Student Lesson 11/7
Originally I was thinking that I would center my 30 minutes of class teaching about my big question. After some consideration, I have decided to not go with my big question, which is mostly just relevant to my life, and instead go with a new topic. This new topic is both relevant to all of our lives and to this course.
A primary topic discussed in our class is humanities (specifically teens) current use of technology. The books we have read chapters from cover this topic. The blog posts we write are often related to it. All of our homework assignments actually involve the active use of technology.
One of our very first assignments was to write an observational log about our use of technology. 15 minutes a day for one week we monitored how our attention traveled while on social media. We looked at our physical states, our emotional states, our location etc. and then analysed them to find patterns in our social media usage.
My assignment for you all to prepare by my class period is to do the opposite of this. I want you to each take 15 minutes out of your days for one week where you are completely disconnected from technology. No phones. No computers. No technology. At the end of the week I ask that you compile your log into a blog post and share your blog post on twitter. The blog post should analyse the patterns you found in your observational log over the course of the week, as well as your overall feelings about the assignment.
In order for everyone to get the most out of this assignment, I have provided a ted talk for you all to watch before you begin your logs. The speaker, Sherry Turkle, is a professor at MIT who teaches about the social studies of science and technology. Her ted talk can provide a framework from which you can base your analysis of your logs, as she discusses the value of the individual’s reflection on their usage of technology.
Be prepared to talk about your logs, blog posts and overall feelings about this assignment and ted talk during class.
