My Computer Literacy

The advancement of my computer literacy over my lifetime and how it has changed me as a person.

[teicherm]

The iMac is very important to my computer literacy because it was one of the first computers I learned to type on. This is important to me because it lead me into the path of being computer literate. This allowed me to easily accomplish many things on the computer that was required later on in my life. Learning to type on this computer was a very difficult experience because I was so young and I barely knew how to write. It was very hard to learn to type because the only time I had access to the computers was in class. I had to work very hard to understand the computers and how they can help me in my class work because I Knew that I wanted to work on these machines in the future. My computer literacy started with apples computers because they were very easy to use for me at a young age. I think that if our school district bought any other type of computer i might not have been as interested in learning how to type on computers.

source:

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/175289-the-macintosh-is-30-years-old-today-how-apple-changed-the-desktop-computing-world/2

[teicherm]

The Quest for Computer Knowledge

This is a Prezi I put together on my computer literacy, and what objects have effected my life over time in relation to my literacy.

[teicherm]

This is the arduino uno, it is a programmable micro controller that is used to communicate to electronics. this device is very important to my life because it is how I learned to program in the C language. It has also influenced my collage plan because I want to work with electronics like the arduino. this little device is capable of anything that you can possibly think of that involves computers and technology. This device was very important to me because I first learned to program on this device in the 8th grade. back then I was amazed that I could make light emitting diodes blink and scan with this simple device. This gave me the power to learn programming and hardware when I was young. I was able to program with this device with no one helping me but the information that people posted on the internet. This improved my internet literacy because I had to learn how to efficiently search for the information that was needed to complete the project. This also improved my electronics literacy because I had to learn to read schematics and integrated circuit data sheets so the project would go smoothly. However most of my projects had huge issues and this is where I learned the most while using the arduino. I learned the most from the mistakes I made while making my projects because this is where I learned more about problem solving. Learning how to problem solve was the greatest thing I learned from the arduino because it is a skill that I will need to use the rest of my life.

source: http://www.iorodeo.com/content/arduino-uno-r3

[teicherm]

This is the IBM PC XT, this was my first vintage computer that i have ever owned. this is a very important computer to me because i use it to learn the basic programming language that is built into the computer. I was attracted to this computer because i have seen it in many movies and it was the second IBM personal computer in history. I purchased this computer on eBay and fully restored it except I replaced the hard drive with another floppy drive. this computer is exceptionally important to my computer literacy because I have used it to understand the bare minimum that a computer needs to operate and be a functional piece of technology. This computer has also taught me that you don't need a super new computer to do the every day things on the internet. even though this computer is from 1983 it is fully capable of going on the internet and doing what any modern computer can except watch videos. This is pretty amazing considering this computer is now 31 years old. I also am using this computer to get a better understanding of the operating system and how it works on a hardware level. This information is helpful because I am working on building a computer from scratch. these are all the reasons that this computer is very important to my computer literacy.

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Personal_Computer_XT

[teicherm]

during high school I received my first smart phone on a black Friday. This was very important to me because I could now access the internet no matter where I was, and I was not tied to wifi anymore. This phone was an important tool to my computer literacy because I was able to use it to browse the web for answers faster than bringing out my laptop and searching the internet. I very quickly learned to use my smart phone to quickly look for information or for videos about computers. The mobility of my phone allowed me to be connected to all my friends and to the internet. This meant if there was any information I needed I could just take my phone out and look in the place the information might be stored. 

source: http://www.cellunlocker.net/blog/2011/10/how-to-unlock-samsung-i777-galaxy-s-ii/

[teicherm]

the first computer I ever got to use personally was an old white plastic Macintosh laptop. This computer was very important to me because it meant I was not stuck working in my fathers office which is where our main computer was. This changed my computer literacy majorly because I learned that I could use my computer anywhere to learn and to consume media. This was an idea that I knew of before because the computer use to be my brothers but I did not know to the full extent how this would change my life. This changed how I did everything at school because I was able to bring my work to school and work on it during lunch and in the hallway whenever I wanted to. I no longer had to go to the library or the computer lab to work on my homework or projects. This also meant that when my class when to the computer lab to work on a research paper all I had to do was open my computer to use it instead of waiting for the computer to log in. this made working on the computer more efficient because not only was it faster but I knew what software was on the computer and I knew how to use all of it, and there was no searching for software or my project files.

source: http://switchtoamac.com/site/apple-updates-macbook-faster-intel-core-2-duo-1gb-ram-bigger-hard-drives.html

[teicherm]

Typing Proficiency Class

In middle school I had to take a typing proficiency class in order to improve my ability to type fast and accurately. This class was very important to my computer literacy because it taught me to type without looking at the keyboard and this allows me to focus on the computer screen and work faster on the computer. This skill is very important to the advancement of my computer literacy because it allowed me to be able to watch the information on the screen as I typed so I could make quick fixes to any spelling errors. Over time this made my ability to use a computer much better because I could now type what I wanted to express much faster and more accurately then before this class. This changed how I used a computer because now I can use a computer in a dark surrounding because I don't have to see the keys to use a computer.

