Recently a colleague of mine told me that technology is defined as "anything that was invented after you were born." The idea behind this is that “new inventions” are different from the “technology” we always had access to. Simply put, we often take older technologies for granted; where as new technologies seem quite different. At the time, I thought about this idea and wondered if I agree with the definition.
Well… it is a few months later and I am still not sure if I agree with this definition of technology. Subsequently, I continued to think about this idea a bit more and recalled the technology I interacted with as a child.
My first memory of “new technology” was the color television. I believe the introduction of the color TV occurred sometime in the 1970s. I remember we were all talking about how different TV will look in color. During the early 1980s, we were introduced to the Commodore 64. I remember playing some kind of knockoff version of Frogger, Pac Man, and Donkey Kong. In fact, I think Jump Man Junior was the Donkey Kong knockoff. I also remember the programs were loaded either through a Floppy Disk or a Tape Drive. In retrospect the graphics were of course tacky. However, at the time it was new and exciting and was greeted with much enthusiasm.
Similarly, I remember creating mock radio shows and ultimate radio mixes with a Tape Recorder and a tape-dubbing machine. At the time, the tape recorders came with an external microphone. At the same time comic books were all the rage. Prior to the discovery of comic books you couldn’t get my brothers and I to read books. In many ways, this genre of fantasy and adventure opened us to the wonderful world of reading. Soon enough, we would seek books similar to our comic story lines and would draw our own comic book series.
So… where am I going with this “Jacob recalls the past yet again blog?” Could it be a lesson for us all to reflect on? Well you figured it out. Anyhow… these anecdotes remind me of what excited me about reading and how as a parent I should be looking for these teachable moments with my own children. Furthermore, one should not try to force the teachable moment; just let it happen. For example, at the time the Commodore 64 did not have a profound impact on me. While the games were entertaining, I am fairly certain it did not change how I learned. On the other hand, comic books did. Not only did I read these periodicals on a regular basis, I was inspired to create my own comic book characters along with their continuing adventures.
As I reflect on this further, I have come to believe these fantastic stories from my youth gave me the spark to write grants, create programs, and pursue other endeavors as it helped me find my creativity. With this in mind, I am very thankful for the day my Mom bought us a stack of comic books as it helped me discover my creative side.
18 comments:
I like your childhood anecdotes. So, you do like green.
I think I like Blogger better then WordPress.
Kepp up the articles, they are good!
Denise
Thanks Denise. Green is cool. I am using Blogger purely for convenience as its a part of the Google package.
I have the same memories from my childhood. TV was color, but it had knobs ( it was just about 7 channels) . Computers - it was another story! We manually dialed the phone , waited for the carrier tone and then remove the cable from the phone and ply got into the modem.
We forgot about this time, and probably ours children and grandchildren will never believe in this stories. That is not easy to imagine our life now without technologies anymore,
I think technology has come a long way from when I was a child. I do like some of the newer systems but yet I still miss some of the older models. I eventually get used to all the new changes
I find it hard to agree with your colleague's definition of technology. Weather it be a new technology that came out after your birth or something already in use still makes it a piece of technology.
That being said, I too also found myself connected to older technology as a child. I use to love my N64 gaming system even though many other children my age were already obsessing about the newer and "cooler" PlayStation 1. I use to get told my N64 wasn't "a real video gaming system". To those haters I say stop you're hating. Technology is ever changing but the oldies can still be amazing.
I can relate to your memory about color TV. When color TV was introduced to my household I was around 7 years old I can still remember the first cartoon I watched on that TV that was very memorable moment in my life.I also remember that I use to have a beeper, before radiophone,then it was a cellphone and only few years ago I "upgraded" to the smartphone. In my opinion new technologies are impossible without old technologies and we can not take older technologies for granted
I truly enjoyed this blog. I feel this way because it has opening up my mind to the though that "from technology, comes new innovations." It that comic book that made way to color cartoon series. The biggest invention of my childhood was the first Mac computer. It was brightly colored and awfully big. From that innovation has come laptop computers and flat screen monitors. Thank you for reminiscing with us!
