The Shallows Reflection

Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows intrigued me.  I found myself connecting personally and professionally.  Seeing how the Internet, or Net as Carr refers to it, affects the brain fascinated me and allowed me to come to some realizations in my own life.  To some degree, I believe I am one of those who brain has been affected by the Internet.  According to Carr, the Internet isn’t taking his mind, but it is changing it (p. 5).  He claims he can no longer stay “calm, focused, or undistracted” (p. 10).  I feel the same way as I struggle to focus on one task whether it is around the house or while I am at school.  Even when it came to writing this reflection, I found myself struggling to focus even though I found the book quite interesting.  As I was reading, I thought it was going to be so easy to write since I made so many connections.  Wow, I was wrong!  As I write, I think of how so many students also have a difficult time focusing. 

With the birth of the Internet, there came a new way of thinking.  People have a constant need to be doing something.  Not only do they feel they need to do something, they are easily distracted while doing it and typically move on to something else before finishing one task.  The Internet has molded us into this distracted being by providing us with a steady flow of information through random continuous clicks.  I know I struggle to focus on one task quite often.  For example, I start with one thing around the house, such as picking up toys.  I am then distracted by the dust on the tables and feel I need to now dust.  So I start to dust without having finished picking up all the toys and see yet another thing.  I now want to start my third task without having finished the first or second.  Research has shown that the adult brain is plastic-like and able to change just as a child’s developing brain (Carr, p. 21).  It could be that the Internet has done this to me, or it could be that I now simply have more things to remember considering I have two children as well as a long list of my own things to do and keep organized.  After reading through several chapters in Carr’s book, I continued to connect with what he was saying.  I, too often, feel distracted and as if I am bouncing around from one thing to another. 

If the Internet is so distracting, how will we, as educators, get students to focus?  We need students to be able to read and write because we are a literate society.  Reading and writing require focus and in-depth thinking, not only memorization and recitation as the oral cultures did (Carr, p. 57).  Little do the students realize that what they are constantly doing is reading and writing while on the Internet.  Their reading is generally not of long pieces, nor is their writing in several paragraphs, but it does need to be clear and coherent.  Will there be times they need to read and write longer pieces?  I believe there will be.  This means educators need to prepare students for it but also incorporate and use what they do daily to get there.  We can use the technology to start with writing clear and concise short pieces and work our way to longer ones.  For example, we can have them start with sending short messages to friends but requiring them to include a clear message by incorporating good word choice and organization.  To demonstrate the importance of the message, have it read alone with no context.  It will show the students the importance of using accurate words.  We can eventually move into a longer piece, such as a research paper.  If we allow them to use the “fun stuff” (iPads, computers, cell phones, or others) to build background, maybe we can use that information later to get them to retain the important concepts.  The students need to see the value and connection to how it will impact their lives before they will begin to bank any of it in their memories. 

The writing process is more important than the final product.  This is what many English/language arts teachers I know stress to the students, yet students just want to get the work done and have that product in hand.  As I was reading through the chapter, “The Very Image of a Book,” I found it interesting when Carr discussed the online or e-books (p. 107).  He pointed out that electronic text or books could be on-going and never done.  As much as students are considered digital, I would have to say they absolutely do not like this concept of on-going when it comes to work.  When it comes to the writing process, they seem to focus only on the end, the “published” product.  I think they would hate hearing that their work is never done or that it could be continuously revised.  Why is this?  Do they really not care what they are producing; do they only care that it is done?  Is the system (of school) training them that the final product is all that matters?  Are we assigning them work they really just have no interest in, so they feel they just need to get it done?  These are questions I wonder and am not sure I could really answer.

Memorization is still a part of education, but should it be?  So much information can be found at our fingertips after typing a few words into Google.  According to Don Tapscott, a technology writer, “Memorization is a ‘waste of time’” (Carr, p. 181).  What about the simple basics that we consider building blocks?  Sometimes there is information that is first memorized but later becomes known or learned information.  For example, how can students do math well if they do not know their math facts?  If the facts are not learned early on, they become gaps in students’ learning and make for a difficult journey through the years of math.  I would disagree with Tapscott by saying not all memorization is a waste of time.  

