WEEK 1 - When I went to school, we didn't have computers. My best friend did Form 5 Leaving (no HSC for her!) so she typed all day and learnt shorthand and how to use a dictaphone. That was 1982.
When I first started tertiary studies, there were no computers at Melbourne State College - everything was typed, and information came from microfiches at Melbourne Uni library. That was 1984.
When I dropped out and went overseas, my mum was very worried as she hadn't heard from me for a while. I'd been sending letters, but I was doing aid work in Romania, and there were no phones. Mum never did get the letters. However, Jana Wendt from 60 Minutes did a story on Romaninan orphanges, and someone told my mum I was on tv. So at least she knew what country I was in. That was 1990.
I finished my BA and did Honours here at Latrobe about twelve years ago. My lecturer gave me her old computer, because i didn't have one; in fact, had never used one. I ended up using my electric typewriter for my Honours thesis, because I kept losing my work on that new-fangled computer! That was 1997.
So now I'm trying to learn ICT - I'm being dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. And yes, after all this study ansd research, I'm amazed by the range of teaching and learning tools available at the click of a mouse. I also have come to realize how technology in the classroom can really clarify what and how students are learning. This is 2009.
That's 27 years; I was sure by now we'd all be living like The Jetsons. Unfortunately, I don't have Rosie to clean my house. The advances in IT are phenomenol, and I can't even begin to think how different they'll be in another 27 years.
Classroom learning is now constructivist - I need to know how to use this stuff so as to model learning behaviours to my potential students. Already kids know way more than me, so it's going to be a challenge...
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