Finding a middle ground feels as though it is becoming more challenging. I like to believe that I have found a balance with my use of technology both in my personal and professional life that I am comfortable with. There are days when I wonder am I alone in my beliefs or does this picture concern anyone else?
Maybe I’m old school, maybe I’m uncomfortable with change or maybe I’m simply unaware. I’m a believer of science and what it can explain to us about our mammal brain capacity. I often wonder will we eventually reach our own limits of the human brain? Will we decide 50 years from now that our addiction to the internet was detrimental to the development of today’s youth. I often compare it to the use of nicotine and how harmful the outcome was but it didn’t seem to matter early on when everyone was using it. The financial gain was more important to the tobacco companies than the health of our society. The balancing act is a fine line and it is certainly one that is hard to define and create in our lives as each person has a different lifestyle and teaching pedagogy.
When I look at my life and my use of technology I often say I’m a dinosaur not because of my age but because of my personal choices for technology use both in my personal and professional lives.
Ten years ago I would have never said that about myself because I was embarrassed to admit that I didn’t have a Twitter account or an active Instagram page, that I wasn’t jumping on the wagon with every new educational app that rolled through the classrooms. I can vividly recall my first experience with Twitter – sitting in a conference room with 300 teachers in PA – listening to Dr. Alec Couros brother George Couros talk about the benefits of technology in the classrooms. I sat there amongst all the connected teachers as they pulled out their smart phones and started tweeting…..what on earth was going on?….. was I out of touch? Did not having a Twitter account mean I was not a good teacher? Did it mean I wasn’t connected with family and friends? Since joining twitter in 2013 I have certainly taken time to reflect and think about my digital footprint.
In my classroom my morning starts with the use of EDSBY to take attendance and communicate with students and teachers. I then turn to my computer and utilize many of the google suite apps to deliver my lessons, assign digital assignments and have my students create websites. Over the years I have used severeal different digital tools (kahoot, prezzi, quizlet, menti) in my classroom to attempt to increase engagement by adding variety. I do admit that technology has made my teaching a bit easier to manage and deliver over the years. However, with that said it certainly has its faults – the days when there isn’t enough technology for each student in my room, that the data isn’t available to all, that the app or program isn’t functioning properly. When technology goes down the stress level goes up – there are days when I think my students would learn just fine with pen and paper.
In my personal life I grapple with the need to be connected constantly. As a child I have memories of spending summers on an island in Quebec with no power or running water, a place where family and friends were connected socially through the use of two universal languages. A time when we were present in our social circle – not socializing in two or three places at once. I listened to a Ted Talk in my health class the other morning and the young girl speaking said “years back we wanted to share a feeling so we called someone, now we are hoping for a feeling to come our way.” I send my own kids out to knock on neighbours doors to play and socialize face to face. I make sure I take time to put my phone on silent, I try not to post items on my Facebook or Instagram that makes it look like I’m bragging about my life. My vision for my digital footprint is professional, make it useful and purposeful for myself and others. Do I think my way is right – absolutely not, but a balancing act it will continue to be.
Leona, I found your post quite interesting. You raise some very good points about what this means for us and for our younger generations. I’ve also attended one of George Couros’s keynotes, and while I very much agree with many things he says about teaching and leadership, I also sat back and wondered whether or not all teachers needed to put themselves out there so transparently on social media. I too joined Twitter as an educator. I do see the need for educators to be on social media. Just as we should understand and experience the physical world as educators and mentors, we should understand and experience the digital world to better lead our youth. But I believe that has to come with balance. I think it’s also our job to model boundaries, regulation, etiquette, safety and security. I think that your deep reflection and cautious adoption of technology will help students learn that while technology can be great, we always need to have a critical eye.
Thank-you for investing time to read – much appreciated. Agreed – teaching boundaries, etiquette and providing awareness for our youth is so important. I heard someone speak today at a career fair and she told the students in the audience learning goes both ways – the young can learn from the old and the old can learn from the young.
Hi Leona,
What a great post Leona! I really like you use videos, articles and pictures to express your thought. The video about “It’s not you. Phones are designed to be addicting” is interesting. I thought I am hooked on the phone because of my low self-discipline. You provide me with a new perspective to look at addiction on phone. Even for kids, smartphones have a great impact on children’s behaviours. It feels like you can’t control yourself to not touch your phone when you receive a sound of a new notification. Like the video said, same as the slot machine, people get addicted to pulling down one more time. For myself, if I have to study in the next 1-2 hours, I have to put my phones away from me (not at my arm’s length). I feel that way can help me concentrate on whatever I am doing right now. I hear you. You put your phone in silent mode to away from distraction. A balance that needs to be applied here.
Thank-You for taking the time to read. The addiction to phones is scary – education and awareness is so important.
Hi Leona!
I connect with you and many of the ideas and concerns you mentioned. I, too, am more reserved about my digital footprint. I agree that our digital lives are essentially, a balancing act. We enjoy the privileges that technology affords us, but it comes at a cost, unfortunately. I think it is great that you make time with your own family to get out and socialize in person. I think that is so important, especially as more and more people emerge from Covid. The quote from the Ted Talk you mentioned is powerful too. People need to reach out and connect with others in meaningful ways. Personally speaking, when I call up a friend and meet up with them in person, it instantly revitalizes me.
Rae,
Glad to now that there are still people who value the face to face social experience. Thanks for the thoughtful words of encouragement.
I would think of myself to be quite technologically involved when it comes to my teaching, however, I do not use social media in the classroom. I am an observer of social media for my personal life at the best of times, engaging very little in the platforms. I enjoy using Pinterest and things like that, use Facebook only to check what’s new at Costco, and a few other apps very minimally. I signed up for Twitter last January, as an expectation for one of my courses. I like being able to read the news and some other tidbits of information, and although I am a digital resident, I don’t integrate these things into my classroom for many reasons. Does that make me less of an educator? I don’t think so. I mean, some may think so, but we can’t do it all, and if we are not comfortable with it, then forcing it into our practice isn’t a super smart idea too. I like to keep my private life private, and my teaching life for teaching. There has to be some form of balance.