Jennifer Beach: Technobiography

Different technologies have played significant roles throughout my life. We are surrounded by technology and must become familiar with it in order to be part of today’s society.

Even prior to my birth, technology affected me because my mother required a 24 hour continuous infusion with a terbutaline pump to prevent premature contractions. These medical advances allowed her carry me longer so I was not as premature as my sister and therefore did not have as many complications when born.

When I was five or six, playing on the computer became an incentive for good behavior. Throughout elementary school, my parents provided my siblings and I with fun, educational games like Space Mountain, Oregon Trail, and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? I also began having computer classes during school where I remember using the programs Logo and Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. In middle school, I was allowed to create a screen name and an email address. During high school I continued to use the computer for a variety of reasons: writing papers, creating slideshow presentations through PowerPoint, and using the internet to research information. During a study abroad trip, I used the internet to stay in contact with my friends and family through the use of email and MySpace. In college, I continued to use a computer for papers, research, and social networking but I also use it to view videos and music.

Even my use of the television has changed dramatically throughout my life. When I was younger, my family owned three televisions. Now we each have our own TV in addition to three other televisions set around the house. Growing up my parents used a video camera to record special family events. We own every Disney movie on VHS, but yet no longer even have a working VHS player. Now we do not even own a working VHS player. So we moved onto the DVD era, but now my brother has insisted I begin purchasing Blu-Ray instead.

I got my first cell phone when I was sixteen. Two years later I was excited to get a camera phone with additional features and today I now own a blackberry which allows me to access the internet and my email at anytime.

When I was younger, my parents made sure that I learned how to read a map to help them with directions when we went on road trips. Today, while I still have those map skills, I use a GPS to navigate to unfamiliar places.

Growing up, I was excited to play with my uncle’s Nintendo 64 and I was thrilled when my family purchased our own PlayStation. Then we bought a PS2. Today, I have a Wii and a PS3 of my own.

Even our cameras have changed. When I was in elementary school, I begged my father to use his Polaroid camera to take pictures of our family and pets. Then we had the family film camera. But today, everyone has their own digital camera.

Even in the technology at the schools where I have interned has progressed, especially since I was a student. Today, my classrooms have ELMOs instead of overheads. Each class has a television and Promethean Boards have been introduced into the classrooms. All of these have been incorporated into daily lessons in order to increase the learning of the students in classrooms today.

It would be impossible to ignore the changes in technology during my lifetime. The part that amazes me the most is how accessible it is to everyone. The iPhones, laptops, digital cameras, etc. have become so common that everyone seems to have their own and it seems more of an oddity if you do not own these devices.