Artificial Intelligence (AI) has long been the subject of fascination and speculation in popular culture. From Hollywood’s portrayal of AI as robots and supercomputers taking over the world to its more practical applications in our daily lives, AI has come a long way. In this blog post, we will explore the evolution of AI, debunk some common myths, and discuss how AI is making a real difference in various industries. The Birth of AI The concept of AI took shape during a summer workshop at Dartmouth College in 1956, where leading thinkers explored the idea of machines behaving like humans. Although the ambitious goal of creating a thinking machine was not achieved, it marked the birthplace of AI as a legitimate field of study. AI’s Evolution Even though AI faced setbacks in the 70s and 80s, it experienced a resurgence in the 90s and early 2000s. This resurgence was fueled […]
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E-learning, a term coined around 1999, has revolutionized the way we learn, breaking down barriers and making education accessible, affordable, and flexible. From its humble beginnings with correspondence courses in the 19th century to the explosion of online platforms in the 21st century, e-learning has become an integral part of our lives. In this blog post, we will journey through the past, present, and future of e-learning and explore how it has impacted various sectors of society. Correspondence Courses and Plato In the 19th century, Sir Isaac Pittman introduced the concept of learning without being physically present in the classroom through correspondence courses. Students would send assignments through the mail, fostering the idea of distance learning. Fast forward to the 1960s, and Plato, the first computer-assisted instructional system, emerged. With features that are now standard in online learning systems, Plato pioneered online communities, multiplayer games, and interactive learning materials. Accessibility […]
Social media has become an integral part of our daily lives in the last few decades, revolutionizing how we communicate, connect, and define ourselves. From the early days of 6degrees.com to popular platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok, social media has continuously evolved, shaping our societies and cultures. In this blog post, we walk through the history of social media, exploring its past, present, and future. The Early Days: 6degrees.com and the Rise of the First Social Media PlatformBack in 1997, 6degrees.com emerged as the first social media platform. It allowed users to create profiles, connect with friends, and send messages. While it did not have a long-lasting impact, it laid the groundwork for what would come in the early 2000s. The Rise of Friendster, LinkedIn, and MySpaceIn the early 2000s, platforms like Friendster, LinkedIn, and MySpace gained popularity, showcasing people’s eagerness to connect and express themselves online. Friendster offered […]
Introduction Hello, and welcome to The Geeky Boomer podcast! I’m your host, PixelPia, and in today’s episode, we’ll embark on a nostalgic journey into my early encounters with computers and the emergence of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Join me as we delve into the tech-savvy times of Sweden during the 1990s. Early Days in Education Let’s start back in 1988, the year I earned my teacher’s degree and landed my first assignment as a full-time substitute teacher. My job involved filling in for absent teachers and providing extra support in certain classes. We were already ahead of the curve at this school, embracing multimedia resources like CD-ROMs. However, we lacked a CD-ROM player I wanted for educational purposes. Learning to Install a CD-ROM Determined to equip the teachers’ computers with a CD-ROM player, I took matters into my own hands. Remember, this was the early ’90s, and […]
I have just finished recording and editing the second episode of The Geeky Boomer. The episode is a walk down memory lane of me becoming a computer geek. It all takes place in Sweden during the 90s. It was really fun to sit down and write my history when it comes to how I got interested in computers in the early 90s. This was very early in my geekiness, and I had to do some research to look up what computer we used at the schools I worked at, and I can’t believe how “small” they were back then while at the same time taking up so much space on the desk. The start of WWW In this episode, I also take you on a journey through the beginning of the early days of the Internet, what we could do online in those early days, how we connected, and how […]
Tomorrow Saturday, June 10, is the premiere episode of The Geeky Boomer on YouTube. I will be in the chat, and you can join me there. We will start at 12 PM CST, and this first episode is a short one, about 16 min, to introduce you to the podcast and who I am. I would really appreciate to see you there.