Nguyen 1

Austin Nguyen

Ms. Malaka Friedman

English 101

21 September 2018

My Technology Throughout the Years

Technology is an amazing tool. It helps us to connect with others and speeds up the

facilitation of knowledge. Today it is essential to our way of life and vital to individual success.

When I was young, however, I did not see them as such; instead, they were devices for fun,

entertainment, and ultimately, a simple way to pass the time. As I grew up, the uses of

technology gradually transitioned from the purpose of playing games to more academic

applications.

Around the time I was six years old, my parents bought a Compaq computer. This piece

of machinery was the first technology I ever used. Its monitor was almost a perfect cube, its

keyboard made loud clicking noises, its power button shown a bright green, and its startup made

a long sequence of sounds still ingrained in my brain. Unlike the technology present today, the

old computer’s storage capacity was only 80 gigabytes and weighed a whopping 29.98lbs

(Compaq Presario SR1600NX). There were two slots for DVDs; one was for DVD-ROMS

while the other was a DVD reader-only (LiquidationDFW). On this computer, I would play my

favorite DVD-ROM game, Zoo Tycoon Complete Collection.

As a kid, I would use most of my free time on Zoo Tycoon. Blue Fang Games developed

the game and Microsoft published it back in 2001 (LGR). The premise was to create a zoo either
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through one of the scenarios in which specific goals were given or freeform mode where all of

the animals and items were made available to create as I pleased. Although the goal of the game

was to gain wealth, my six year old self did not recognize that and instead just built zoos for the

fun of it. I first believed in making the enclosures based on my interpretation of where the

animals lived. Tyrannosaurus Rex was put in a habitat with volcanoes and saber-tooth cats were

placed in savannahs. This was incorrect and eventually I learned to use a zookeeper icon to find

instructions on what the animals wanted. The game had designed very specific layouts for each

of the animals which included a certain number of trees, rocks, and even terrain tiles. By playing

Zoo Tycoon on the computer, I learned how to follow written instructions, read labels, save

progress, and even search the web for help for issues with the game (the Apatosaurus kept

destroying their trees). Although I had not learned basic uses such as typing a document or

searching the internet for more than just a game, I did gain rudimentary skills that would serve as

the basis for my knowledge of using a computer and other electronic devices.

Two years later, in 2008, I received a gaming system called Nintendo DS Lite as a

Christmas gift. I was eight years old, and like the Compaq computer, I spent hours playing

games on it; but instead of Zoo Tycoon, I was now playing Pokémon Diamond, an RPG (role-

playing game) in which the main character lived in a world filled with elemental monsters in

place of animals. With an item called a Pokéball, the creatures can be caught and trained to

evolve into stronger Pokémon. The objective was to start with a Pokémon, provided by a

scientist, of the grass, water, or fire type, and use it to catch other Pokémon in order to build a

team, beat eight strong trainers known as gym leaders, foil plans of world domination from an

evil organization called Team Galactic, and become the best Pokémon trainer by beating the

champion. With over 100 new Pokémon to catch, the game kept me busy for about two years
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(Pokémon Diamond). Unlike Zoo Tycoon, the game was much more focused on a plot. Certain

tasks needed to be completed in order to progress forward through the game and it was not open-

ended. For example, to obtain the eighth gym badge from the last gym leader, the player is first

required to travel to a nearby lighthouse. In this instance, a man was placed to block the door to

the gym and would disappear after finishing the task. Talking to the man would only initiate a

brief conversation saying that the gym leader is not there. Throughout the game, trees and rocks

and cliffs also prevented deviations from the main storyline and only by playing the game in a

preset path allowed the player to progress. Still, Pokémon Diamond reinforced the concepts of

following directions and saving progress and also introduced the idea of using technology to

reach a goal.

The Nintendo DS Lite itself was very different from the Compaq computer. There was

no keyboard or mouse; just many different buttons placed around various parts of the bottom

portion. The name DS actually stood for “Dual Screen” as there was a top screen that acted like

a monitor, and a bottom touch screen which enhanced game play by lengthening what was

projected on the top screen or by having some activities that involved the touch screen function

(What Does ‘DS’ Stand For?). I used a little program called PictoChat which was used to send

little messages and drawings made on the bottom screen to other DSs nearby. It was the first

time I sent messages to other people and it was the beginning of my ability to text and interact

with those around me digitally. Another significant difference between the two devices was the

amount of time I could spend on each. While the Compaq computer could run for days, the

Nintendo DS Lite could only go for a couple of hours. This meant that I had to stop playing.

The DS was my first gaming device but it was also the start of the division between work and

play because when it ran out of battery I went to do some schoolwork (often going ahead).
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By the time I completely finished Pokémon Diamond in 2011, I was beginning middle

school at age 11. Unlike elementary school, the classes assigned much more work which also

meant much less free time. To do assignments such as typing papers or making PowerPoints

(my papers and PowerPoints were still basic, but I knew how to use the programs), my dad gave

me his old Toshiba laptop. It had 512 gigabytes of storage and only weighted 2.43lbs (Smith).

