Well times have changed and as we sit here today doing most if not all our work on the computers, saving it to Cd's or usb instead of floppy disks. I cannot remember that far back but i do remember always going to my friends house and playing a couple different games on her computer. We first searched for the floppy for the game in her floppy disk box then we put it in the game and had to wait patiently for it load, sometimes it would not even work. When i was younger i also had a Sega Saturn of which i played Sonic: The Hedgehog and played quite often
Times have changed though, i now have four laptops in my house, two fairly new desktop computers, two PlayStations, a Wii, and way too many TVs(some even flat screen), and even several cell phones. I'm not trying to say i am rich because that is defiantly not the story, but the amount of technology i have in my house i think is amazing. I mean after Sega, they had PlayStation and now they have PlayStation two and three. They also have Wii which the controller does not even connect to the console. When you move the controller it moves you on the game, it is like a whole new world. In addition, they have xbox 360 that allows you to connect online and play and communicate with people around the world; it really is an awesome experience.
It's amazing the technology i have used in my life i never thought i could blink my eyes and the internet would be up that fast because when i was younger it felt like i could eat an entire meal as i waited for the internet to work. I am now so use to all the new technology, the lastest updates and everything i am really not sure where I would be without it all. Yes I can live without the computer and TV but then i feel lost in the world, like what happened in the news, whats the weather going to be this weekend, what are my friends up to etc.
Cell phones are also another thing that I do not remember having as I grew up. When i look back i remember cell phones being so big now they are so small and they have so many features. Take for example the I-phone it has the internet, texting(which it saves all your texting from when you first get the phone), you can facebook and myspace applications, follow your stocks, etc. Tecnology has become so advance most people including me take it for advantage these days.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Technobiography
As a student who returned to college when my daughter started kindergarten, I feel much less technologically inclined than most of my peers. When I was 10 years old, my family purchased an Apple IIC, and it was my first experience ever with a computer. We could play games stored on floppy disks such as "The Wizard of Oz". When I was in the 7th grade, my small Catholic school created its first computer lab out of Apple IICs (which are still there). In computer class, we learned how to copy pages and pages worth of code to create a graphic on the screen that sometimes even contained words.
In the neighboring tiny Catholic high school, we used computers only in the library, to conduct research for term papers. When I was in the 12th grade, my family subscribed to AOL's dial up internet service. It took a long time to get online, after finding a connection that did not have a busy signal, only to get knocked off as soon as a call came in.
After I graduated high school, I began working full time for a doctor, where I used alot of technology. Since I was the youngest employee, I was appointed to learn how to use all of the new technology that many of my coworkers were too frustrated to even try. The medical supply company representatives trained me to use the new devices. I took electrocardiograms of patients' hearts with electrodes and hooked up holter moniters to record patients' heartbeats and rthyms for 24 hours and then print out the reports. I used spirometers to record lung capacity and oxygen levels.
My job then evolved to perform medical billing, which changed drastically during the 5 years that I did it. It went from mailing form after form to different companies and driving to the bank to deposit checks to transmitting all info and receiving all payments electronically. Now the doctor I used to work for has begun the daunting task of converting all medical records into digital files.
My children (11 & 7) are very comfortable with technology. My son has been playing computer games since he was three years old and had done everything from learn Spanish words to memorize Geography by the time he started kindergarten thanks to educational computer games. I moved him from the small Catholic elementary school I attended to public school when he began 5th grade. He is now in 7th grade at a technology magnet school for "21st century digital learners". He uses computers in every class, from smartboards and tablets in Algebra I to digital dissections in Science. His favorite class this year is "Robotics and Engineering". At home he creates music on "Audacity" where he can record himself playing the keyboard, record over that track playing the guitar, add digital drums, then let his sister lay down the vocals.
In the neighboring tiny Catholic high school, we used computers only in the library, to conduct research for term papers. When I was in the 12th grade, my family subscribed to AOL's dial up internet service. It took a long time to get online, after finding a connection that did not have a busy signal, only to get knocked off as soon as a call came in.
After I graduated high school, I began working full time for a doctor, where I used alot of technology. Since I was the youngest employee, I was appointed to learn how to use all of the new technology that many of my coworkers were too frustrated to even try. The medical supply company representatives trained me to use the new devices. I took electrocardiograms of patients' hearts with electrodes and hooked up holter moniters to record patients' heartbeats and rthyms for 24 hours and then print out the reports. I used spirometers to record lung capacity and oxygen levels.
My job then evolved to perform medical billing, which changed drastically during the 5 years that I did it. It went from mailing form after form to different companies and driving to the bank to deposit checks to transmitting all info and receiving all payments electronically. Now the doctor I used to work for has begun the daunting task of converting all medical records into digital files.
