Technology/Literacy Autobiography

I first learned how to use computers when I was in junior high school, if you can imagine that. I had a programming class. We used these huge cards to write commands; I believe the system was called FORTRAN. Later, my parents purchased an Atari computer video game. We spent countless hours playing pong. My first experience with contemporary computers was about fifteen years ago when I purchased estimating software for a collision repair shop that I owned. This software enabled my estimators to assess damage on vehicles quickly. An estimate that would take an hour to write could now be completed in ten minutes. What a time saver!

My first experience with the internet was around fifteen years ago also. I learned to upload photos of vehicle damage to insurance companies to save them the trouble of sending an adjuster to my shop.

I avoided social networks for a long time. I have never been on MySpace or Twitter. About a year ago, a friend set up a page on Facebook for our triathlon club. To access the page, I needed to create my own account. I did. I found Facebook very addicting, spending perhaps an hour a day on the site. Luckily, the effect wore off and now I only access my account periodically.

I think supplementary online support can help me with this course as much information is available on any topic. This is the main advantage. The disadvantage, of course, is that anyone can post anything. There is no review process for much of the information on the internet. To limit this disadvantage, I must visit several sites to verify the information I obtain.