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Technology Zoo; What Can Your Technology Do for You?

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Zachiah Roberson
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AFB, N.D. --  The Grand Forks Air Force Base Library hosted the Lake Region State College Technology Petting Zoo on May 4, allowing about 100 attendees to browse student creations from Lake Region's Introduction to Computers 101 course.

Displays ranged from a self-writing e-mail program to a flash drive containing specific applications capable of working as an operating system for any computer.

The event was named a technology petting zoo because, like a petting zoo where you can interact with the animals, participants were allowed to toy with the gadgets.

The event was designed to show people that there is an alternative to spending a lot of money on technology.

"We aren't here to tell people that they need to go out and buy a bunch of expensive computer software," said Jeffrey Collins, Instructor for Lake Region's Intro to Computers 101 class. "We want to show everyone that there are free programs available to them, programs that can make work or school tasks so much simpler and easier."

Also featured was the "Awesome Button," a small pedal button that can a message to the computer it's connected to that allows it to produce any key stroke or mouse input imaginable. This means a user can program a full letter into the button and simply press it to paste on a document.

Class student, Krystal Wheeler had a live security camera feed on display. She wasn't using an expensive piece of camera equipment. Instead, she created the security device with a laptop and smart phone.

"All anyone has to do to get this result is download an IP (internet protocol) webcam application on the chosen smart phone and type in the displayed URL (web address) from the application into their browser, a very simple process" said Wheeler.

Collins said he thought this event was successful enough for a second visit in July, but with a few adjustments.

"Every time we do this kind of event I want almost everything showcased to be different," he said. "To start with, I plan on having a real laser cutter ready and capable of cutting paper and engraving Popsicle sticks."