Screen Time and Sleep Time

Light contains a spectrum of colors. 

Blue light suppresses melatonin. Melatonin regulates the body's circadian rhythms.  

Having a regular circadian rhythm allows for proper restfulness and thus promotes overall health.  

Digital electronics' screens typically have LED or Fluorescent light which use back-lighting technology.  This technology exposes us to more blue light at times (after sunset) when humans previously did not receive exposure.  

The Harvard Medical school has been researching the effects of increased screen time (particularly during normal resting hours) and its impact on human health.  The preliminary findings are showing a connection to many of the health issues (cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and depression) that have been plaguing developed nations in the last few decades.

Teens Technology Survey

I surveyed an 11 year old girl and 16 year old boy to submit a brief self report of their relationship to technology.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to interview them in-person to clarify or adjust any questions. 

The most interesting aspect of the experience was that the 16 year old was very troubled that it required him to write and not click.  (Perhaps I should have used Survey Monkey!  I did give the option to call, email, or record responses.)  In the end he opted to print, hand-write, and scan me his answers.   For reporting high proficiency with technology, I was surprised at his use of this "old fashion" method!

What technology do you use? (which devices? Apps? programs?)

 16: iphone, macbook, ps4, instagram, imessage, snapchat, facebook

11: phone, ipad, laptop, games, social media, google classroom, khan academy, etc

How long have you used these?  Are they your own?

 16: 4 years (since I was 12), all of the devices are my own

11: I have had a phone for a long time, but I just got a new one last Easter.  I have also had my ipad for a long time.  My laptop was from last year. Yes, they are my own.

How many hours per day do you use technology (iphone, tv, computer, game console, etc)? 

16: 4-6 hours

11: 4-5 hours (I think)

How many hours per week? (If you use one day more than others.  Which day(s) do you use the most?)

 16: 20 hours

11: 24 hours (I think)  I usually use it on the weekends to play games or do homework.

Estimate the average percent of your usage time for:

Homework:             16: 30%           11: 50%

Communication: 16: 50%           11: 25%

Fun:                     16: 20%           11:25%

Should there be limits on teens access to technology?

 16: No, because we use it for every aspect of our lives

11: Yes or else we would only focus on our electronics rather than what's actually happening

What would be a fair policy?

 16: Let us decide what is fair.

11: I think a fair policy would be if you finish all your work, you can play on your electronics.

Do your parents or school have a usage policy?

16: Yes, no screens after 11pm

11: yeah.  My mom makes sure I balance my time and do other stuff.  I am not allowed to use my phone in school.

Compared to your friends, are you ahead, behind, or average in ability to use technology.

16: Ahead

11: average/ahead

Do you act/type differently online than you do in person? 

 16: NO

11: nope

Do you communicate online with friends that you regularly see in-person or global friends (that you may not have met)?

16: I talk to my friends, but not people from around the world.

11: both, depending on what I am doing

Do you have any concerns about the use of technology?

16: Not really

11: Sometimes people send too much time on their electronics and don't socialize with the people in real life sitting next to them.  Also, there's cyber bullying

Deconstruction Of A Video Ad Reflection

I chose to deconstruct the video advertisement of Old Spice's body wash:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hteeecX1oQ

A few items that were striking was the lack of product in the advertisement, the feeling of amateur production, and the use of humor.

The ad is one of many, demonstrating men in relatively bizarre, but manly scenarios.  Rather than convincing the viewer of the effectiveness of the product, it is my impression that the videos are not intended to be viewed once, but to be shared via social media because of the humor element.  The limited product images, allow the advertisement to be understood as an entertaining clip and less as brainwashing advertisement.  These qualities allow it to reach a wider audience exposure rather than convincing the viewer of its benefits and hoping the product will further be discussed organically.

As discussed in Networked Publics, the culture around this advertisement was created to be a parody of manly men and uses a juxtapose filming technique giving the video a amateur/real feel that users are comfortable with in everyday life.

