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My Parent's Media Treasure Trove
From my mom's bookshelf full of image-rich National Geographic magazines to my dad's eclectic vinyl collection of international music (not to mention the family photos and documents from my grandfather the diplomat), I was amply supplied with media that would tell me more about the world outside my immediate comfort zone. I believe this exposure soon encouraged me to explore the world of ICTs, as well. -
First Family Computer
And, thus, I fell down the rabbit hole of such intellectual CDROM gems as "Grossology" ("Gross science that kids actually want to learn!"), Encarta Encyclopedia 1997-98, and, eventually, Zoo & Rollercoaster Tycoons, among others -- all of which allowed me to delve deeper into my own world, the wider, more culturally rich world around me, and then the tiny, ridiculous ones I would create and manipulate myself. -
First Cell Phone
"Hey mom? Yeah. I got your ten voicemails. I'm done with soccer practice. Can you come pick me up? Great, thanks." -- Nearly every phone call until high school. These were the pre-texting, post-payphone days of my youth, but it was my first ICT-fueled push towards personal independence. -
AOL Email & AIM Messanger
You've got mail, girl! And suddenly I had my own online personality, connecting me, in real-time, to friends from school and folks afar in facinating chatrooms or penpal sites -- not to mention other budding online authors of "fabulously" creative fanfiction. As a result, my network begins to get more global. -
Giving in to iPOD-nation
I loved music, but only after discoving that I could put my fabulous CD collection (not to mention all those fantastic Mix CDs my friends made me) onto an iPOD did I actually want one. I used it to share music with new friends, to keep me occupied during long flights from the Midwest to the East Coast, and, later, to listen to language lessons in preparation for future travels much farther away. -
Social Networking Newb
This is where online "friendship" became real and "important," and copying codes and connecting with music, photos, and movies began to come together in a more cohesive way. -
Personal Laptop #1
As much as I wish it were true, the laptop featured in the photo is not (and never was) my own... but I did still have one. It allowed me to find, research, download, connect, and create however and whenever I pleased. When I moved across the country to Boston, it also became the greatest link I had back home to friends (read: boyfriend) and family. It was also the first computer I used to start researching and dreaming about my future life abroad. -
Global Facebook Friendship
I joined Facebook when it still required you to have a legit college email to get onboard (and everyone only had one photo and one page -- that's it). Now, as Facebook has blown up, so has my use of it, allowing me to connect with real friends & family all over the world. It keeps me current and in contact folks I met in college, traveled with in Africa, haven't seen since high school, and so on. It's an amazing thing, and I'll begrudgingly admit that I'm grateful for it. -
Teacher Technology
As an elementary education undergraduate student working in urban schools, I got introduced to many an educational media tool during my years as a student teacher, including SMART boards. -
Skype is my Savior
I became a Skype user to connect with my family in Chicago while I lived in Boston, but it was when I moved to Tanzania (and proceeded to borrow my roommate's fancy laptop and geeky headphones, then prayed we had an internet connection that day) that I realized the incredible gift this free service afforded me. With it, too, comes responsiblity. That is, you realize we're never that removed from people all over the world... no matter how far or how different. They cannot/should not be forgotten. -
e-Learning Languages
Mambo! Habari gani, rafiki? Before moving abroad, I started using every type of media I could to immerse myself in the languages I'd be speaking while living and teaching abroad (mostly Swahili, but I dabbled in Afrikaans and isiXhosa)... this included "Living Language" CD lessons for my car, Mango programs and chatroom tutors online, and the infamous and invaluable Rosetta Stone. These online ICT resources allowed me communicate with a new culture before I had even arrived. -
Blogger/Blogspot
While living in East and South Africa, I kept a blog to keep my friends and family up to date on my happenings as a volunteer teacher. Now, it serves as an excellent trip down memory lane for myself, complete with events, images, and emotions I felt along the way... including the march on parliament I took part in with thousands of South African students, demanding equal education rights for all (including access to textbooks, technology and libraries at every school). -
Job Town, USA
After returning to the States, I used the internet CONSTANTLY to job hunt and send out my resume. Sites I frequented included Linkedin, AmeriCorps.gov and Idealist.org... one of which snagged me my current position. Now I use them to find service/volunteer events for my students and I to take part in, so as to give them a broader context for the conflict resolution/ social justice work they do in school. -
GSLIS LEEP
In the summer of 2012, I began using LEEP & Moodle for the first time to learn and communicate with professors and peers -- Hip-Hip-Hooray! Let the collaborative e-learning continue. -
Staying Current and Social Networking
With the new year came the urge to explore and organize things anew...so I'm using this class as the perfect excuse to try out Twitter, Pintrest, and Prezi, among many other things (like TimeToast!), in the hope that I'll stay connected with my new and evolving international orgs and interests, as well as find resources to best support my current and future work with youth.
