The day my laptop came in the mail, the world of technology opened right before me. I was walking home from school, and once I reached my doorstep I saw the FedEx box sitting there waiting for me. I frantically picked up the box, ran inside and grabbed a pair of scissors. It was the day I had been waiting all month for. I sliced through the tape on the box and pried open the top. Once I had the box open, I opened the laptop and clicked on the power. I got to the set up screen and set it all up and was ready to explore the world of the Internet. Once I got through all the start up and configuration for the laptop, the first thing I did was get onto the Internet. I searched “NHL”. From that point on I would look up trade rumors or anything else that was going on in the National Hockey League. I was very excited that I could now find out more than I could ever want to know about anything just by searching in Google. I could look up anything you could possibly imagine and in a matter or seconds I could pull up millions of websites that would tell you about what you searched. It was a life changing experience. Not only could I use my laptop for the Internet but also start up an email account, Facebook page, and type papers for school. The laptop opened up the world of technology for me. From that point, I would grow to love computers and the technology behind them.
My laptop really influenced my development in literacy through the internet and applications such as Microsoft word. I would be on the internet everyday reading different articles for school or just for leisure, and I feel that doing that helped my reading skills tremendously. Without the computer I feel that I may have had a tougher time exploring different kinds of literature. I was able to read all kinds of works and really learn about what kinds I liked to read. With my laptop I also was able to type my papers for school. Microsoft word really helped me become a better writer with the different tools that are there to help with having correct grammar and no spelling errors. This was very useful to me, because I have never been very strong at spelling. So, with Microsoft word I could take out many of my spelling mistakes with the grammar and spelling tools built into it. Another part of my laptop that helped me with my literacy was the Internet. I could search for help for my writings and almost every time I could find a site that is able to help write a strong paper.
Not only can the computer be used to keep up with friends or do homework for school, but one of my favorite things that I can do with my computer is play video games. I have always enjoyed being able to sit down, relax, and enjoy a good video game. I prefer strategy games, because I like to think and plan ahead to what I want my next move to be. The first game I remember playing on my laptop was called “civilization”. It was a game based off of old civilizations and you could pick one to try and lead through history. For example, you could pick ancient Rome, and through the game you wanted to grow and develop your civilization and eventually take over the world. There were many different approaches you could take. You could try through war and domination or you could become friendly to neighboring civilizations and together take over all technology and eventually be the only civilizations that are able to continue to grow and prosper. This game was really exciting to me, because I loved the idea that you had to choose a path for your civilization to try and live by. If you failed, then other civilizations would take you over and you would lose the game. It was a long game and took lots or thinking and decision-making. Over time I became very good and was able to take over the world. It took me a while to learn and develop a strategy, but the whole time I was having fun on my laptop.
My first experience with technology was through my laptop. From my laptop, I began to learn a lot more about technology in my laptop and everything else. My laptop has been a great tool for me to keep in touch with family, get help with homework assignments, and play some games in my leisure time. Without my laptop I would not have learned as much about all the technology and would not be as good with it either. I feel my experience with computers has grown from owning my own and being able to experiment and learn through trail and error. I know as time goes on, I continue to use my laptop daily for the internet, Microsoft word, or even some video games. The more I continue to use it, the more I learn about it and other technologies around me. As I continue to learn about all the technology that is growing around me, I am able to learn about anything and everything else also. Technology, particularly the Internet, is a great tool to help you learn and grow as a person. Keeping up with the news is sometimes hard as a student, but with the Internet you can easily go to the news website and read articles about everything that is happening around the world. You can even go back and look at what has happened in the past and learn from whatever you find on the Internet. My laptop has become such a great tool in helping me learn to use and navigate all kinds of technology, as well as learning about school subject or current events.