The advertisement itself had very little written text, but used visuals and sounds created the images of  manliness (playing tennis/baseball on a whale blindfolded), cleanliness (ocean splash), and intelligence/thoughtfulness (speaking in a profound tone).

Varnelis, K., & Annenberg Center for Communication (University of Southern California). (2008). Networked publics. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.

Rote Knowledge vs Critical Questioning

Marshall McLuhan used the concept of an acoustic world to describe the change from processing text to electronic media (of the 1970s).  My impression is that he was using the term acoustic to mean accepting multiple inputs rather than a single visual text.  McLuhan's covered privacy, communication theory, journalism, politics, the work methods, secrecy, schooling, and ecology.  Underlining each of these topics seemed to be a feeling of fear for this shift.  I think his intention was to give an unbiased operational report on the changing technologies, however his main purpose came across as a cultural warning.

I was struck by Ivan Illich's suggestion that schools were obsolete now with the easy access to information.  A thought like this, I can see being proposed now with the heavy reliance on computers, however I am shocked he was feeling this in the 1970s!  In response,McLuhan said, "I'm suggesting that the answer is not that, but to put the questions in the classroom and start a real dialogue there."
From this statement, teachers are responsible for teaching critical literacy-and not necessarily anything else as the students can already access anything they want.  They need to be taught to ask critical and leading questions to begin their journey of knowledge.  Perhaps without blindly feeding information to children we will eliminate the "knowledge creates ignorance" idea.  If children learn to question  fixed concepts and accepted theories will we have a more innovative critically literate society?




Marshall McLuhan Speaks Special Collection: Living in an Acoustic World. http://www.marshallmcluhanspeaks.com/lecture/1970-living-in-an-acoustic-world/

Youth and Politics

As we near the 2016 presidential elections, talk of politicians, view points, parties, and debates can be found just about everywhere.  Despite the coverage, are the candidates reaching (or engaging) all potential voters?  Have young people lost their sense of citizenship?

W. Lance Bennet addressed these and many more points in "Changing Citizenship in the Digital Age."  Bennet explored how the younger generation is less likely to engage in politics and civic organizations, is leery of media, and is less likely to learn civics in school as compared to older generations (birth year prior to 1977) (Bennet, 2008).  The techniques Bennet considered is how youth are integrating digital technologies to redefine citizenship.  Previously citizenship meant identifying with a political party and engaging with a group's goal.   But as Peter Levine is quoted, "Perhaps youth are deliberately and wisely choosing not to endorse forms of participation that are flawed." (Bennet, 2008, p4).

I agree that many young people today feel that the current politicians are fake and foolish.  Their choices and debates have very little to do with issues that I care about, nor would my opinion matter to them if I tried to voice them.  Instead of physically voting with a party that tells me what is important, I, like many other young people, would rather make a difference in my day to day actions.  As Bennet notes, youth are showing their political choices through consumerism, volunteerism, and activism.  Individuality is far more important that associating with predetermined opinions of a group or party (Bennet, 2008 p14).

I agree that youth are less interested in passive absorption of political propaganda as presented by television or news reports.  Voicing an opinion on social media or creating political statement that goes "viral" seems to be the new soapbox for civics.  Being able to interact in real time on individual and worldly issues seems a far better mode of engagement.  However as Raquel Recuero pointed out, politics on social media can easily become an emotionally-charged sounding board without any real communication, interaction, or engagement on the issue. (Recuero, 2012)

Bennett, Lance. "Changing Citizenship in the Digital Age." Civic Life Online:Learning How Digital Media Can Engage Youth. Edited byW. Lance Bennet.  The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.  2008. 1–24.doi:10.1162/dmal.9780262524827.001

 

Recuero, Raquel. "Digital Youth, Social Movements, and Democracy in Brazil."  How are Brazilian youth becoming digital, what potential does digital media provide for democracy and social movements? 2012.  http://bit.ly/Qgo0RS
 

Networked Publics: Response to Defining Place

"For those who gather in these hot spots to engage with the network, being online in the presence of others is the new place to be, the bodily presence of the other cafegoers easing the disconnect with the local that the network creates." (Varnelis, 2012 p20)

In Networked Publics, Kazys Varnelis discusses the changing of place, culture, politics, and infrastructure that arise with the changing of our lives and technologies.  The quote above refers to the congregation of people absorbed in using the internet to connect with others at a distant, while generally ignoring the people nearest in their proximity.  

