Technoliteracy Memoir

My earliest introduction to technology was the story telling record. I sat on my mother's bedroom floor absolutely enraptured by the voices playing off the frizby sized discs. I could see the story playing out in my imagination with such clarity, as though I were watching scenes on a movie screen. Other early interaction with modern technology was nearly exclusively through educational sources. The most consistent of which were the Accelerated Reader tests. The AR tests were brief ten to thirty question tests book related tests that provided a much needed introduction to computer use. There were not many times in my early youth that I had the opportunity to be exposed to technology in any form. I lived with my biological mother until the age of eleven, and in that time my understanding of technology was limited to brief computer "play" at school during our time in the computer lab and the computers in Wal-Mart's electronic department. Although I did not have any electronic toys to play with, I vaguely recall having a kind of reverent fascination for Game Boys, Nintendo, and the Internet, what I considered cutting edge technology.

It was not until I entered high school that I began to gain any semblance of computer literacy. When I was in high school, all freshman were required to take a two part, year long course called Business Communication Information Systems, or BCIS, as an introduction to business technology. The first part was keyboarding in which students were taught the fundamentals of typing. The second part was an introduction to various programs and software including Microsoft PowerPoint and Internet research. When I bought my first car, my parents gave me a cell phone. Although it was a prepaid phone, the technology found in the various forms of mobile communication devices would later become one of the more influential in my life.

In college I became increasingly aware of the importance of computer technology and the internet in my education as well as in my social life. In order to take all of the classes I needed I enrolled in my first internet course in 2006. I soon found that I was nearly as techno-savvy as most people my age. I struggled for the entire semester to understand simple tasks like uploading files, online test taking, and research databases. As I continued to gain a simple knowledge of the online class I took up a hobby that was rapidly growing in popularity, Myspace. I found that nearly everyone I knew at the time had a Myspace page, and I was determined to not be left behind and expose my ignorance in relation to all things internet related, especially the online mobile community.

I have grown most in the past few years. Experience has taught me that there is little room for timidity when one is learning. Although I do still have a sort of stubbornness when it comes to using new technology I continue to grow and learn at an easy pace.