My earliest memory of technology takes me back to about the fifth grade. We had a large computer lab adjacent to the library filled with large, bulky Macintosh computers. Our assignments back then (as related to technology) were to create “good copies” of our written assignments. I can still recall the doors opening and each of us running for the “new” computers that allowed your mouse to click and edit any part of the assignment. Those forced to use the “older” computers, immediately became anxious as the only way to edit was the delete all of the following characters. Once we finished our written assignment, we would spend the remaining time working through All the Right Type; if we were really lucky, we would play Snake.
Shayla
Shayla,
Your post really takes me back! I remember very similar things. The computer in our classroom was actually labeled as a “word processor” and was reserved for making those pristine final drafts of papers. My dad gave me an old AOL floppy disk that had been wiped and that became my portfolio where I would type out all my stories and keep the “final drafts.” But, we didn’t trust it and had to print them as well, of course!
How far we have come from the days when things typed into a computer were the final drafts. There are many things I see online these days that I wish would go through many more revisions (e.g. a certain someone’s Twitter account) before ever seeing the light of day.
It makes me wonder what things we do today with technology that in the future people will look back and say, “How did they not see its real potential?”
-Jonathan-
A+ to that last statement. I wonder that constantly! Reminds me of when Twitter first came out. I thought it was kinda stupid, and totally didn’t see its true potential. I ate my words!
Great to see you in another course!
-Scott
Hey Shayla, great to see you around again!
I never had an experience with Word Processors like yourself so I was really interested to hear how the “old computers” worked. That system seems hardly better than a typewriter – maybe worse!
I was also interested to hear how, if I am understanding correctly, some students good “good” computers while others got the short straw. What a bummer. I hope the opportunities were rotated!
Word processing — how much of the program do we use? How many of you have seen someone center text on a page by using the space button?
What is a “good copy”? What does the research say about writing? Should we be handwriting first or go right to the computer?
Christopher