The online network allows one to connect to many others with similar interests.  Varnelis points to this unique situation of simultaneous place that includes both physical and virtual locations (Varnelis, 2012 p6).  The new skills necessary for this simultaneous engagement is the ability to multitask.  In the example of the cafe, one must be able to balance the online content (social media, online banking, photo sharing, etc.) with the physical environment.  If the cafe becomes smoke-filled or your table neighbor begins to choke- you must be able to ignore the blinking chat message or the funny cat video your cousin sent and react in the physical arena.  Likewise, if you become engaged in consuming your hazelnut biscotti dipped in your cooling soy vanilla latte, you must still be able to respond to your boss' tenth email sent within the last hour.  Our culture demands full attention in both spheres.  We would like just as much attention to detail in everyday encounters as we would in response to online communications.  We would also like these responses at the same speed as a face to face connection if not faster.  That being said, I have noticed that as a society we are slowly shifting to a greater acceptance of half-attention responses given in both spheres.

"To be clear, the new is not good by default."(Varnelis, 2012 p15)

Personally, I find the norm of simultaneous location to be exhausting. The engagement in a face to face conversation can never compare to the conversations with people holding multiple places.  For example, I currently have 13 tabs open on my browser and my phone is inches from my fingers.  I am "in" my blog, a classmate's blog, and the university portal.  I am mid text conversation with five different people.  I have about 15 emails awaiting replies.  I am "in" a toy store, a library, a train station, a doctors office, a knitting store, a museum, and the fantasy land of two books.  In an instant, I may be required or compelled to add additional places.  I know that I am not giving any of the people involved in these places my full attention as I would if I were in just one place. 

So is a single physical place the best way to ensure full engagement?  Likely not.  Multi-place communication has already been ingrained into our culture.   In a face to face conversation, I am wondering if my phone is buzzing about an emergency or if anyone responded to my message. I am thinking about what is happening in these other virtual spheres.  Despite my dislike for split place culture, I know that it has already fully familiar part of our culture.


 Varnelis, K. (2012). Networked Publics. Cambridge, US: The MIT Press. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com.library.esc.edu

Can We Predict the Future? -Response to Motoko Rich's "Literacy Debate-Online, R U Really Reading"

Motoko Rich’s 2008 article “Literacy Debate-Online, R U Really Reading”, over-viewed the contributions and hindrances of literacy development as the shift to online media becomes increasingly prevalent.  With this movement away from traditional text, questions arise of what literacy means and more importantly what it will mean for the adults that our children will become. 

Pictorial paintings of ancient people were standardized and communicated a message, therefore dubbed an early writing system.  Considering the history of written text, how different is a drawing of a smile, from the letters s-m-i-l-e, from the symbol  :) ?  All of these examples allow for communication, even though each requires a different decoding processes.  Online communication and texting shorthand is thought to be inhibiting students’ progress in school.  Others argue that, like bilingual students, children are able to switch between formal language and social texting.  In my personal experience, I have found that my simplistic texting grammar and lack of attention to spelling, do show up in my formal writing and require an extra step of careful editing.  This, however, is not unlike the extra attention I must give when working in another language.  As an adult learner of the online shorthand, I may be less skilled at switching between the two written text forms.  Nadia, the young woman mentioned in Rich’s article, may be better equip to switch from the grammatical errors she encounters on fanfiction.net to the formal writing she will need to be published (Rich, 2008).