It saddens me how fast the world is changing in technology. Just 30 years ago, the world was a whole different place. Your computer in your home, if you were lucky to have one, was a luxury. You did not interact with friends and family through Facebook or other social sites. You did not walk around with a cellphone in your pocket, that is now a mini computer and can do anything your home computer did 30 years ago. Sometimes it feels like a rollercoaster ride technology. I look back and can't believe how different the tech world was than and how different it is today.
When I was growing up, the Internet was a new and popular form of technology. I also grew up playing games on N64, Gameboy, and regular Nintendo because I have an older brother and older sister. I loved reading when I was younger. I used to go to the library once a week with my grandma. I think this is what made me become interested in reading. I looked forward to getting new books each week and reading them as soon as I got home. I do not read as much as I used to, and I definitely would choose to read a drama genre than an informational text. I would encourage my students and future children to read anything that interests them, as long as it is age appropriate.
I'm glad that I've grown up in such a technologically advanced world. Nothing seems impossible after the creation of the Internet. I recall my parents telling me about how they were lucky to watch television in black and white. Today, we have televisions made in 3D and are so thin in size. I am looking forward to see what the future holds for us in terms of new technology.
I definitely agree with you.I also have the same memories from my childhood.I remember our color TV set. It had only several channels but the whole family used to sit around it at night waiting for new serials.And the time when mobile phone appeared is really unforgettable!It was something unbelievable.I could use it in any place I wanted.I think we cannot forget about all old technological devices because all new technology appeared from old ones.
this is an interesting biography of your childhood, professor. I do agree with you that as parents we should provide or create an interesting environment with educational materials such as books of different genres, toys, etc and our children would develop a love for, of realize their purpose. we should desist from pushing of forcing these things on them. in other words we should study the culture of our children and plan accordingly. currently my nine year old son is fixed on mine craft activities, therefore, I bought books that relate to this new activity.
Wildeen, ED SE 650
I find it difficult to agree with the definition that states that technology came out after your birth because it sure didn't come after mine. Instead I see technology as a tool that is always progressing. Each generation is handed technology and instead of recreating the wheel they instead progress it. In fact, as mentioned above, Mr. Gutnicki felt Jump Man Junior was the Donkey Kong knockoff. The jump man was an updated version. So in my opinion as each generation goes by technology will keep evolving as well as being updated.
I generally don't keep up with technology. Meaning I don't keep up with the Jones. However, I do have technology in my home ex: Laptops, Flat screens television with 3D compatibility, Microwaves and plenty more.
Honestly I think the way technology is growing so rapidly individuals have no choice but to keep up with it. I mean honestly you cant even apply for a job without completing an application online.
A quote that stuck out to me from this article was, "One should not try to force the teachable moment; just let it happen." I believe this to be so true. I see with my son that opportunities for learning tend to arise very often and I try to make the most of them. There's nothing like a hands on learning experience. As for the "new technology" the forst biggest change I remember was going from vhs to dvds. Now even dvds are obsolete!
Technology has evolve tremendously since when I was a child. I had color tv and we watch cartoons only on saturdays, we had nintendo and played outside when it rained, snowed, cold, or hot, we went to the library to read and gather information for our homework or to do research. We had house phones and there were phone booth on every corner. We ate dinner with our family and held conversation at the kitchen tables. The class bully was dealt with at the play ground or after school. Today we are able to play video games with people all over the world, there isn't anymore pay phones, we can just go on the internet and search for information we need, cyber bully is causing children tot commute suicide because social media allows the world to see the harsh torment of the bully. Now we have 100 plus channels, satellite TV, streamy TV, and etc.
Jaclyn Boyles
650
Thinking back to my childhood is refreshing. I see children so consumed with technology. I can proudly say as a child I was active and involved socially with people around me. I do believe technology has so many great aspects. The way it has evolved is amazing. I do think its crucial to be limited and its scary to think of how future generations will cope with all the changes.
In my childhood I had no idea about color TV and computers. I was studying the world around me from books, games and my parents and teachers.
Most of all I liked the Professor's story about that these fantastic stories from his youth gave him spark to write grants, create programs and helped him to find his creativity. If every child has such experience from his childhood it really will help him
to realize themselves in their future life.Different technologies will help them to develop their personalities and characters.
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