My ball and chain....

Think back a few years to how you used to use your computer. Describe any changes you've noticed over that time. Finally, make some predictions about your computer use in 2013.

As I reflect on my relationships with my various computers, I realize that I have become more entrenched, needy, and slightly neurotic. It was never an equal partnership of mutual benefit but a one-sided dependency. My ball and chain are a full-on addiction of which there is no cure and no respite. In fact, I'm dragging my computer down with my lack of sophistication and computer savvy. I'm surprised that my computer has not fired me and moved onto someone who will grace its keyboard with more than two digit typing at about 5 words a minute. Someone who knows all the IM short hand, who can surf the internet without forgetting their original quest, and someone who knows a gigabyte from a... well, a... (insert techy term here).

My very first personal computer was a second-hand Apple. It was a clunky, cream-coloured, desktop with a tiny screen. I thought it was awesome. I was in my first year of college and taking an Advertising and Marketing degree. I thought I was super cool because I was in a program that specified an Apple computer under suggested class materials. We were taking design classes and would need to be able to run programs like Adobe Photoshop and QuarkXpress. My internet connection at the time was dial-up and slower than molasses flowing backwards up a hill under a meter of snow in the dead of winter in Moose Factory, Ontario. Luckily, I didn't spend much time on the internet. I probably spent a few hours a day working on my computer at home and the computers at school. Computers were for completing assignments. I checked my email every now and then. Socializing was still done face-to-face or by phone, class was still writing notes on lined paper.

My second computer wasn't an Apple. In fact, I would not get back to my roots for awhile. I dabbled with the "other" kind computer for a few years. In teacher's college, I received my first laptop as part of my B. Ed. program. Nipissing University was using my class as a pilot program for the 1:1 new teacher program. Thanks to Nipissing I discovered the world of high-speed internet, instant messaging, Google, and downloading music/movies illegally. We had an IT class which taught us how to incorporate technology in the classroom. I quickly learned how to multi-task; IM'ing my fellow classmates, checking my email, posting required comments to class discussion forums, and listening to my prof ponder the need for differentiation in the classroom. My computer usage leap-frogged significantly and my dependence became impossible to break.

Skipping ahead through my relationships and two continents later, I am currently using a Macbook which I love. I would not be able to exist without it. It has consumed me completely.

But I don't think this is a bad thing. Really, I don't! Without my Macbook I wouldn't have been able to keep up with my human relationships. As an overseas teacher, I rely on Skype, FaceBook, Picassa, Twitter and Gmail to maintain and even build my personal and professional relationships. My networks are worldwide and stronger than ever.

I worry about my laptop. I debate whether I should bring it with me on holidays. I'm afraid I will drop it. Or it will stop working. Or maybe it will be stolen. What would I do without it? How will I know who has just eaten toast for breakfast, who thinks that the new season of Lost is a waste of time, who needs a resource for teaching the Renaissance, and who has just posted a video of their two-year old laughing?? Seriously. This is hard-hitting news that I can't live without.

I need my laptop and that's why I have chained myself to my Macbook. For better or worse, it can't leave me in the dark. I won't allow it!