Screen Time

Last year I had a weekly one-hour commute and it just happened to correspond with TED Radio Hour, which made it  not only bearable but actually enjoyable! If you're not a listener yet, you should be. Each week, they pick TED Talks that all deal with the same theme and adapt them for radio, usually interviewing the speaker to add to the piece.

An older one that I continue to think about is a 2-part episode called "Screen Time." The episodes explore all aspects of the way we consume technology today, and how it affects our attention spans, our social interactions, our children.

As an aspiring Library Media Specialist, I know that I need to dive head-first into the pool of educational technology. It's not going anywhere, and I want to help teachers and students find the tools that will help them, inspire them, and allow them to fulfill their potential.

However, I do not advocate for technology-for-technology's-sake. This is a very dangerous minefield for educators. Parents and administrators get excited when they walk into a classroom and see Smart Boards and tablets and other shiny gadgets. But if students are using those tools to simply consume information passively, then we are failing them as educators.

Educational technology should be used to engage students in interactive learning. It should allow students to create products, to connect with people and places outside their daily lives, and to access resources that they would otherwise never know about.

"Screen Time" warns us about the dangers of over-using technology: decreasing our compassion, our attention span, and our social interactions (among other things). As educators and parents, we have to help our kids find a balance that allows them to use technology in positive, responsible, and healthy ways.

In some ways, this TED Radio hour inspired my new PBL unit. This year, my freshman English research unit was focused on potentially dangerous technologies. I designed this project-based learning experience to target several key standards in reading informational texts, writing, and speaking and listening. Students paired up and researched a developing technology of their choosing (e.g. self-driving cars or cloning). One person had to argue that the technology was dangerous and unethical; the other had to argue that it was innovative and good for society.

It was really exciting to see these "digital natives" actually think about how technology affects our lives. So many of them take it for granted--they have grown up with tiny computers in their back pockets. They have instant access to the music, TV, and information they need at all times. My own daughter (age 5) was upset the first time she saw a commercial because all she had ever seen is Netflix!

I don't know where our society is headed when it comes to technology. Maybe we will all become immortal cyborgs, maybe the Matrix really will consume us, maybe the robots will enslave us. Or maybe, if we're thoughtful enough, we can find a way to harness technology's power without destroying ourselves in the process.