[teicherm]

First Home Computer

Eventually my family got their first computer so my dad could do some of his work at home. I was given access to this computer and I had many learning games on it to teach me about typing and other things. These games were very important to me growing as a person because they taught me many fundamentals that are important to life. This computer allowed me to learn more about technology when I was not at school and so I could spend more time on it. Having a computer at home also allowed me to play with settings and other things that I did not have access to on the school computers. This was important to learning about using computers because I was able to do anything to my home computer as long as I did not mess with my fathers account. This home computer also allowed me to do my computer projects at home to finish them early and then just play on the school computers.

[teicherm]

My Dive Into Vintage Computing

In this Tumblr blog, I will be discussing my personal advancement in computer literacy starting from the time I first used a computer to do an in class assignment. This blog will contain many forms of media to show you how my computer literacy changed over the years. Now I'm going to write about a few events in my life that significantly changed my computer literacy. When I was in my sophomore year of high school, I saw many movies about computing in my computer diagnostics and networking class. We saw War Games, Pirates of Silicon Valley, Triumph of the Nerds, Star Wars, Star Trek, and a few other movies. These movies were an inspiration to learn more about both new and old technology that exists. The movie War Games introduced me to the world of vintage computing and so I wanted to learn everything there is to know about old computer systems. Over time I learned a lot of the information that was easily available in books and the internet. I then decided that I wanted to play with these old computers to learn how they worked and how they can fit into life today. This new interest in vintage computing greatly improved my computer literacy because I learned about what modern computers are all based on and so it was easier for me to understand newer computers. The movies Star Wars and Star Trek are an inspiration to me to look forward for new technology, and to keep in touch with the newest technology in order to keep my computer literacy up so I don’t fall behind on the newest computer tech. Keeping tabs on current future computer technology and software is important because it allows me to help other people when they are having trouble because I know how to use the new technology.

During my junior year of high school, my tech department was going to throw away many books that were related to electronics and computers. I was strongly against them throwing out the books because they are a piece of history considering some of the books date back to the late 20's. I felt that I was the only one that could rescue the books from the recycling plant that they were going to end up in. this was a very important moment in my life because these books would not only increase my literacy but they would lead me to wanting to work with computers and electronics as a career. I was able to save three mid sized boxes filled with books about computers and electronics. I have learned a lot from these books and I will always be learning more from them. The one thing I have learned is that you learn more about computers from old books because they are history and they do not change. When you buy a new book on computers the book will soon be out dated because the computer industry is changing so fast. I use these books very often because they contain many cool projects and information on advanced electronics that is hard to easily obtain. Today much of the information on electronics and computers is watered down because most people don’t care for all of the specifics. I for one want to learn everything I can and so these books give me everything and I decide what I want to remember and what I don’t need to know.

[teicherm]

My Literacy Sponsors

while I was improving my computer literacy there were many adults that assisted and pushed me to dive into the world of computers. These literacy sponsors helped me in hopes that I will become literate in computers and be able to use my literacy to express myself to others. I had many sponsors that assisted me in learning how to become more literate with computers by providing me with a computer to learn on and a good environment to learn in. my first literacy sponsor was one of my middle school teachers who first introduced me to the home computer. In this class I remember learning everything I needed to know about a computer to use one to do my homework on. I specifically remember bringing in my floppy disk into class that held the homework that was due that day. This was a milestone in my life because my handwriting at this time was not legible and so it made it so much easier on me to type out my papers and then print them. My biggest literacy sponsor was my speech and writing councilor who I saw every Thursday for several hours to work on my literacy as a whole. She taught me how to get over my speech impediment and be able to express my thoughts in a way that everyone can understand. I was also taught how to write a story using the computer as a tool to create and publish the story in print or online. When I was a sophomore in high school I took a class called computer diagnostics and networking, this class taught me the specifics of computers that allows me to use them very efficiently and with great ease. Without this class I would not have continued with improving my computer literacy to better express myself.

[teicherm]

Learning With Computers

My life changed completely when I learned how to properly express myself with computers whether it was writing a document for school or if I was on the internet talking to other people about technology. Had I not learned computer skills at a young age I would not be able to use a computer to effectively express myself and I would not have learned how computers work on a very deep level. Learning how computers work has helped me forge many friendships with people who are interested in technology or have once needed my help with a computer related issue. Over the years having a strong literacy in computers has made my life so much easier because while many people around me were having trouble with figuring out how to use a computer I could just teach it to myself without any help. I learned how to use a computer before I really learned how to speak or write well enough to use them as a way to communicate to others effectively. This meant that my main form of communication was using a computer to draw and type what I wanted to express to other people.while i was in middle school I had to take typing proficiency classes in order to learn how to type faster. this was very important to me because if i had not taken this class I would not have learned how to use computers faster and more efficiently. I was able to work my way around the computer much faster than most people because of the class and my free time on the school computers. this was very helpful during any school projects i had because i could use the computer to make presentations