Being in the world of education, we know we are up against the Internet, a world of distraction and endless information.  Since students have so much information at their fingertips, why do they need to go to school and learn?  Students are humans who are meant to do multiple tasks unlike machines that are typically responsible for one.  They need to be universal and well-rounded.  We know many or all of our students will have multiple jobs throughout their lifetimes.  How will they perform the necessary duties if they do not have knowledge within themselves?  We want them to show their creativity and have initiative.  We want them to make connections.  They cannot make connections without a little background knowledge in which to connect.  We want them to survive and be able to react to others and to situations.  One cannot pull out a cell phone or iPad in an emergency situation in order to search what steps need to be taken.  We want immediacy, but sometimes that immediacy needs to come from within us, from the knowledge we own.  Educators need to understand where students are coming from in order to teach them.  To know how much technology has influenced the students and ourselves is the first step to getting the students the knowledge they will need to succeed in life. 

Carr, N.  (2010).  The shallows: What the internet is doing to our brains.  NY: W. W. Norton &

Company.

Reflection on Technology Matters: Questions to Live With by David E. Nye

In Technology Matters: Questions to Live With, David Nye discusses ten questions about technology that he considers to be unanswerable.  He devotes an entire chapter to each question simply trying to get people thinking knowing there is neither one answer nor the right answer.  Nye first asks about the definition of technology and gradually increases the depth of his questions to how technology socially, politically, economically, and culturally affects our society. 

Nye wants people to think about technology differently; he accomplished that immediately with me.  From the moment I opened the book, I had already started questioning my own thoughts of technology.  Nye discusses Jane Goodall’s work with chimpanzees (p. 1).  He considers the twig the chimpanzee used to extract termites from a hill, so he could eat to be a tool or intentional use of an object therefore, making it technology.  This was the first time I had ever thought of anything other than an electronic device.  It opened my eyes to the idea that just about anything newly created can be considered technology.  At first, it was a very strange concept, but I am now willing to think about it more objectively. 

Nye states technologies are for social evolution and not necessity (p. 2).  He discusses humans enjoying the act of finding new uses for things.  I would have to agree with him on this.  I have never thought of technologies, or electronics, to be necessities in life.  They just become so accessible and commonly used that they feel like necessities eventually.  Even as I think of any new creation (not electronic) that makes our lives easier, quicker, or simpler, I believe these to ultimately feel like necessity.  I am now torn though because I think some of these “things” do become necessities (maybe not in the truest sense) in the way most of us live today.  For example, the microwave is something some feel they cannot live without while others rarely, if ever, use it.  It has become a main source for cooking in some homes.  I guess this was Nye’s intent with these questions.

On pages 185 and 186, Nye asks if technology is expanding our knowledge of the world, or if it is putting us into sensory overload.  He has reasons to support each.  In my opinion, yes, we learn more from new inventions, such as how to find information or answers instantly with the internet.  And yes, we also go into sensory overload because we feel like we need to be multi-tasking with almost all we do today.  For example, we can watch television while working on our iPad and talk to people in the same room all at the same time.  I think so many technologies are now mobile making it too easy to use while trying to do other tasks.  It also makes it seem like the only option.  These new readily-available technologies are “mind toys” making us think we can do several mental tasks at once; whereas, if these technologies were “physical toys,” would we believe the same?  Would we feel like we need to eat while driving a high-tech ATV as it goes through the roughest terrain?  It makes me wonder.  There are definite advantages to being able to multi-task, but there are also some definite disadvantages.  I love being able to do work on my computer while being around my family, but I also know it can put me into a frenzy when I cannot concentrate when full focus is needed.  This also makes me think about students with ADHD or ADD.  Is all the multi-tasking making us feel like we need to be doing more than one thing at a time?  And if we can’t, are we now at a disadvantage?  If we need to be multi-tasking, are we teaching in a way students are able to multi-task?  Or are we still teaching with the students expected to do one thing at a time and then wondering why they seem squirrely?  This question of Nye’s leaves me wondering a lot.

How does technology matter?  Socially, technology has gone from people only communicating face-to-face to using telephones in order to connect to neighbors to using computers to connect to people around the world.  As Nye shows through his discussion of how the Amish prefer face-to-face communication rather than e-mail, technology also differs culturally (p. 210).  Economically, people need to consider what it takes to create and sustain these “toys,” but is it always considered?  Again, it makes me wonder.  I know there are many recycling programs available, but are they accessible enough to the people using these new technologies?  When an iPod breaks, does it sit around a house, get tossed in the garbage and eventually into a landfill, or go to a recycling program to reuse as many parts as possible? 

