Monday, February 17, 2014
Stop. Shut Down. Think & Explore!
In my most recent grad course, my professor mentioned that sometimes you just need to unplug from the world for a day! The next day during my professional development we were reading samples essays to an argumentative writing prompt, where the topic was if their school should participate in the national "Shut Down Your Screen" week. This got me thinking! Have you ever bin in a public place and just looked around? I have, what I notice is people are more engaged in their devices then the conversation they could have with the person/people they are with. I believe that it is important to teach students that you do not need to be 'plugged in' every minute of the day. In the article "Attached to Technology and Paying a Price" written by Matt Richtel it states, "Scientists say juggling e-mail, phone calls and other incoming information can change how people think and behave. They say our ability to focus is being undermined by bursts of information." Take a second and think about this. The ability to focus had a large impact on our lives. It is one of the most important skills that we depend on everyday. If we lose focus while performing an important task such as operating machinery, or driving motor vehicles, we could harm others or ourselves. If we do no teach students now how to think critically and focus, the future will be much different.
"New technology is common, new thinking is rare." -Sir Peter Blake
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
You bring up such a great point about the world we live in today. I find it hard to think back to a time when we didn't have all these devices and we were "unplugged," but our students grew up in this world and know nothing else. We do need to teach our students how to focus, but we also need to teach them that things do not happen instantly like they're used to in their digital world. Some things need to be worked at. Great post, you really got me thinking!
ReplyDeleteHi. I like your thought. I was "unplugged" someday. I feel so happy. There is no email, phone and twitter. I like play with my students and my kids. However, we live in digital world. I have to teach my students and myself how to use the digital tool. Good point!
ReplyDeleteLove you site / blog. I certainly agree we can do harm to ourselves or others if we text and drive, etc. I'm starting to wonder if we can't also do harm to our relationships. As an example, it's unfortunately common now to be sitting in a restaurant and see folks at other tables absorbed with their phones rather than the people they're with. Don't get me wrong, I believe there are plenty of ways technology can create and build relationships...I just think we have to be mindful of correct time and place. Scott B
ReplyDeleteI love this post! So funny - I just wrote a post about exactly this topic in my own blog. It's a constant debate that I think will never have a solution. Interestingly enough, I'm getting married in about 18 months, and was talking to my photographer about something called an "unplugged" wedding. This is where the bride and groom ask their guests not to take any pictures or video during the ceremony, in the hopes that they will actually pay attention to the event. It's true right - every wedding I've gone to recently, I haven't actually soaked in the moment of watching the bride walk down the aisle, because I'm too busy taking pictures to upload to Facebook. It's fun to think about forcing people to actually be present in the moment.
ReplyDeleteI have this discussion all the time with people at work and friends. I believe we are still in the honeymoon stage of Social Media and Smartphones. We will eventually learn to manage this whole new world of communication. We are all still trying to figure out "Tech Etiquette". I don't want to be a GlassHole when I'm using my Google glasses LOL.
ReplyDeleteNo matter what the evolution of our society is amazing because of the internet and mobile communication. We are truly becoming a global society. Its very exciting and I think for us (Americans) we are used to diversity and other cultures more than other countries so we may not notice the changes as much.
Back to the question of focus and learning basic skills, technology is part of our evolution which shifts what the meaning of "Basic Skills" are. 10, 20+ years from now we might not have the need to learn how to manufacture things, weld, drive, or even code! It won't be long till we can just ask the computer "I need XYZ done by tomorrow" and the computer will figure out how to do it and physically make it happen.
BTW Great blog! :)
One benefit- our kids can multi-task :)
ReplyDeleteI, however, sometimes find myself so "teched out" that I just shut everything off