My children (11 & 7) are very comfortable with technology. My son has been playing computer games since he was three years old and had done everything from learn Spanish words to memorize Geography by the time he started kindergarten thanks to educational computer games. I moved him from the small Catholic elementary school I attended to public school when he began 5th grade. He is now in 7th grade at a technology magnet school for "21st century digital learners". He uses computers in every class, from smartboards and tablets in Algebra I to digital dissections in Science. His favorite class this year is "Robotics and Engineering". At home he creates music on "Audacity" where he can record himself playing the keyboard, record over that track playing the guitar, add digital drums, then let his sister lay down the vocals.
My 7 year old daughter likes to edit photos and create art on the computer. Her math textbooks have been online since 1st grade, so she can complete worksheets at home without carrying the book. She downloads MP3 karaoke files to sing slong with and takes care of her virtual pets on WebKinz World.
Technobiography
I was moved away from my extended family in New York when I was 6 weeks in order to allow my father getting a higher position with his high tech company called Symbol. We were relocated to California where my father worked for symbol helping to create and improve the scanners that are connected to computers at most retail stores, and allow a price to come up just by looking at the bar code.
As you can guess because my father was helping to create some up and coming technology we also had the up and coming technology so by the time I way about 5 years old we had a computer in my house and I was addicted to the "Put-Put" game with the little car that travels around. My dad has always been about building his own computers so he can update them as new additions to computers came out, so growing up I always had the special computer that ran faster and had more capabilities then my friends. Even by the age of 7 I knew how to use a computer and had to help my mother manage to use it for work. By the time I had reached 3rd grade we were using computers in the class room on a daily basis and would go to a computer lab to practice our typing every afternoon as part of our curriculum. I can't even remember not having a computer in my home or my school.
Like every other kid that I grew up with we all got cell phones before we went to high school and lab tops for college. This was the standard where I grew up. It wasn't until I lived in Hawaii for a year that I learned to really appreciate the technology I had. When people say that Hilo, Hawaii is 10 years behind in technology they really aren't joking with you. Our dorm rooms had dial-up internet and absolutely no tv from either cable or from the rabbit ear's antenna's. and all of our receipts for everything at school were hand written on carbon copy paper. For just about everything we needed to do in Hilo required going to an office, and dealing with people. Everything was a long process in Hawaii and anything that you needed to get done as far as paperwork was like going to the DMV with broken down printers. I do appreciate what I got from living in Hawaii however because just 2 years ago I had an experience with a low amount of technology and it only makes me appriciate it all the more now that I am back on the mainland and I don't take even a simple reciept for granted or even being able to purchase a permit online.
As you can guess because my father was helping to create some up and coming technology we also had the up and coming technology so by the time I way about 5 years old we had a computer in my house and I was addicted to the "Put-Put" game with the little car that travels around. My dad has always been about building his own computers so he can update them as new additions to computers came out, so growing up I always had the special computer that ran faster and had more capabilities then my friends. Even by the age of 7 I knew how to use a computer and had to help my mother manage to use it for work. By the time I had reached 3rd grade we were using computers in the class room on a daily basis and would go to a computer lab to practice our typing every afternoon as part of our curriculum. I can't even remember not having a computer in my home or my school.
Like every other kid that I grew up with we all got cell phones before we went to high school and lab tops for college. This was the standard where I grew up. It wasn't until I lived in Hawaii for a year that I learned to really appreciate the technology I had. When people say that Hilo, Hawaii is 10 years behind in technology they really aren't joking with you. Our dorm rooms had dial-up internet and absolutely no tv from either cable or from the rabbit ear's antenna's. and all of our receipts for everything at school were hand written on carbon copy paper. For just about everything we needed to do in Hilo required going to an office, and dealing with people. Everything was a long process in Hawaii and anything that you needed to get done as far as paperwork was like going to the DMV with broken down printers. I do appreciate what I got from living in Hawaii however because just 2 years ago I had an experience with a low amount of technology and it only makes me appriciate it all the more now that I am back on the mainland and I don't take even a simple reciept for granted or even being able to purchase a permit online.
Technobiography
Until 1994 about the only "technology" that I was familiar with was my TV and my families CD player. Once in a while my dad would bring home his laptop from work at let me play with it. But being completly unfamiliar with a keyboard and mouse, I hardly had any intrest.
In 1994 we got our first computer, got cable, we got a new van with power windows and locks, and I got my very own personal cassette player. (And my little brother was born incase you wanted to know). Now looking back I can hardly believe that being able to play games on the computer, having more that 3 fuzzy channels, or being able to hit a button to roll a window down in a car, technonlogy, but it was. But even then, I don't feel like relied on technology the way we do today. It was nice to have, but wasn't totally nessesary. Now you really can't have a job or be a student if you don't have a computer and a internet connection. I didn't type my first paper till 8th grade. Now young elementary school students are expected to type papers and create power point presentations.
Now days I can't live without my cell phone, I can't imagine not being able to listen to thousands of songs on my iPod, and whenever the internet connection is lost or slow, you would think my life is going to end soon. And gosh, heaven forbid you can't find a wireless signal.
