Reflection 1: Technology Bits, Bytes, and Nibbles

I read the article about the students in Illinois who participated in a kind of a technology abstinence program for one week. The format of this experiment was such that students who were willing to do so reverted to using only technologies available in 1983, the year their teacher was in sixth grade. I thought this idea was refreshing and was a great way to “snap” students “our of it.” Today, many children middle school age and younger have gaming systems, computers, cell phones, hundreds of HD cable channels on their TV’s, and multiple other technological devices. While the past 15 or so years have brought revolutionary ideas, they’ve also come with more and more distraction. People today spend countless hours watching TV, behind game controllers, using a computer, and talking and texting on smartphones. I’m not surprised at the reactions of these 6th graders who came to the realization that while technology is important, they could successfully live life without their phone or video game attached to their hips. Also, I think that technology is the future and important for moving forward, but can also be misused and mistreated to the point of setback. For example, instant messaging between student and teacher seems lazy, lacks purpose, and kills any chances for fostering proper socials skills in students.
I also read about history pin, lookback maps, and sepia town. These tools seem like one of the best uses of technology to me. One huge advantage of the technology available to us is the ease of communication between people all over the world. These three tools make it possible to connect with people from different generations, share stories, and memorialize important events all at the click of a mouse. Also, these tools bring the opportunity to “visit” somewhere you’d like to go or will never be able to go. You can see where your grandparents grew up, you can see what your hometown looked like 50 years ago, and you can see all sorts of things! What a cool way to utilize the information that we have now to access the information of yesteryear.