Regardless of the literacy outcome, the majority of young children are growing up with increasing access to technology (Rich, 2008).  As Carol Jago from the National Council of Teachers of English stated, “Kids are smart.  When they want to do something.  Schools don’t have to get involved.” (Rich, 2008).  It seems unproductive for teachers to try to determine the technology that will be prevalent and relevant in the coming years.  We cannot predict the future.  In 30 years the “contemplation and concentration” that Nicholas Carr wrote he was losing from reading on the web, may not be important for the changed world of 2046 (Rich, 2008).  If the majority of children grow up with the quick switching, “30 second digital mode” as Ken Pugh (Rich, 2008) noted, they are highly likely to sustain these habits and skills into their adulthood.  Thus, slowly changing the skill requirements and standards that the workforce demands of employees of future generations.  Long term focus, thoroughness, and memory may well be replaced with the ability to multitask, engage and decipher articles and commentary among a global population.  

Knowing that our students will need different technological skills than we can provide and knowing that they will be able to readily acquire these skills on their own, what is the role of the teacher in preparing these children for adulthood?  Foremost, schools should provide an opportunity for students to experience what they cannot access in their daily life.  This is everything from a safe place to spend time, access to information, adequate nutrition, ability to exercise, a platform to express themselves, a building of community understanding, and an environment to learn social skills through face-to-face interaction.  I feel passionately that as teacher, we need to ensure we are meeting these in-person social needs before we wonder if there is a new “app” that could engage our young children better than a personal interaction can. 

Rich presented the case of Hunter, a boy with dyslexia.   Reading traditional text for a person with dyslexia requires more effort to discern the text than other readers.  With the use of online search functions and visuals, Hunter is able to gain knowledge that had previously been a daunting task in traditional texts.  One may argue that he has gained the knowledge despite not reading the full text.  Others argue he is not prepared for higher learning because he had not built the stamina to keep up with the reading potential of his peers.  Empowering Hunter to gain and utilize knowledge is exceedingly better than making him feel inadequate and unfit for higher education.  Society needs many types of individuals, preventing someone like Hunter from entering professional workforce because of his slower reading skills would be detrimental.  People who struggle with dyslexia are often highly intelligent and are able to expertly put their skills to use in spatial orientated careers.  In this case, giving Hunter access to information, was eased by new medias.  Encouraging all students to approach this way of researching and writing would be equally as detrimental as giving Hunter a 1000-page book with minuscule font.  Many students gain a significant amount of information, personal and emotional development from reading a book cover to cover.   What seems to be essential, is addressing the student body as individuals rather than as a standard student type.

The teenagers in Rich’s article reported their preference for online interaction because of its social aspect and instant communication.  One student mentioned that books provide only a one-way engagement.  To me, this sounds like we are failing to provide platforms for student to discuss books and opportunities to collaborate in social learning.  The classroom is an ideal environment for this to happen in real time.  If children are wrapped in rigorous academic standards and have eyes constantly to the screen, it is not shocking that they are not finding an opportunity to discuss and manipulate text with their peers.  We can work to increase engagement and make our classrooms more accessible for social learning.

Zachary Sims, a graduating high school senior, noted his ability to read, compare, and determine value and validity of hundreds of online articles (Rich, 2008).  He is able to sift through the misinformation to draw a conclusion.  Obtaining this many perspectives from traditional texts would be very difficult, even more so for young students in isolated communities.  But as Rich noted, many internet users are unable to sort the hoaxes from the facts.  I have often heard grade school students reporting fiction as truth.   Stating they saw on television or online, therefore it is correct.  Despite multiple discussion, these children were not yet able to grasp that false information is just as easy to post as highly researched information.  Personally, I think it is reckless to give open internet access to children who do not yet have the life experience or brain development to decipher critically.   As educators, our job is to provide alternate outlets for their curious minds to explore and experience until they have practiced and are ready to critically think. 

In conclusion, we must be aware that society will advance and change regardless of our desire to be at the cutting edge of new technologies and media.  We should definitely be aware of the tools and resource available and offer them to our students when necessary and appropriate.  We should focus on the timeless skills that all students need, the ability to care for themselves and others and to contribute to society.