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My First Walkman
Up until this point, my music tastes were limited to what my parents listened to. We had a boombox in the living room that played CDs and cassettes, but Mom was always around and only like listening to country music. I didn't mind country music, but with my first walkman, I was able to venture out and satisfy my other music cravings. Image -
Game on!
I was blessed with being a kid with an angel for a gifted teacher. I excelled at my schoolwork, aside from my handwriting. My parents were concerned about my fine motor skills. My gifted teacher recommended to my parents that they get me a video game system of some sort. Jackpot! My parents were always one to double down on anything that may help me succeed so I got the new Nintendo along with the Gameboy. Image -
Motivation for Participation
In 5th grade, we had a computer in the back of the classroom. One of the games the teacher would let us play is Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. She would integrate some gameplay into her instructional time and it would also be used as a reward for completing work early or good behavior. I caught Carmen once... just once. Image -
My First TV
For a few years leading up to this point, I had wanted my own TV in my room. The freedom of being able to watch what I want when I want is something I wanted so badly then (and even to this day). Also, I had since upgraded to the SNES and wanted to play it more. Having a TV would allow me to do so. I saved up all the money I got for my birthday along with my allowance money and bought my own 13" TV. Image -
My First Computer
Growing up, we had a Commodore HD40 in the house, but this was when we first got a computer that could do something besides play 8-bit "Wheel of Fortune" or print out a paper on the old dot matrix printer we had. My first computer was also my first Black Friday experience. I was first in line from having stood outside all night. There were only a small stack of the latest PCs on sale, and I got one! Image -
The Shack
Some kids wanted to be firemen. Some wanted to be astronauts. I always wanted to be a teacher. Aside from that, if I had to get a regualr job, I would have always wanted to work at RadioShack. I didn't understand half the stuff in there, but always found it fascinating. As a part-time job through college, I was able to fulfill a childhood dream of mine. Image -
Tech Support
With RadioShack in trouble, I needed another avenue. I found a job working over-the-phone tech support for a Fortune 250 Investment company. If the Financial Advisor's or their staff's computers go down, they call me. It is my job to help them troubleshoot their issues and/or remote onto their machines to fix the issues for them. Image -
Online Classes
I have always had a traditional view of an effective classroom. In order to get the full effect of college, you had to be in a classroom. However, I have found that I was completely wrong when it comes to my own personal learning style. I started the online MAT program nervous about the whole thing, but have found that the system works and I will be striving to integrate technology in my classroom. Image
