv and asked where the tv was, we decided it was time to upgrade! We still have a landline in our home, as the skeptic in me is wary of holding a cell phone up to my ear, as my husband and I still enjoy having verbal conversations with people on the phone.

Technology really hasn’t been a big part of our lives, but having teenage daughters started to change that. We didn’t want them to appear “weird” to their friends, so we bought a few “gadgets” like a Wii -mind you long after they came out - and bought them ipods to communicate via text with their friends, but they could only do this from home connected to the wifi.

When our oldest daughter entered highschool, we decided to purchase a cell phone for her (same as mine), mainly for safety reasons, as she rides the city bus to school. Of course, the freedom of texting came into the picture, and she uses it quite often to text her friends. She cannot do much more on her phone than text, although we know she would like to! She can use her ipod to communicate as well, and uses that to send pictures, Facetime, and play games on.  I find myself often annoyed by the amount of time she has her nose in her screen, and often put limits on “screen time”. Our other younger daughter is now similar, but doesn’t have her own phone yet, only the ipod that she can utilize from home. When I watch my daughters and their friends, I have my concerns about this world in front of screens, as I didn’t grow up this way. Talking endlessly on the phone as a teenager was commonplace, and now that has been replaced by texting. When I am in a public place, and everyone has their head down, not looking around and taking-in the “real” world, I have to admit this saddens me. I almost find it disheartening when kids will text each other when they are in the same room instead of verbally engaging in conversation. I know, personally, we have set family rules in regards to this, but others have not, and sometimes I wish there was more established etiquette to this! I often wonder, with the removal of verbal cues and facial expressions what communication will be like in only 5 short years from now? Will we lose our ability to effectively "talk" face to face with each other?

I would have to say that it is probably only within the last 5 years that computers and internet have been used more by my family. Now, I only use my laptop, rather than our “big computer.” At the beginning, I mostly used my computer for emails and it became a photo/video album. Now I rely on my computer currently for my course work (obviously), banking, communicating to friends and family -whether through Facebook, email, or Skype- and I have recently discovered that I like to use it for shopping. One recent Christmas, I decided to try all my shopping online. It was getting later in December, and I really didn’t feel like battling against the crowds of people in the malls. I have to say, after that Christmas, I was hooked! It was a great experience! Everything was delivered directly to my door, most times there was free shipping, and the convenience of shopping in the warmth and quietness of my home was wonderful. I would say the only thing I haven’t shopped for online yet is clothing, as I really like to try something on before I buy it. I do most of my travel booking online, as I find I can get better deals that way. One time I put it to the test. I phoned a hotel to book a room, and asked for the rate. The rate they were willing to give me was much higher than the rate I had found on the internet only five minutes early. Now, I don’t call. When I planned our three week Eastern Canada family vacation, all the planning was done online – from booking flights, car rentals, B&B’s, hotels, researching popular tourist sites – and everything came together perfectly. 

When it comes to reading  text - I still prefer print that I can hold in my hand, write all over, and dog-ear a page if needed. I do not have an e-reader, and at this point, I am not really concerned if I have one or not. Once again, I don’t have a personal “need” for it, and I have been getting along fine without it. I realized that taking these courses online was a huge adjustment for me when it came to reading. At the beginning, I found that I was printing a lot of articles off to read them, but eventually, I decided to forgo the cost of paper and ink, and I eventually got used to reading off the screen. Despite changing the font size, I did have to resort to getting glasses for the first time, as I found my eyes were constantly straining! 

Despite my own attitudes toward owning a lot of technological devices, I am recently learning the benefits they can have in the educational system. I had the opportunity to TOC in a classroom that has a Smartboard, and found it quite fun! I decided to take a workshop on Smartboards, which I found very exciting, but I have not had the opportunity to put this training into practice. My daughter’s Social Studies class last year incorporated iPads, and her enthusiasm for this new way of learning positively contributed to her educational experience. For her to be that excited about Social Studies was certainly a feat! Sometimes I wonder though, with the increase in students obtaining these devices, will the novelty of having them at school wear off? Nonetheless, the learning opportunities that are available at our fingertips continue to amaze me!

Since starting my courses in September, this is the most I have ever been exposed to some of the media tools that are available. I had never Blogged before, but now it is a weekly occurrence. I was able to learn about Prezis, Wikispaces, Weebly, Twitter, Social bookmarking (Delicious, Diigo), and most recently, Google Hangouts! I haven’t dabbled too much in the 2.0 tools of the technological world, so when I am introduced to some things, I am easily awed! I certainly am not proficient in these tools, but when I can see the usefulness, I become more excited and open to learning about the educational opportunities using technology.  
Sometimes it takes me awhile to get there, but eventually I do.

“Call Me Old Fashioned”

High Valley - "Call Me Old Fashioned"

Hamilton Place Studio Theatre - Hamilton, ON - March 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jrp9C4SzV3k

Images (in order of appearance):

Bilby. Apple IIc with monitor. 2010. Wikipedia. Web. 10 Jan. 2013.  

Chernilevsky, George. 8-inch, 5,25-inch, and 3,5-inch floppy disks. 2009. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. 

Collins, Barry. old-pc. 2009. PC Pro. Web. 17 Jan 2013.

Screenshot ICQ 5.1. 2007. AllBestSoft.com. Web. 17 Jan 2013.

Motorola Flip Phone. 2012. Jam3s.net. Web. 12 Jan. 2013. 

Squires, Fred. Rabbit Ears. 2009. Gunaxin Gadgets. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.

Motavalli, Jim. texting. 2010. Forbes. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. 

Winchester, Henry. Dell Inspiron 1545. 2010. TechRadar. Web. 17 Jan. 2013. 

Sauer, Niki. "Sauer Family Niagara Falls." 2010. JPEG. 

Sauer, Niki. "New Glasses." 2012. JPEG. 

Gatzke, Ludwig. Web 2.0 Logos. 2006. Flickr. Web. 17 Jan 2013.