Assign. #2 Autobiography of a Tech User ... w tech gilitches!

Go figure - I can't get my images to load from my cut and past from my Word Doc..  Still working on trouble shooting how to get them in.  I'm thinking I have to import each image separately.  I put a question out to Aaron for his ideas.

HIS ANSWER: My strategy is to collect all the artifacts, images, links, videos, etc, that I
plan on using and inserting into any blog post all together in a folder on my
computer.  Then, when I am crafting my blog post, I can easily upload and insert the images
as I write.

pocket calculator

Changes in technology are almost occurring at hurricane force.  I still have my  calculator from grade six and while not stating that year, my husband howls every time he sees it – I still use it for the basic functions it offers, but no scientific calculator options on that fossil.  













Besides that old piece, our house hosts quite a bit of new technology: iPhone, iPad, Samsung Galaxy, Dell Desktop, three laptops (thus far – a 9 yr old not quite asking for his own), and I won’t list the TVs.  I’m not sure if I feel proud or saddened by how much technology has intertwined itself into our household.


My first computer use was at the University of Victoria (UVic) student computer lab.  Goodness  it became a second home as this English and Socials/Geography student pounded out papers.  While I loved getting away from editing pen and paper drafts, the learning curve was painful at times.  After three hours or more typing out a ten page essay, I somehow lost the entire document when I went to print it (“computers are as smart as their users” ho hum).  My first all nighter occurred and a kind person beside me took pity on me and taught me to save every few sentences rather than at the end of writing! 

Like LIBE 477 peer Ben Koning, my first computer was a 386 PC with 5¼ and 3.5 inch floppy disk drive; money saved combined with gift money from parents and I could finally give up living at the computer lab.  Assembling it on my wee card table was a chore: the huge CPU, behemoth monitor and keyboard consumed my makeshift desk and the endless wires were very confusing.  Despite these challenges there’s been no turning back.  The computer was the first thing sacredly placed in my Honda Civic before heading home after my first year of university and computers have been a mainstay in my life since.

In an early job at a high school in Armstrong, we had access to both Macs and PCs, but as cutbacks increased cost savings measures led to streamlining to just PCs.  I’ve missed Macs ever since then, but continued on with PCs in our personal lives so I could easily use files between work and home.

While word processing was my first learned skill, when I started my first teaching job, I then began learning about different floppies and CDs offering software learning tools and encyclopedias.  Soon followed access to the internet and my first web page – the Pleasant Valley Sr. Secondary Library Page all constructed with simple text and html code.  I often went  cross eyed learning html, but I’m glad I learned those basics.

I took a hiatus from web page design and a lot of technology when I had a couple of kids – other priorities.  While computers and software took a back seat for a while, cell phones became the next must-have ticket items for our family: Samsung, LG, blackberry and most recently an iPhone.  I loved my blackberry pearl, but wanted to move beyond just texting and small memory for images into newer smart phone technology.  I chose the iPhone over the android as our school district central staff had purchased them, as well as my administrator, and the educational apps sounded promising.  I found it ironic that a district that had dumped all Mac computers was now buying iPhones for management. 

I refer to my iPhone as my “pufter” phone (as compared to my blackberry pearl) with its minimal vibration alerts (recently dead), often poor audio quality when talking to other cell users (especially iPhones!), terrible email and text capabilities when travelling abroad and yet … the apps get rather addictive.  Check out the top 50 suggested apps for educators  and 60 Best Free iPhone apps 2012.  My favs include Keeper, Evernote, Tim Horton’s finder, i-nigma, SkyView and after reading the above, I downloaded AroundMe, iHandy Level, Photsynth, and Dropbox.

I find myself in amusing conversations and impromptu training sessions about fav apps these days, especially ones related to task organizers and calendars.  I’ve recently ventured onto iPhone forums and after the course, I will make more time for those – very informative.   BTW, I cannot get the iPhone calendar to sync with Google calendar, but Google calendar will sync to my iPhone but not immediately or consistently – if any of you have a great calendar app/experience to share, please tell!  The iPhone forum didn’t solve my issue – “Apple is aware of the problem and is working on it.”  When I had my blackberry pearl, I also had a palm pilot and the iPhone calendar and task manager pales in comparison to the iPhone.

With my kids a little older, and back to work, technology … fascinates me.  How it changed in my approx. four years off of the technology train.  While some think I’m tech savvy, I know I’m a newbie in the land of dynamism.  For example, after reading Ben’s (Koning’s) blog post I was humbled by his wealth of technology knowledge and experience.  Nevertheless, one click and explore at a time, I’ll move in his and Aaron’s direction.   

In the meantime I’ll keep having fun with (and at times overwhelmed by) exploring items such as Kidspiration, Edmodo, Smartboard use and Notebook software, blogging, twitter, Google+, and soon to come podcasts, wikis and more – thanks for the journey Aaron and LIBE 477 peers.