It probably wasn't until 2000 that my family began to aquire some of this "new technology that exsists today. We got a "better" dial-up connection to the internet, and I discovered the joy of being able to email my friends in states far and wide (we moved and traveled a lot), but I didn't aquire my own email address until a year or two later.
We also got a cell phone that year. And boy was it a clunker. I could probably fit like 10 of my current cell phone in it. And even then, it was for emergancies only. My dad got his own a couple years later, a flip phone none the less! I did not get my own phone until I was 17. I had probably only witnessed a text message just a year before or so. And even then, who thought that you would ever be able to send them unlimitedly or be able to live without sending 5,000 texts a day.
And the joys of cable internet a few years later. I think I was in 9th grade when we got it. It was exciting to be able to surf the net, and never have to worry about counting minutes. And it was sooo fast. I also got an IM account since I had no restrictions on my online time.
I got my own computer my senior year of high school, and then my freshman year of college I got a laptop too. (Yes, I need two). Actually everyone in my family has their own computer, with my dad and I having 2. It's crazy to think that we once all shared one.
And of course their are the MP3 players and digital cameras, that in the past few years I have aquired. These days it seems silly to think that we once lived without all this technology. But people did, and with even less than we have today. I can't imagine my only form of communication with someone being a letter that takes 2 weeks to be delivered. Now I just hop on my phone and send a text or leave a comment on someone's Facebook when I want to say hi!
In 1994 we got our first computer, got cable, we got a new van with power windows and locks, and I got my very own personal cassette player. (And my little brother was born incase you wanted to know). Now looking back I can hardly believe that being able to play games on the computer, having more that 3 fuzzy channels, or being able to hit a button to roll a window down in a car, technonlogy, but it was. But even then, I don't feel like relied on technology the way we do today. It was nice to have, but wasn't totally nessesary. Now you really can't have a job or be a student if you don't have a computer and a internet connection. I didn't type my first paper till 8th grade. Now young elementary school students are expected to type papers and create power point presentations.
Now days I can't live without my cell phone, I can't imagine not being able to listen to thousands of songs on my iPod, and whenever the internet connection is lost or slow, you would think my life is going to end soon. And gosh, heaven forbid you can't find a wireless signal.
It probably wasn't until 2000 that my family began to aquire some of this "new technology that exsists today. We got a "better" dial-up connection to the internet, and I discovered the joy of being able to email my friends in states far and wide (we moved and traveled a lot), but I didn't aquire my own email address until a year or two later.
We also got a cell phone that year. And boy was it a clunker. I could probably fit like 10 of my current cell phone in it. And even then, it was for emergancies only. My dad got his own a couple years later, a flip phone none the less! I did not get my own phone until I was 17. I had probably only witnessed a text message just a year before or so. And even then, who thought that you would ever be able to send them unlimitedly or be able to live without sending 5,000 texts a day.
And the joys of cable internet a few years later. I think I was in 9th grade when we got it. It was exciting to be able to surf the net, and never have to worry about counting minutes. And it was sooo fast. I also got an IM account since I had no restrictions on my online time.
I got my own computer my senior year of high school, and then my freshman year of college I got a laptop too. (Yes, I need two). Actually everyone in my family has their own computer, with my dad and I having 2. It's crazy to think that we once all shared one.
And of course their are the MP3 players and digital cameras, that in the past few years I have aquired. These days it seems silly to think that we once lived without all this technology. But people did, and with even less than we have today. I can't imagine my only form of communication with someone being a letter that takes 2 weeks to be delivered. Now I just hop on my phone and send a text or leave a comment on someone's Facebook when I want to say hi!
Technobiography
My first experience with technology was at a very young age, too young to even remember. I had been exposed to television, and the first show I remembered watching was Barney. I really haven't realized how much television I have watched in my house up until today. It has been such a habit to just sit down on my couch and to take the remote control to turn on the TV... for about twenty years! Also at a very young age, I was able to listen to the radio, as well as able to listen to songs from a cassette tape and eventually from a CD. I figured out not a while back that technology was not just for viewing purposes, but for all senses for humans to adapt to, especially for hearing purposes.
At the age of 7, I took my first piano lessons. My parents bought me a piano, which is another source of technology. I enjoyed learning and playing the piano for a few years, stroking key after key, producing elegant harmonies and melodies. It is very interesting to see how much technology has been used over long periods of time, especially using the piano. Eventually, after ten years of playing, I stopped and composed a little.
Video games was a big hit during my childhood. I remembered playing games on my Sega Genesis at a young age.
(Not finished)
At the age of 7, I took my first piano lessons. My parents bought me a piano, which is another source of technology. I enjoyed learning and playing the piano for a few years, stroking key after key, producing elegant harmonies and melodies. It is very interesting to see how much technology has been used over long periods of time, especially using the piano. Eventually, after ten years of playing, I stopped and composed a little.
Video games was a big hit during my childhood. I remembered playing games on my Sega Genesis at a young age.
(Not finished)
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
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