A Digital Autobiography - Amanda L. Peacock -

1. A Digital Autobiography - Amanda L. Peacock -

2. Bicentennial Book Baby Born in 1976, I was certainly not born into a digitalized home. Although computers already existed and new technology was brewing, my mother fostered our communication growth through books, crafts, and good old fashioned imagination. We had a television (yes, only one) and were encouraged yet restricted to view mainly PBS. Educational media such as Sesame Street and School House Rock were very influential in my early cognitive growth.

3. Prior to starting school, we spent a lot of time at the library where my love for books was born. It was a weekly outing to go there, borrow new books and stay for story time. I also took out books that came with a 45 or 78 rpm record that you could listen to as you read and it told you when to turn the page with a small chime sounding. (not me, but a likeness) In addition, listening to records that told the story while you imagined the characters and scenery was a big media influence on me

4. “The Wonder Years” In roughly 1984 , my sisters and I received an Atari for Christmas. Though it had come out a few years prior, due to being a working class family we never had the newest technology when it first hit the market. Around this time we got our first push button phone. Prior to this we had a classic rotary style telephone (yes, only one) and it was centrally located in the kitchen.

5. Around 1987, my grandparents gave us a Zenith Data Systems computer. (Zenith pic) My sister Nichole and I shared the converted attic as our bedrooms and the Zenith was set up in her room. We mainly played computer games and used it for word processing. Creatively, we would type lyrics into it as we listened to records and cassette tapes. We wrote poems and typed them up on the computer. At this time, I began to make mixed tapes of my favorite music and share them with my friends. We didn’t have iPods, MP3 players, or even CD players at this time.

6. Education and Technology (or lack there of) As far as early educational influences of technology, we only took typing classes because schools did not incorporate computers much at this time unless they had exorbitant funding. Ironically, this is not truly where I learned to type. It is not until later, with my exposure to the internet and instant messaging that I really honed my typing skills. Digital literacy was certainly not on my school’s agenda. We still had filmstrips in classes.

7. As I ventured into puberty and then public high school, my exposure to technology was anything but prolific. I recall VCRs were a new “hot item” at that time and we did get one around 1989. However, divorce, abuse, and behavioral issues pervaded my life and clouded my creative interests and digital literacy. In 1992 I was placed in a girl’s home for a year. This is where I learned to take pictures with a 35 mm camera and develop them in a darkroom. This experience had a tremendous impact on my identity and self-esteem. I had pretty much stopped reading and writing (for pleasure and creativity); I felt like I did not have an identity at all. I did not fit anywhere. As a teacher took the time to help me learn photography, I found a new voice through my pictures and gained a fresh outlook on life.

8. Starting a Business I did not return to technology or truly learn about anything digital until 1997. Having returned to New York from living in Colorado and New Jersey, I got a job booking and promoting bands for a small music management company. While working there I also began a cleaning business. I needed to create a business card and one of the creative directors in charge of design (and recording) showed me how to use Photoshop to create a logo for my company Peacock Cleaning Service. I found this digital design fascinating and quite creative. I also learned a bit about mixing boards and various recording equipment.

9. I continued my business, but also had to find a second job. I landed upon a company called DigiVision, whose main focus was to send out satellite installers across the nation. Hired as a customer service representative, this is where I met a dear friend of mine, Esquire. He was the companies IT guy and was always willing to answer my computer questions. In short, he is the one who taught me about computers: not just the interface, but the inter-workings as well. I always appreciated learning from him because it never crossed his mind that a woman could not learn and execute digital technology as well as a man. He turned me on to techno music, movies with technology themes (i.e. Hackers) and lent me discs to learn how to get A+ Certified. He gave me parts to build a computer from scratch and patiently stood by as I learned and asked questions.

10. Both immensely unsatisfied with our jobs at DigiVision, we both resigned and started a computer company called: Onsite Computer Solutions (OCS). This entire endeavor served to seriously boost my confidence and digital literacy. We often used IRC (Internet Relay Chat), Yahoo messenger, and Yahoo Email. I felt like my whole world had opened up when I embarked on this virtual exploration. He also showed me how to splice wires and run the computer to my television monitor. Esquire taught me that technology was not only user / female friendly, but did not have to cost a ton of money if you learned to build things yourself. With his help I learned how to navigate a computer registry, recover a crashed hard drive with no software to help, and learned basic HTML.

11. Moving Onward and Upward Although I did not choose to stay involved with OCS, I did parley the skills I learned into a network administrator position for the Western New York region of Jackson Hewett Tax Service. The job entailed a network conversion from DOS to Windows in 6 regional offices: wiring the actual office, configuring the new equipment, learning and configuring the software, and teaching it to the tax preparers. By default I learned about telecommunications by configuring many phone and fax lines in offices across the region. This was another building block for my confidence in technology and confidence in my own abilities.

12. Back to School Nevertheless, the job eventually ended and a few years later I was at a crossroads about my cleaning business. I believe due to gaining some digital literacy and seeing that my options were vast, it seemed a waste to put all my efforts into the physical demands of cleaning. So, in 2002, armed with computer knowledge and skills I went back to school. Not particularly interested in pursuing the field of IT, I pursued my passion for literature and writing. My home computer was instrumental and allowed me to create papers and projects from home.

13. I was hired in the EOP (Equal Opportunity Program) and the Office of Women, Leadership, and Diversity to help other students navigate the computer systems as well as tutor English. I began writing for and editing the school newspaper using Quark. I used my photography skills to also take pictures for the school paper, but this time I was using a digital camera not 35 mm film. At this time I felt a huge resistance to technology. Everyone I knew had a cell phone and digital camera and I didn’t want to jump onboard. I thought the art of photography would be lost if we embraced digital cameras and as far as cell phones were concerned- I didn’t wish to be that accessible! I felt as if technology was sucking the life out of me; while paradoxically becoming a necessity.

14. Nevertheless, I caved with the cell phone; as a student it became a matter of convenience. Years later, I am the proud owner of a smart phone that I can honestly say is quite intutive. As far as digital photography is concerned, I have embraced it simply because I wish to keep up with new tools and techniques for my interest in photographs.

15. Forward- Fast! Fast-forwarding 10 years to 2012 seems like I am leaving out so much, but my interest in computers and the internet died out for a bit though I was in school until 2006. Returning again to school in 2011, I found a bit more resistance to technology. However, as a result of taking 2 web-courses for the first time last semester and all web-courses presently, I have drastically different views. I feel a new-found creativity in blogging, website creation, and online discussion boards. I think that perhaps my distaste for online communities came from some unsavory connections to people via Live Journal and Deviant Art that left me skeptical and longing for the safety and truth found in face-to-face interaction.

16. In the format that I am involved with today, I find like-minded students and professors that have a serious interest in the production of writing and analysis. I find the discussion boards are often entirely more personal than most conversations I have had with classmates in the classroom! By creating a website, I have carved out a niche for myself in the vast web of global communication. This time, I feel a part of versus apart from. This time, I find safety and intellectual courage at the other end of most interactions. Although I am still not a big fan of social networking, I do have a Facebook page and I am grateful that my service learning component is helping establish one for Girl Future. I better understand my nieces and nephews digitalized worlds and have been able to share things I learn in these web-courses with my sisters.

17. I look forward to further incorporating digital sources into my navigation of such a diverse world- both getting and staying CONNECTED.

18. Photo Sources All pictures are courtesy of open stock photos found at: • http://www.dreamstime.com • www.wikipedia.com Some are altered in open source photo editor found at: • www.pixler.com/0-matic • www.pixler.com