Wesch and Turkle

What is the relationship between Turkle and Wesch? Do you see them as allies, or opponents in this discussion of new media and technology? (post by Thurs, 6/29 @ midnight)

I am not quite sure what the relationship is between them, but I am sure how I feel about each.

In Turkles, The flight from conversation one paragraph stood out for me more than any other.

WE expect more from technology and less from one another and seem increasingly drawn to technologies that provide the illusion of companionship without the demands of relationship. Always-on/always-on-you devices provide three powerful fantasies: that we will always be heard; that we can put our attention wherever we want it to be; and that we never have to be alone. Indeed our new devices have turned being alone into a problem that can be solved.

Not being on any social media myself I often wonder how people meet the demands of all their face to face interactions and still have time for the opportunities that social media makes available. What am I doing that doesn’t allow me the same amount of extra time to connect with people using technology?  Why are students so drawn to technology?

I lost track of this question as I began reading Wesch.  I was brought back to the video yesterday of Michael  talking about the traditional classrooms and how it does not relate to the way people learn.  Just the turn of the phrase “Not cut out for school to “Not cut out for learning”, was eye opening.  Teachers are thinking about the content and product so much that they do not see the students in front of them. Another line “School has become too narrow and too inflexible to meet the needs for students” resonates with me personally.  I feel that administration has become both of these and I worry that I may too.  And then I began to think about what I can do to change and a big part of it lies in technology.  Wesch states that education “is not meaningful enough to inspire students to fit in” and this is a problem of significance”.  Well, what is significant to the students of today?  Where can it be found? It can be found in significant questions.   Significant questions are answered by questions and “send students on lifelong journeys”.  These journeys can not take place in a traditional classroom setting where teachers are just attempting to impart information they possess onto their students.  These journeys cannot take place in the current education system, which is just a “meaningless game of grades”.  Students must be inspired and have greater access to follow their journey in following the endless questions they have.

Wesch states “all meaning comes from a good question”.  Where will students be inspired to find these answers? 

   WHEN STUDENTS RECOGNIZE THEIR OWN IMPORTANCE IN HELPING TO

   SHAPE THE FUTURE OF THIS INCREASINGLY GLOBAL, INTERCONNECTED

   SOCIETY, THE SIGNIFICANCE PROBLEM FADES AWAY.

I want my “job (to) become less about teaching, and more about

encouraging students to join me on the quest.