Cheers, folks. I’m late to the party but happy to be a part of the group now.
I’m Wendy and in course number two of the MET adventure. Truthfully, as I was late registering, the course chose me in terms of its availability. In reading through the introductory modules though, I am intrigued. An idea that resonated, under the section Perspective is that, “it is important to situate technologies such as the computer historically; it is also important to situate them culturally.” This lead me to my choice of picture:
This my first computer, circa 1985, complete with the requisite dot matrix printer and it changed my life. I only began to write when I had access to word processor. If, as Snyder suggests, “pen and paper invite care, tidiness, and controlled thinking”, then as a lefty I was finished; tidiness was not an option for me. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized my horrendous penmanship was due to a graphomotor dysfunction. As a kid in school trying to figure it all out, I was disgusted and embarrassed by the henscratch that filled the page. You can imagine my delight in my written work post-processor. It changed everything: my confidence, my motivation and my skill. In many ways that compaq has lead me to this course and to this program. I look forward to more food for thought throughout what appears at first glance to be a fascinating course. The loss and gain engendered by new technology is a rich idea indeed.
I work as a online English teacher (grades 11 and 12) for 18-21 year olds. My career has lead me from English teacher to Guidance counsellor to Student Success teacher and now back to English. I live a happy life in Newmarket, north of Toronto, have two beautiful adult children, who are twins and 25, and live a relatively healthy lifestyle with time off for good wine and good food. Now that it is spring my commute to work is a glorious 15 km cycle on the trail by the meandering Holland River. It is a glorious way to begin and end my workday.
