In a time of ever evolving technology and technological capacities it is important for educators to think critically and thoughtfully about how technology is impacting our lives and what changes are necessitated by constant shifts in technological opportunities.
In his article "Attention and Other 21st-Century Social Media Literacies", Howard Rheingold has created and identified five essential social media literacies including: attention, participation, collaboration, network awareness, and critical assumption. Though the article was published several years ago and some of the references (RIP Myspace) are outdated, I still find his critical evaluation of necessary skills to ring true.
The two literacies that stuck out to me were attention and participation. These strike close to my own experience because I have struggled with attention deficits for the entirety of my life and maybe as a result have naturally diverted my attentions away from technology, social networking in particular. One "probe" that Rheingold uses with his class to exercise his identified literacies as he teaches is to explain to students that they have a limited amount of time in which they can utilize technology during class time, but how and when they do this is up to them. I think this practice is crucial to individuals both inside and outside of the classroom. As of late there is emerging research to support that adolescents are experiencing symptoms of addiction associated with their use of technology and I have even heard some individuals claim that EMF's and signals from phones can mess up our sleep patterns. All that aside, simply setting limits on use of technology, to me, is wise practice, just as setting limits on most things is wise.
Participation is a key piece to me as well because I do see where passivity and consumerism on social media especially can trigger a kind of overall lifestyle of passivity. Though I am only beginning to use social networking more regularly, I see where friends and even acquaintances seem to value a social media presence if for no other reason than to affirm my attentiveness and involvement in their life even if it is only digitally. For good measure I am posting my first selfie online in this blog...
In his article "Attention and Other 21st-Century Social Media Literacies", Howard Rheingold has created and identified five essential social media literacies including: attention, participation, collaboration, network awareness, and critical assumption. Though the article was published several years ago and some of the references (RIP Myspace) are outdated, I still find his critical evaluation of necessary skills to ring true.
The two literacies that stuck out to me were attention and participation. These strike close to my own experience because I have struggled with attention deficits for the entirety of my life and maybe as a result have naturally diverted my attentions away from technology, social networking in particular. One "probe" that Rheingold uses with his class to exercise his identified literacies as he teaches is to explain to students that they have a limited amount of time in which they can utilize technology during class time, but how and when they do this is up to them. I think this practice is crucial to individuals both inside and outside of the classroom. As of late there is emerging research to support that adolescents are experiencing symptoms of addiction associated with their use of technology and I have even heard some individuals claim that EMF's and signals from phones can mess up our sleep patterns. All that aside, simply setting limits on use of technology, to me, is wise practice, just as setting limits on most things is wise.
Participation is a key piece to me as well because I do see where passivity and consumerism on social media especially can trigger a kind of overall lifestyle of passivity. Though I am only beginning to use social networking more regularly, I see where friends and even acquaintances seem to value a social media presence if for no other reason than to affirm my attentiveness and involvement in their life even if it is only digitally. For good measure I am posting my first selfie online in this blog...
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| First Online Selfie Post: Feb. 19, 2018 at 8:35AM |
Scott, thanks for your insight. How do you feel as educators we could improve attention and participation? Do you believe sleep patterns are a direct relation to adolescents attention spans?
ReplyDeleteOh my. I can't tell if your selfie is shock or sadness that you are posting it! Thanks for your thoughts on Rheingold's work and what stands out to you.
ReplyDeleteI love the quote you used about setting limits on MOST things is good, including technology. Overuse of technology I believe is a bad thing. Students do not even go outside anymore when they get home. I get that video games are fun, I still play occasionally, but so is playing on the street with friends! It makes up most of my childhood memories. I agree that attention is a key component that stood out to me. Our students are just developing their functional skills. By having a screen inferno too them at all times, they can easily get distracted and venture off. How often do we see students venture away from an assignment when it is on the computer? Quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteWell done on your post for this week. I like how you discuss how too often users become passive users, while not exercising their voice on the internet and engaging in content that they take the time to consume. This is a big problem because there are so many people online who post frivolously, without checking on the legitimacy of what they are posting. My school has used firewalls and blockers to keep students on task and able to see only the assignment at hand. However, if there is a will, there is a way, and unfortunately many students try to use ISP shields and hack through the system in order to freeze their screens (so what we see as teachers is them on the same website) while they pursue another behind our backs.
ReplyDeleteI would love more examples on how you set limits to your use of technology. You mention teaching students the appropriate and inappropriate times in a classroom setting, but I'm wondering if you yourself have set up limits to your own access of technology. For example, a friend of mine recently told me about an app that displays a tree. While you're using your phone, the tree shrivels. When you're off your phone, the tree grows. It's supposed to help you be aware of your phone usage and to limit it. Have you ever tried anything like that to help you limit technology in your own life?
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