Technology adoption

Last week was my life with mobile phones was my journey last week – so this week, I reflect wider on my use of technology. Here, I mean computer technology. Asking people about their experiences growing up with technology is always interesting, as any assumptions are thrown out the window. My partner, who worked s in IT, was immersed in computers at an early age. He was also born and lived in London. I grew up in Gloucestershire, and my experiences were very different.

Like most children born in the late 70’s, eventually we got a version of ping pong, that you plugged in to the back of the TV. I would have been about 8 or 9, so it this was about 1985. In Primary school the only dalliances with computers was in fourth year juniors (The years had not yet changed to year 1 – 12, and I still sat my 11+ to get into grammar school), when we search for hidden treasure in Egypt. There were no visuals – just a program where you inputted your co-ordinated in the hope that you might find something. Most of us found nothing – but I guess real archaeology can be like that!

Our first computer was a Commodore C16 – in 1988. By then it must have been old as dad bought it at a car boot sale, and you could only get games down Gloucester market. WE went to Gloucester market a lot! Ah – the days of loading games on a computer through a cassette player. My favourites were Jet Set Willy, Manic Miner and Kickstart. All of them stop working when you got to a certain level, and the joystick always broke so mostly I used keys.

Interestingly, we didn’t have any computers at secondary school – at least not that I used. So my next encounter with computers was at university. Now, during the time I was in secondary school, my dad decided to explore computers. My dad is a tinkerer. When I was little, he used to take cars apart, do them up and get another one. That’s what you did in the 70s right? However as he got older his disability got worse. So he decided to tinker with computers. He took them apart, then put them back together again.

Anyway. Off to Uni I trundled. Here there were computers. You could find them in the library, or in the computer room at college. The computer room had ten computers. My college had about 300 students. (I went to Durham and studied theology).

There was no real expectation to use them though. Communication was still via pigeon hole, and essays didn’t have to be typed up, mostly they were still written by hand. In 1996 when I started uni (after a year working), no-one had mobile phones and only a couple of people had personal computers. (Can you see how quickly student life changes). In my final year, dad put together a ‘laptop’ for me. I say laptop, but it was more of a word processor. I couldn’t access the internet, but I could use it for writing and saving things on a floppy disk. I even had publisher so I could make fancy newsletters.

After Uni, I became a pub manager. The story from theology to pub manager is one for another day! Here the technology I used was that at work. Mostly systems for communicating, doing business, orders etc. We didn’t really use the internet much, although I am sure there were restrictions.

My dad made me a PC – which served me from 2000 – 2008. It was very large and very old. But it did the job. I could use the internet. Although, I didn’t get interested in that until about 2004. It was funny that when I finally realised I had an email account. There were about 2000 spam messages that had accumulated over four years. The computer went when I moved in with my partner, who laughed a lot over my monolith.

When I started my current place of work in 2008, computers played a much bigger role – as I now had an office job. I still don’t have a personal laptop, as I have one for work, which I often use. Maybe one day? And so in 2010 I started MAODE. Partly because I wanted to find out more about online learning so we could do it better. I guess I am now an innovator- as I have managed to slowly persuade people to look at things differently, so that integration of online aspects of learning is now becoming the norm when designing training materials.

Crazy huh? I don’t like to admit it, but actually, I do know enough about technology now, learnt over a short space of time.I feel comfortable and confident with it, and trying new things out. I am not your typical early adopter, as I don’t get excited about new technology. But actually, everyone I work with seems to see me as a technology wiz. (maybe that says something about those I work with!).

So my interaction with technology has changed radically. It’s a living breathing part of my life now. Not only in study and work, but in developing young people as well. I probably would have seen myself as a pessimists, or maybe just nonchalant about technology, as it never played a huge part in my life. Now, I think I am an optimist about the way that technology can transform our lives. I think this is very important when educating others about how to use technology safely, especially in my work in a youth organisation. It can’t be doom and gloom, otherwise young people don’t grow up with a sensible attitude to it. We know the damage technology can do, and how adults use it to harm young people, but have to remember the empowering positive power it can have too.