Teaching with Technology

Towards a Turn it Off Day?

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Last fall I saw Alex Soojung-Kim Pang give a talk on Contemplative Computing. The one thing that has really stuck with me is his advice to never watch a screen loading. I can’t say I always follow this advice, but I do find myself thinking of it every time I’m cursing Blackboard or a streaming video for not loading quickly enough.

How much time do we waste waiting for screens to load, and how much do we disconnect from the physical world due to those screens? This question isn’t new, but it’s in the news again this week as a short film by Charlene deGuzman is making the rounds. You can see the movie, I Forgot My Phone, on You Tube.  It’s had over 21 million views since being posted at the end of August, so it must be striking a chord with someone.

Do you find yourself or your students more distracted by smart phones these days? Is it time for SLU to join the National Day of Unplugging?

Share your thoughts below.

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Alex Soojung-Kim Pang’s Tedx Youth Talk: Secrets of the Blogging Forest Monks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZgloomrBOMx