Tech Reflect and reading question (10/22/09)

1- TechReflect: Imagine you were asleep for a thousand years and suddenly woke up in this technological age. What are some things that can help you get up-to-date with using technology?

-- I would be freaked out like crazy. I would think I was on a different planet or a different country, not knowing how far apart countries are and how they've advanced in this so-called "technology". I would probably have to learn to speak the way people do nowadays because only a few would actually understand me. After that I'd have to learn how to use a computer, telephone, and all the other things that have become "necessities" for living in this age. A car would be like something we've imagined back then, but nothing we ever thought we'd actually make. It's kind of like us thinking about flying cars and not actually having them. Who knows. Or maybe it's even too "out there" for us to imagine...something totally different we haven't even thought of. I would learn to use computers and go to local libraries to research on the "past" (which to me only seemed to be yesterday) and see what's been going on, which King has fallen and who the president of the U.S. of A is. There would be so much more for me to find out and learn about the present day and how things work around here. It would be difficult but entertaining, too. :)

2- What inspired Alan Kay? What did he accomplish?

-- He became an Air Force programmer before attending college and he built one of the first microcomputers for his Ph D. project. He was a leader of Xerox team researchers. He made Macintosh and 12 years after being at Apple, he made a graphical programming tool for children called Squeak. His inspiration may have been children altogether. He says, "start with end users, usually children, and try to think about the kinds of experiences that would help them grow in different ways." So, he might have just wanted to make technology fun for children so they can learn and grow.