For the next seven years, very few games were ever downloaded on it, and even so those games

were rarely played on. As the level of schooling increased, the amount of time in which I just

needed to occupy myself, greatly diminished. Even summer break no longer provided any

leisure time since most advanced placement (AP) classes required summer assignments. That in

combination with college applications, extracurricular activities, and the sheer workload of my

high school courses fully changed what I believed to be the purpose of technology. Gone was

Zoo Tycoon and Pokémon Diamond and in came the many programs for school, and through

most of those years, I didn’t notice because now school was what occupied me.

In that time (2011-2016) there have been many programs for academic purposes. First

there was Powerschool and its predecessor NC Wise (Cavanagh). These were for accessing

grades and were monitored very closely. Although stressful to use, this heart-attack inducing

type of application got me in the habit of checking accounts every day; a skill important for

email and instructors’ syllabuses later on. Next came Edmodo and Blackboard; applications

used by teachers to post assignments and information. These were the basics for navigating

websites and accessing resources found in different locations. This was also the start of time

stamped assignments, an unfortunate product for students but fortunately opened the way for

time management skills as there was additional accountability. After that, Canvas and Google

Classroom were introduced; programs that worked like Edmodo and Blackboard that my high
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school began to transition to during my junior and senior years. They essentially prepped me for

being able to learn how to use new different formats quickly. Then lastly, today I have Moodle

and Webassign. Although all of these applications appear to be antagonistic, they are made to

aid me. Some instructors such as my eighth grade social studies teacher would post her lectures

on Edmodo which made it very easy to slow down a video if necessary and thoroughly learn all

of the material. Other teachers like my chemistry professor and biology professor used

Webassign and Moodle respectively to assign homework and quizzes so that more class time can

be dedicated to teaching the content. The goal of technology had simply changed, from

defeating the Pokémon champion to pursuing an education.

As the years went by, there was clear and somewhat fast transition from using technology

for play to schoolwork. I can recall realizing at the end of my sophomore year of high school

that one day, the time I spent having fun with games was already, and would eventually decrease

to the point of nonexistence. It was a sad truth, but one I have made my peace with. The games

I played as a child grabbed my attention, and unconsciously taught and developed the skills and

techniques for academic uses of technology. Small phrases typed in a search bar grew into

typing narratives and argumentative papers in Microsoft Word, saving Zoo Tycoon game files

led to saving documents and PowerPoints posted by teachers, navigating the main menu of

Pokémon Diamond exposed me to learning new interfaces, and Pictochat was practice for

electronic seminars on Google Classroom. Often I look back at the past, and yearn for the glory

days when things were much easier; but after long contemplation, perhaps it is only a result of

not focusing on the present. The old “time-wasting” games were important stepping stones

towards the new programs and without them, I believe my ability to adapt to new devices and

software would be significantly hindered.

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For me, technology began as a toy, but as I grew up, and matured, and more

responsibility was placed upon me, the technology and how I used it changed with me. When I

look back at my digital literacy, I not only see growth in my abilities with programs and

applications that arose from the basic concepts of childhood games, but I also see that technology

has become a physical embodiment of my coming of age; from the kid who just wanted to play

some games on the computer to the college student now focused on academics. Today,

technology is a tool for greater understanding.

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Works Cited

Cavanagh, Sean. “New Data System Blamed for Skewing Student Records in North Carolina.”

Education Week - Rules for Engagement, 24 Feb. 2014,

blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2014/02/growing_pains_new_data_system.ht

ml.

“Compaq Presario SR1600NX .” CNET, CNET, www.cnet.com/products/compaq-presario-

sr1600nx/specs/.

LGR. “LGR - Zoo Tycoon: Complete Collection - PC Game Review.” YouTube, YouTube, 19

Mar. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPTNYBUOznE.

LiquidationDFW. “Compaq Presario sr1403wm Desktop PC.” YouTube, YouTube, 8 July 2014,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l2UIFC4QN4.

“Pokémon Diamond.” Nintendo.com, Nintendo,

www.nintendo.com/games/detail/Sw8fLPiPMydfaiwZREgJ2N6Q-wwFePWC.

Smith, Tony. “Toshiba First with Half-a-Terabyte SSD Laptop.” The Register® - Biting the

Hand That Feeds IT, The Register, 14 May 2009,

www.theregister.co.uk/2009/05/14/tosh_first_with_512gb_ssd_laptop/.

“What Does ‘DS’ Stand For?” Nintendo Accounts on Nintendo Switch (FAQ) | Nintendo

Support, Nintendo, en-americas-

support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3904/~/what-does-ds-stand-for%3F.