The United States seems to be a culture that wants to be “ahead of the game” in every aspect.  I think we use new technologies every chance we can to advance ourselves.  We have safety and communication tools for our soldiers to use when they are overseas, such as Skype for staying connected to family and friends back home.  We have Facebook for individuals and groups to keep people informed on personal issues as well as business news.  We thrive on the “new and upcoming” gadgets.  We, as a society and culture, want the newest, latest, and greatest.  We feel it will keep us ahead of all others. 

Now, knowing that technology can benefit and hinder us, how will that affect the use of it in my classroom?  I know that the students want these fabulous “new” gadgets to use in the class.  It is my job to find the value and educational uses rather than simply allowing them to enter the room because I think the students will benefit from them.  I don’t want the “toys” to be a hindrance simply because I don’t know the best use for them.  I know my students thrive on the newest, so I will need to do what I can to learn about them as well as learn how to use them.  For example, I have iPads to use with my ELL students.  I want to maximize their learning with these “new toys” whether it be with games to extend their learning, the camera for taking pictures to use for projects, or an app for translating.  I need to find the ways to make the most of their learning rather than distract them from learning.

Reference: 

Nye, D. E. (2007). Technology matters:  Questions to live with. Cambridge, MA:  MIT Press.

Google Sites, Docs, and Diigo

Of these three new technology tools, I can see myself really using two quite often.  I am not so sure I am sold on the third one quite yet.  It could be that I am so new to it, or it could be that it just simply doesn’t work for me.  Google Sites and Google Docs have some great advantages for me and my ELL classroom, but Diigo isn’t showing the same potential.  

Google Sites was new to me when we first began looking at it in class.  After creating and setting up many of the pages during class, I realized how easy and truly beneficial it could be for my students (and colleagues).  At this point, I don’t know how beneficial it would be for the parents of my students.  I see the face-to-face contact or phone calls being more used and working better with them.  Within Sites, I like how I am able to use so many Google features, such as Translate (words, sentences, paragraphs, or even entire websites), which happens to be extremely valuable for my newcomer student.  I am really excited about being able to share all my links/websites for ELL games and activities again with my students.  After our district website changed, my links were removed from the school page.  It has left me writing down websites for students and having them copy them into their browser.  Not only will a simple click be helpful for my students, but it will also be helpful to my colleagues once I create a Resource page with sites I find relating to their content areas.  The resources for my colleagues may be more useful in Diigo, but I’m just not sold on it yet. 

I just recently became a more frequent user of Google Docs, but it was more because I had to rather than by choice.  At first, I really did not like them.  I found the document to be so limiting because I was so used to Microsoft Word.  I am beginning to like the document more because of the ease of sharing, the automatic saving, and the fact that I can access it from anywhere and on any computer/mobile device.  It is more convenient, which happens to be how technology is sold.  The Forms were a brand new concept for me when it came to creating one.  I had filled out surveys for others before without realizing they were done through Google.  I like that the Forms are not only surveys but also used as quizzes or assessments.  It’s nice to have the data right at my fingertips and be calculated for me.  I could see myself using the Forms with my colleagues to get feedback on the ELL program in my building.  I could also see myself using Forms with my small groups of students.   

The Google Sites and Docs should work well for my students because our district has given all students a Gmail account.  The ease of linking directly to the site after logging into their email account will make it a much easier find.  I’m hoping it will also be so easy for the students that they will actually use and refer to it. 

I do not have the same feelings for Diigo as I do for Google Sites and Docs.  I found Diigo to be frustrating and sporadic.  I felt like I had to go to so many places for various things just to bookmark a site.  I realize Diigo is more than a bookmarking tool, but I do not see the value in it yet.  It may very well be that I do not understand it well enough.  At this point, I don’t plan on using Diigo with my students or colleagues unless others can show me the true benefits.  Vicki Davis from Solomon and Schrum’s Web 2.0 (2010) states that Diigo Lists is a “powerful feature,” but I haven’t experienced that.   I didn’t refer to the tags or lists much, if at all.  Also, I’m not sold on the tag feature considering the user is the one tagging.  I think it’s too easy to only list a few tags.  One or two features within Diigo I do like are the highlighting and sticky notes.  It works well for my brain to be able to have “marking” on a page, so I can quickly find the information I need.  I’m hoping to have someone else work with me to show me the true value Diigo could offer. 

My plan is to continue to use Google Docs with my colleagues and receive them from my students for writing samples.  I am hoping to create and use my Google Site in the near future with my students.  Diigo will be put aside for now until I learn more about the benefits of using it.