Hello! My name is Heather Walsh. Recently, I have been crowned a computer geek; so recently in fact, that my tiara has not yet arrived, but I’m assuming I will have it in the mail any day now! A few days ago, Alex invited me to be a guest blogger on PRUnderground after our discussions regarding Apple’s new iPad. I must admit, I am honored to be here and hope all you readers out there have time to follow yet another blog.
Let me share a little background information about myself. Quite dull, in all actuality, but I’ll make it as entertaining as possible! First off, I guess I should admit that I come from a long line of computer geeks, IBMers actually as I call them, on both parental sides. Despite the IBM affiliation, my family was the proud new owners of the original personal computer, the Apple IIe. Is that ringing any bells for anybody or am I really dating myself now? Anyway, I was a teenager when we got the computer and I took to it right away. I wrote programs, created games, and all sorts of stuff that I must admit, I would not know how to do now, although I can create a pretty mean spreadsheet on Excel and a very entertaining presentation on PowerPoint.
After graduating high school, I took a few years off, got married, had a baby, got divorced shortly thereafter and decided to return to school. For computer science you say? No, in Accounting. Well, that just came out of left field, didn’t it? With my hand-me-down Apple IIe, I made it through my AS in Business Administration and my BS in Accounting. After graduating, I worked for the same small accounting firm for about eight years before starting my own business, which I still have and run from home-sans my trusty old Apple.
Two years ago, realization finally hit. I was bored to death with numbers. I wanted people, I wanted excitement, I wanted…well, I wanted to know how to raise smart kids, because now I have three more small children, ages 6, 3, and 1 and their academic careers are very much a concern to me. So I decided to get my master’s degree and this time around I got my major right, I’m proud to say. I have just graduated with my MA in Teaching and Learning with Technology. My love of technology combined with how to use that technology for learning and teaching opens worlds of opportunities for our children. Obviously, this will be a topic of interest to me and one I will write about frequently. I am also beginning my doctorate in Educational Technology in the spring and look forward to sharing newfound knowledge with all of you.
So, as you can tell, I do not have formal training in the computer industry. My knowledge comes from my own interests and research, lots and lots of research. Right now, my new obsession is the tablet, whether it is the Apple iPad or the HP Slate. I have a lot of interesting topics lined up, so stay tuned! If you’re not into the tablets, don’t count me out just yet, as I have many other interests that I can’t wait to share!
Heather Walsh
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