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1986 First Time Using A Computer
My first exposure to a computer was in approx. 1986 at school with an Apple 2E. There were educational games to help make reading and math fun. But every kid wanted to play Oregon Trail, even with rudimentary graphics born from a 5 1/4 inch floppy disk! -
1988 Toshiba Laptop Computer
In 1998 my Dad had a Toshiba laptop computer which were not very common in those days. It had very limited memory compared to modern computers. The color scheme was a high contrast orange against a black background, but it could communicate with other computers on a network. And though it was for my father's business, I did use it to write papers in middle school and high school. -
1995 First Desktop Computer
In 1995 I received my own desktop computer. It had a 2.5 disc drive, a 386 processor and Windows 95. I was also brave, or naive, enough to install and ethernet card to give it broadband capability. I was lucky enough to attend a forward-thinking college (Iowa State University; Go Cyclones!) where every dorm room was equipped with high-speed internet. Although, I did not have any online classes, access to the internet changed the way I studied and researched my assignments. -
1995 First exposure to Microsoft Word
My first personal computer gave me access to my first encounter with Microsoft Word. This word processing program has gone on to be present in every school I have attended and job I have had since that time. Who knew this user-friendly word processing program would go on to be the behemoth it is today? Though no matter how many iterations, ctrl-Z is still there to help me correct my mistakes. -
1999 First DVD Player
The domination of VCRs ended quickly when people saw DVDs and the high quality video. This was also a big change in the teaching world as it gave content makers a much more robust platform to create. Learners could skip to lessons and easily rewatch lessons without having to rewind a tape. Despite the lively adoption of DVDs, you can still find a few VHS tapes floating around. -
1999 My First Cell Phone
By today's standards my first cell phone was heavy and clunky to say the least. Actually, even at the time, it was big, but it gave me the freedom to make emergency calls from almost anywhere. Eventually, I would abandon my landline for a cell phone, but that was still years away, when technology caught up with opportunity. -
First MP3 Player
When mp3 players hit the market, it was like a miracle to have so much music in your pocket. Although I could not afford the gold standard IPOD at the time, I soon fell in love with my first mp3 player. My Zen Nomad held 10,000 songs (many of which were audio books) and went everywhere with me. It survived until 2008 when the screen went blank. Had that not occurred I am confident I could still listen to Harry Potter books on it today. -
2004 First Work Laptop
Though this was not my first exposure to a laptop, it was my first for my job, which has now become the norm. At the time it was necessary for me to travel with a laptop and be able to bring it back and connect it to a docking station. The same is true now, though the computers and docking stations look much different. This Fujitsu Lifebook was small even by today's standards, but it did everything I needed. -
2005 First Mobile Entertainment
From 2004 - 2007, my job required me to travel nearly every week of the year so keeping my sanity on the road and in hotel rooms was important. The Sony PSP gave me the opportunity to watch movies and play games and connect to the internet when there was not room for my laptop. This was the first device I had used that had wifi capability besides a computer. I am delighted to say it still works and my kids love to put in the PSP discs and play old games. -
2008 Digital Media Player
This Archos 504 was the coolest thing I had ever seen! It held pictures, audio, movies, and data. This is significant because I could bridge the gap between my computer and have mobility. I could use it for entertainment, but also transfer files from my computer to another. Later, tablets would fill this need more easily and seamlessly, but until then this device changed the way I thought about media. -
2013 My First Table - Kindle Fire
Although tablets were nothing new, this was my first and it was a great option for reading, gaming, internet browsing, listening to music, and streaming. Although laptops could accomplish the same thing, it was not as cumbersome and lent itself to mobility. For some tablets and laptops are interchangeable and I know a few people who run businesses with just tablets and cell phones. We are truly living in the future. -
2014 First Smart Phone
I am not sure why it took me so long to discover the power of the smartphone. To go from texting with buttons to texting with predictive technology, blew my mind. My GPS became a thing of the past, and my world was rich with the new "vast wasteland" of youtube. Smart phones have given us unlimited access to learning and in so many different ways. An increase in accessibility is just one major way they have impacted education.