-
Period: to
Important technical inventions
-
Sony Walkman
Totally changed the amount of time I listened to music. I no longer needed to lug around the ginormous boom box. An educational use of the Walkman would be the ability to listen to audio books anywhere. Image credit dailymail.co.uk -
Atari & PAC-Man
I will never forget the first day I played Pac-Man! Hours and hours I spent playing...this game started my addiction. While most view video games as a waste of time, they provide many hidden educational strategies. Strategy games require critical thinking skills, memorization, and dialogue reading. Image from arstechnica.com -
Teddy Ruxpin
Before "Ted" the talking bear of movie fame, there was Teddy Ruxpin, the talking bear that read books with you. I didn't actually own this toy, but my younger sister loved it so much that I bought one 10 years later for my oldest child! This toy was so entertaining that my sister and son wanted to read all the time! My sister grew out of the reading phase but my son still reads today (he's 24) Image credit mentalfloss.com -
Nokia Cell phone
No more cords! This was my very first cell phone. How easy life became when you could carry a phone around in your pocket! Today's cell phones are called smart phones and basically just a small tablet. They have the same educational capabilities as the tablets used in most classroom with a smaller screen. Image credit knowyourmobile.com -
Myspace
Although founded in 2003, this social media site didn't become my (and many, many others) addiction until July, 2005. What an awesome way to connect with people from all over the world! The educational value of social media is always growing. MySpace may be long gone but Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat have greatly increased the technical savvy of teens and young adults. Image credit perezhilton.com -
Apple iPad
Say goodbye to writing notes. With the invention of the iPad, I could type all my college notes, no more hand cramps, no more shorthand. i Pads are used in classrooms around the world for research, web-quests, and online note taking. Thank you Apple! Image credit youtube.com
