Journal 5

Turkle, S. (2007). Can you hear me now? Retrieved June 5, 2009, from http://www.mit.edu/~sturkle/pdfsforstwebpage/ST_Can%20you%20hear%20me%20now.pdf
Ms. Turkle’s article basically laments negative impact of technology on human interaction and personal relationships. She fears our identities are fantasies and that we aren’t spending our time on things that really matter. We don’t spend time alone under a tree reading poetry and thinking deep thoughts. There is particular concern for adolescents whose emotional development is short circuited. Although there is one type of validation in public exposure on the virtual life sites such as Facebook or MySpace, a regard for appropriate boundaries is inherently lacking. When people are in the presence of others, technology takes precedence. We are put on pause while someone chooses to answer a cell phone.
It’s a knotty question. “What are the purposes of living things?” Robots take care of the elderly and animated animals stand in at zoos. These machines may still concern most of us, but we have become numb to accepting food from a vending machine, sustenance divorced from love and hospitality.
1. How deeply have negative impacts of technology penetrated poorer school districts?
Since over half of the children in the Escondido School District are classified English language learners, I wonder whether our concern for the negative impact of technology is as relevant. As symbols of having arrived in the land of plenty, gadgets are certainly tempting visible displays of status. Might there be more TV, cell phones, and computers in a Spanish speaking home? And then, are they used educationally. Do they develop language facility? Do they prepare children for gainful employment in an increasingly technological environment?
2. What technology etiquette should we be promoting and how should we teach it?
A friend said the rule in her house is, “People over technology.” This is simple. When with people, “Pay attention to them and interact with them. Keep your hands off the computer, don’t answer your telephone, cell or otherwise.”
I researched this question on ISTE and they have a $24 book, DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP IN SCHOOLS, which includes lesson plans for teaching and exploring the topic. I think that etiquette isn’t always obvious when new gadgets enter our sphere. We can explore the issues with children and perhaps some principles will filter back to the parents for discussion.