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Ben 1 Benjamin Daniel Poole Ms. Ingram UWrite 1101 22 September 2014 A Piece of Me What I define as my literacy narrative is not your normal literacy, like reading and writing. My literacy is in technology, like computers and the internet, and I have been learning and expanding my literacy ever since I was a little kid. From the time when I first learned how to use a computer to working on my computer science degree, I have been building my literacy of technology. My technological literacy began when I was still elementary school, around seven or eight years old. This was the first time I really got to work with computers and experience their joy. My first computer was a Macintosh and I remember my Dad guiding me through how the computer and the operating system functioned. Shortly after, my school developed a computing class to teach elementary kids about computers. Without this program, I don’t think my love for technology would have kicked off. In this class they helped teach us the basics of computers and incorporated technology into writing and math class. For example, there would be interactive reading and math problems on the computer. This would allow us to advance our technological skills and math or writing at the same time. We also worked on creating small games, like tictac-toe, with very simplistic programming, which really helped me to get into the programming aspect of my literacy. Although I didn’t learn a whole lot during my elementary school periods, it really helped me aspire to be programmer or be involved with computers somehow.

Ben 2 Middle school was relatively that same as elementary but with the normal slight expansions on learning about computers and technology. One of the classes that really helped me expand on my technology knowledge during this time was keyboarding class. In this class we learned how to type correctly and looked into advances in technology. Learning how to type correctly really pushed me forward in what I could do with computers. Also learning about modern day technology and what was to come in keyboarding class help expand and keep my interest in computers and technology. Something unexpected during this time that also boosted my need to explore computers and technology was the use of technology in class. My teachers started using Smart Boards and clickers. I found it very interesting how these devices interacted with education, which I had never thought of before. It amazed me because I finally understood all the ways different technology could be used. As I said before my technology insight was not heightened very much during Middle School, none-the-less, Middle School did help keep me interested and wanting to learn more. Once high school came around my interest and knowledge in my literacy really started to take off. I started off freshmen year with two to three basic introductory courses to computers. For example, I took a class on web-design and a class on how to use Microsoft programs like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. During these classes I met my programming teacher, Mrs. Smith, who convinced me to take programming classes for my remaining years at high school by saying, “They needed more creative minds for the programming classes and there will be free pizza at some point in the year.” Because of this free pizza I got into programming. Sophomore year is when things really started too kicked into high gear. During this year I took my first programming class, Visual Basic, and this really got me excited about creating my own programs but mainly the free pizza. Obviously, my teacher was once again Mrs. Smith and I could smell

Ben 3 the free pizza. The first question I asked in the class was “When do we get free pizza?” Mrs. Smith replied with a smile saying “What free pizza?” Due to how she said the remark I thought she was just kidding and assumed we would get it at some point. But once I got into the class I realized I liked it much more than I thought I would and the free pizza fell out of my mind. I came to realize how creative I could be with programming and how unique everyone’s programs were and the free pizza was all a ploy. A common thing I learned during this time was that even if you had two people program the same program the code would be completely unique, like a snow flake. This really blew my mind and got me very excited about programming and all of its possibilities. During sophomore year I also joined computing club, called STEM, which worked with connecting technology and business together. I kept with this club until the end of high school and it really helped me experience the true side of business with technology and we got actual pizza here. Once junior year came my teacher, Mrs. Smith, had finally sold me on programming and computing without saying there would be pizza. That year I took C# with Mrs. Smith, which is a much more complex type of coding than visual basics. C# is highly popular for programming things for Xbox and Ps3 games and really hooked me. During this year we focused on creating games for entertainment and for particle use, meaning programs like NASA space simulations or recreating a crime scene that cops can then go back through. This expanded my view from wanting to create games to wanting to create something that could help and be used by people for needs other than entertainment. What these “something’s” were I was not clear yet and would not come to me tell much later in life. We also worked on keeping code neat and organized like professional work and all I remember Mrs. Smith saying is “If someone with OCD doesn’t think it’s organized it’s not.” Finally, senior year hit and I finally got to take Java, a high-end programming language that is widely used throughout the business world. And once

Ben 4 again I had my one only teach Mrs. Smith. Learning Java finally made me feel like I was learning how to program in real life scenarios and finally pushed me to where I am today. Also without Mrs. Smith constantly pushing by saying things like “You won’t become a programmer if you don’t focus” or “My freshmen can do better work than this” I don’t think I would be where I am today. I think in the end you could say Mrs. Smith was our drill sergeant for programming and really helped nail down my skills. But by the end of senior year I was finally ready to take the next step in expanding my literacy and I was glade Mrs. Smith was my introductory teacher even if I never got any pizza. Now we have finally made it to college. At this point in life I finally knew I truly wanted to be a computer science major and do something with connecting brain singles with code, like moving a robotic arm with just thoughts. This is now my end goal for college and one I don’t think will be easy to achieve. Freshmen year I plan to have as much fun as I can before the true challenges begins. Whatever awaits after I don’t expect to be easy, but I’ll be ready to take it on. Expanding and growing my technological literacy has been a huge role in my life. Without the help of any of my teachers or clubs and the fake free pizza I don’t think I would be where I am today. I can’t image my life without having learned about technology and I can’t even picture what life would have been like if I did something else. I hope that one day I will be able to achieve my dream job and to continue expanding my literacy.