Technology Delights and Distress

It’s sometimes amazing when I think back to when I was in high school and the latest technological advancement was the microwave oven. And we all thought that anyone who had one had to be rich! What a luxury. Now….microwave ovens are a standard kitchen appliance and I would considered very strange if someone didn't have one. This just show how much I've been sucked into the technology vortex.

I’m looking at technology from this viewpoint due to multiple reasons: 1) this week, my cell phone went to cell phone heaven and I’m going through hell without it; 2) this week, I got a second monitor hooked up at work and so I now have dual monitors [Way COOL!]; and 3) a local radio host was talking about how quickly we all get with the latest technology. Let’s look at these points in reverse order.

The radio host was complaining about his cell phone acting up this week. It was so funny that I found myself laughing out loud. In his words, his cell phone had become “possessed” and the phone was on his coffee table. He just sat there watching it. He started talking about how technology has become so smart, he believed that devices like cell phones and computer can now think for themselves and so therefore can become “possessed.” It doesn’t sound near as funny as it did on the radio. The topic of his dialogue did get me thinking about how “possessed” I feel because my cell phone decided to die! Not the battery; dead as in refusing to function ever again.

I don’t think that it is really a matter of technology developing artificial intelligence which can then becoming possessed. We become sooooo dependent on technology that we think that we can not possibly function or have a normal life without the blasted thing! I do hope that education doesn’t forget that teaching and learning can occur without technology!

As my geekness and dependency on technology gets more and more integrated into my personality, I’ve known that my phone was about to “code” on me for a few months. The hinge was barely hanging on. I started doing some research on what cell phone I wanted to at least entertain the thought that I would like to have. The more I researched, the stronger my geekness grows. I have now decided that there is only one cell phone that will bring me happiness; the Blackberry Bold! Just to show you how much geekness there is now growing inside, I have picked a phone that you cannot get in the US yet. The US release has been delayed so many times now that I’ve quit looking everyday for the latest release date. Now, only to discover that the UK has now pulled the Bold from their shelves; say it isn’t so!!! So my technology distress is that my cell phone died and I can’t get the one I want. I sound like one of my kids. Again, I’m now beginning to pray that education never forgets it’s humble and simple past without all the gadgets.

I did have a technology delight this week to go along with my distress. I’m really thrilled with my new job because right now [this is going to sound crazy], I’m rewriting all of the departmental policies and procedures. I’m really happy because I do spend most of my days looking for the evidence to support our evidence based practice. I love to do research. Another geek trait. The only downside to this particular project is that I would have to have several screens open at the same time and was switching constantly between the screens. Last week, happened come across an extra flat screen monitor which is exactly the same size as mine. I asked my boss if I could have the monitor to set up dual monitor screens. She’s started to see and understand that I’m pretty geeky. With simple addition of a monitor splitter cable and a few adjustments in control panel, I was in heaven! Now, I can look at two full screen documents at the same time and work in both as needed. If you’ve never experienced being able to use dual monitors, I promise you will never want to work at your desk again without two screens. Only the clinical informatics person in our department understands and he immediately put in a request for his second monitor! (He have only been in the department two weeks.)

As academicians, getting to do research on one screen and working in the other has its advantages. For one, I at least think that I’m getting more work done faster. I am such a geek!