We’re busy getting our son ready to go back to college. This year, he will be living off campus instead of the dorm, so we have been looking for office furniture such as a desk long enough to hold his monitor, laptop, printer/scanner, etc. I don’t know if he needs scanning software or not, but I’m sure he has listed everything he needs on his shopping list.  He has a great chair for his desk and a great laptop and monitor, so he’s all set there.  He does need a bookcase, though.  Once he gets the desk and bookcase, that should complete the major items on the list for his office/study.

I have been blogging for a little over four years now and have learned so much in those years.  I have a good content management system right now, but who knows what I’ll need in five years.  I must admit it’s great having family members who are tech savvy because they have helped me a lot.  But it may not always be convenient time-wise for them to help me in the future, and so a great CMS is something I’m glad to have.

What would be nice to have would be a site search engine to enable me to help visitors to my site find what they’re looking for on their first visit.  I feel like so many older posts get buried and most people don’t realize they’re on the site.  Seems like it would be efficient to have a complete index of my most relevant posts.

I would really like to have online marketing tools that would integrate data from various sources such as the web, social media, and mobile interactions.  I have some info, but it would be so much more effective to have more extensive data and to have it all integrated.

*Note: I was compensated monetarily for this article. However, the views and opinions are my own.

My technology consists of a basic computer set-up. I don’t have a laptop, although I wish I did, nor do I have an Eee Tablet, i Pad, or any of the new technological products that are on the market.  Our kids have them, though, and they are fascinating in what all they can do or accomplish.  I’m satisfied with what I have, and who knows, maybe someday I will get a laptop and surprise everyone.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I had fun watching Nintendo’s E3 2011 press conference with our son who’s home from college.   We saw the unveiling of the Wii U with a touch screen controller to use with or without a TV.  Looks awesome!

We sat in our son’s room and watched it live online on his monitor, which is big compared to mine.  While watching, we munched on nachos and Coke (he actually had Strawberry Watermelon Kool-Aid).    It doesn’t take much to have a good time!

We definitely live in the “information age” or “computer age” as some people call it.  There’s a great need for people with computer related degrees.  That’s why our son is majoring in Information Technology with a focus in Web Enabled Technologies, plus he really enjoys working with computers.   Some people choose to get their information technology degree online so they will have the flexibility to fit their studies into their schedule.  With the great use of computers in nearly every kind of work, that type of degree is valuable.

We live in such a highly technological age.  People in other parts of the world are just a few clicks away on the internet.  Video and web conferencing make conferences available to those scattered across the country.

Dr. Temple Grandin will be doing a webinar on livestock tomorrow which illustrates how anyone, anywhere can tune in and watch this.  Having worked with children who have autism, I would love to meet or at least hear her speak.  Why?  In the 2010 TIME 100,  Dr. Grandin was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in 2010 in the Heroes category.  Why?  Because being autistic herself, Temple Grandin has given more insight into autism than anyone.  She didn’t speak until age three or four (I read three and a half but the movie about her says four), yet now she is a highly sought after public speaker and is a professor at Colorado State University.  What an amazing lady!  If I didn’t have to teach tomorrow then I would definitely want to watch and listen to her on the webinar.

My whole family is geared toward working with technology.  Our son, who is a sophomore in college, is majoring in Information Technology with an emphasis in web design.  He has a knack for doing that type of work.

My husband is actually the first one who got us started using computers back in the 1980′s when he purchased a Tandy 1000 computer.  Our daughter, who was four at the time, loved to play computer games and write stories on “Alphabet Zoo.”  It comes as no surprise that she is now a multimedia producer and uses a photo editor to help produce her work.  Having used photo editing programs in college, this type of work is something she enjoys.

Now as for myself, I’m the one in our family who was last to get on board with technology.  About eleven years ago, I discovered the convenience of emailing when our daughter went off to college.  That spread to doing searches for information, and eventually led to blogging and running two websites (with help from our two kids). With this being the computer age, it’s a good thing that all of us are comfortable with and enjoy using the computer.