My Technology Timeline by Alijah Endischee

Wait....? No keyboard?

ali2240601 — 2024-01-24 02:59:14 UTC

My grandmother (1954) reported that when she was young and entering high school, her father told her "If you never learn how to type then you will never get a job". So, he bought one for her. In school she had a class where all you did was practice and practice. Then she went home to practice some more. She said, "I was practicing more than anything". As she got older, she got a desk job and attended business meeting for North Slope Borough where she would type notes with her typewriter.

She enjoyed this so much she said. However, she disliked was making errors. If you made an error, you had to fix it using liquid correction fluid. She was also not fond of the amount of proof reading that went along with typing out important documents for the city.

I cannot imagine the frustration of making many errors on this device. I already cannot stand making error after error on my laptop keyboard. I am so grateful that I am able to easily click the backspace button when I make a mistake.

Correction fluid? I'm fine with correction tape.

ali2240601 — 2024-01-24 03:09:20 UTC

My grandmother referred to this item as liquid eraser. She said that using this tool was fine. The only time she had to use it was for correcting her mistakes on the typewriter. Since making mistakes was inevitable, having this item and a spare at all times was important. Especially when she was working for the town government.

I have used modern correction fluid. I do not prefer it. I love my correction tape as is. The correction fluid back then looks like it has a harsh smell to it.

Steno what? A stenotype? Where is my HP laptop!

ali2240601 — 2024-01-24 03:11:33 UTC

As my grandmother got older and more serious about her job working for the town government, she became really talented at being a typist for town and company meetings. She was introduced to a stenograph. At first it was a fun hobby to try to write shorthand in long meetings. She put her mind to it practiced. She loved using this tool and making less errors with it.

I have heard of his kind of type device but very vaguely. I know that it is a way to type shortly and faster. I can only imagine how hard it is getting the memorization right for each key. I think I am okay with using a QWERTY keyboard.

Finally! computers.

ali2240601 — 2024-01-24 03:37:52 UTC

My grandmother stopped working for the town in the early 2000s. She moved onto working at the high school. She said at first everything was written on paper. Notes to parents, announcements to teachers and staff, and filing paperwork in file folders all the time. Until computers came about her school (mind that she lives in a small rural town at the top of Alaska). She explained how everything was now easy and fast once she got a hang of using it. Fast ward to today, she says now she can write emails to parents, find documents

A-Z quickly instead of looking through a big file cabinet, switch to other computer tabs all at once, and print things at a push of a button. A funny story she shared with me, most of the books and assignments are now online and she has a hard time trying to explain to guardians what Google Classroom is and the books and assignments are all on the computer. She says that they are slow. Ha! I found that funny how she went from typing on the oldest form of typing to typing on the more recent technology today and explaining to younger parents how technology is now in school.

I totally agree with my grandma about how easy it is now that computers are available. Thank goodness that I do not have to stand hunched over looking through files when I could have an easy access to every file.

Multicolored Pens!

ali2240601 — 2024-01-24 03:58:02 UTC

For my aunt (1986), she said that these multicolored in one pen were super popular in high school. She mentioned that if you had this pen, you were the cool kid. Those who didn't have the pen would ask to borrow it from those who did. She said that this tool made things fun and made school more motivating to participate in. Your assignments would look cooler, and presentations would be so fun. These overall encouraged students to do more on paper.

As a kid, I loved these pens too! They weren't as popular to have as aunt explained but they were a cute tool to use. It would be a great space saver too.

The ugly binders!

ali2240601 — 2024-01-24 04:29:55 UTC

My dad (1886) always told his story about these binders. In middle school for him, these binders were so in. Instead of carrying backpacks, the cool kids carried these huge binders around. They would carry everything you needed for school.

I laugh every time my dad tells me this story. However, I think that these binders are the ugliest supply to have. I would be embarrassed to carry this instead of a binder.