In elementary school, I took typing classes a few times each week. We had to watch the letters fall down the retina-burning blue screen and try to punch out each letter before it careened out of sight – all without looking at the keyboard. I’m not going to lie: I got pretty good at typing.
In middle school, I took Mrs. Woodcock’s computer course, who shared all the clicks and tricks of Microsoft Windows ’95 with a group of awkward, catty, bratty teens. I’m not going to lie: I got pretty good at Windows ’95 and the World Wide Web. I even created a website dedicated to a particular Chinese dynasty. Don’t ask me which one. I can’t find it on Google.
As I lift the hood to creating this website, my technical education from the late 90s is as helpful to me as reading glasses without lenses. I am looking at a blurred landscape of unfamiliar words and phrases. Plugins. Widgets. Whatchamacallits. I am trying to decipher what I’m seeing, but it’s unclear as to where the grass ends and the trees begin. All these Thingamabobs are like strange tropical fruits: their bright colors and sweet smells are tantalizingly attractive, but I’m not sure how to open them to get to the good stuff inside. As I make my way into web development of the twenty-teens, I feel like I’m using a machete to cut into a raspberry and a dinner fork to crack a coconut. It’s messy… but I may get something tasty out of it.
As I move forward in developing this website to be all that it can be, I am happily accepting advice and feedback on how things are coming along – especially if you are a Tech Guru from the Geek Squad, a highly venerated Webmaster, or just a Teen in a current computer class. If there are any glitches along the way or amazing technological advances that will make this website more functional and enjoyable, please contact me.
What do you think about Global Heartbeat? Do you have any tips to share with me?
Michele Fluke says
Love it Hailey!!