Prof’s assignment: Dump tech gadgets for 5 days
March 24, 2010 by Geneva ReidPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Tech News
No Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, e-mail, iPods, or cell phones. That’s what one professor told her students to give up for five days. Could they do it? University of Minnesota professor Heather LaMarre was certainly pulling for them.
She refers to her students as “the wired generation,” she told The Minneapolis Star Tribune.
So she recently gave them the homework assignment to go without using any kind of technology that didn’t exist before 1984.
The result?
Only a few students were able to go three days — and by the fifth day, everyone was plugged in again.
As Lucy Knopff, a sophomore, told StarTribune.com, when she accidentally turned on her iPod, “You don’t even think about it. It’s just a habit for me.”
LaMarre isn’t the first professor to task students with the challenge of going unplugged. It’s actually becoming something of a trend across the country.
- University of Texas at Dallas: Students taking an introductory electronic communications course were asked to stay away from Facebook for a week.
- Augsuburg College: Freshmen were instructed this fall not to use any electronic device for 12 hours.
- Macalester College: A class called “Immedia” is in the works, and it will remove students from the high-tech world for two weeks.
Is unplugging students for a given length of time a good idea — or is it a useless attempt to turn the world back a few decades?
Tell us what you think in the comment section below.
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Tags: facebook, Google, Heather LaMarre, twitter, University of Minnesota
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March 24th, 2010 at 11:18 am
As an Assistant Professor and Program Director of a fully online undergraduate degree program, I rely on my students being wired in. Without their mastery and utilization of all available technology we simply could not function. As a member of the pre-Internet generation, I cannot recall an instructor asking us not to use the telephone, read a newspaper, or go to the library. Granted, as a father of two post teen and one teen I do see, what I perceive to be, wasted time. But my generation spent a great deal of time spinning 45′s (our parents thought that was a waste of time too).
The direction I take with my students is to maximize the utilization of technololgy. We even have an imbedded Blog on our homepage so that students are drawn to the site to receive up to date informaton and direction. As educators, our goal should be to tap into these resources just as we did when we cast aside the memography machine (I still fondly recall the smell of the fresh purple ink) and moved to the then called Xerox copy machine.
March 24th, 2010 at 11:49 am
I think that unless this exercise were done in conjunction with a retreat of some sort that it would be impossible. What parent would want hu child to stop answering hus calls (or in case of non-traditional students not accept calls from hus children). The other professors who assign work through a listserv — will they like their students being cut off? Not likely. May as well say not to use sense — some things are too built in. Perhaps an assignment not to use electronics as entertainment … but is staying connected simply entertaining?
March 24th, 2010 at 11:51 am
Having recently retired from a major university, and having lived nearly 70 years, I believe, with some authority, that I could amend the professor’s pronouncement referring to today’s students as “the wired generation,” and make it “the weird generation”. From my perspective, the technology referred to has resulted in today’s youngsters having been denied an environment that teaches them the necessary communicative and social skills they need to succeed as just plain good citizens.
Moreover, many of them, having been “reared” by parents of post-1984 generations, are sorely lacking in respect for others, particularly their elders, and for others’ property.
Of course, these are generalizations, but enough of these characteristics of today’s youth exists that it leaves a lasting, and somewhat distasteful impression of what the future beholds.
March 24th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
I wonder what the purpose of these exercises is. From my perspective, I think it’s more important to teach students the judicious use of information technology – - how to separate substantive information from opinion; how to identify who is behind a particular web page or source of information or database and how that group or person might be influencing the information presented; how to properly cite sources; when it’s time to stop relying on information gathered through search engines and start coming to thoughtful conclusions.
March 24th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
An adaptor of any technology quickly forgets what life was like before adopting the technology. This wired generation takes for granted that everyone everywhere has the same communication technology and ability. This really isn’t the case and I believe unplugging classes for set amounts of time can help build empathy and practical skills for better communication between generations with widely variable technology skills and socioeconomic groups. Not everyone can afford an I-phone or internet connection in their home and that can become a barrier to success for individuals as students and workers.
March 24th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
I do teach graduate and undergraduate coruses. It is almost impossible to get students to process (learning) without the use of technology for content delivery, communication, collaboration, and assessment. Of course, I could teach F2F and engage them the traditional way and not have access to technology but I am pretty sure they will raise up in arms whether for convenience, flexibility or efficacy!
March 24th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
As with many things, I think the value of this depends upon its purpose. To do so without an expressed purpose would make it just a “neat” experience. If the hypothesis is that our use (or overuse) of technology is either distracting us from something important or preventing us from it, then these exercises in avoiding technology should intentionally draw students to that something. I have believed for some time now that our overreliance upon technology as a means of communication has allowed a younger generation to throw up an “electronic barrier” between themselves and others, especially in times of conflict. I also believe that this “electronic barrier” prevents our students from learning invaluable lessons about interpersonal communication that can only be learned by, well, communicating in person. Emoticons are no substitute for facial expressions, and punctuation marks are no substitute for verbal intonations.
Generally, I’m in favor of such exercises, but only when the purpose is clear and the learning outcomes are expressed transparently.
March 24th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
“Mimeograph machine”…
. I agree with Joseph, however, the original article does not state the “why” of the assignment…only the results.
March 24th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
The assignment doesn’t advocate that we’re better off with less technology or without technology entirely, but it rather represents a creative way to analyize the deep roots technology–particularly social media–plays in our lives today. Yes, email is essential in many cases, and if you don’t have a phone land line you may need to use your cell phone. The assignment could be modified so that students can try checking their email no more than twice a day and only use their phone at home.
It could be a valuable learning opportunity for students to see how they communicate in a different light, and perhaps approach the existing tools from a fresh perspective.
March 24th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
I think that it could be a useful exercise to demonstrate how much time is spent on these activities rather than engaging in other activities. For example, did the students spend more time socializing and talking with friends and parents, or did they spend it watching TV or reading a book? I would agree that the purpose of the exercise determines whether it is a good idea or just an interesting exercise.
March 24th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
Whether or not this professor was going beyond the assignment to an additional point or agenda, I think simply phrasing it as a challenge to see how long they could stay disconnected is interesting in itself. It was not terribly scientific (I’ve no ideas how to make the conclusions rigorous), but it seemed to establish that among a typical class of college students, without a strong motivator, or special barriers, the average student could only do it for a day or two. I’m happy to just ponder that data for a bit.
It also might be fun to add a journaling aspect to the assignment. “Every time you reach for an electronic gadget, or want to, or just think about this issue, grab this notebook and jot down your thoughts.” Something like that might bring all sorts of lessons and benefit to the students, simply in the sense that it is a good thing to “know thyself”. I don’t want to turn the clock back, I just want to understand how our civilization is changing.
March 24th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
I was plugged in before some of these young adults were even born. Give me an old Apple II or a Commodore 64 w/ a an old baud modem, a corded analog phone, a nice old integrated monochrome computer monitor with keyboard only and I will possibly be wired to the bulletin board system within 5 hours.All… made before 1983. Especially 2×86 computers, I believe. Wargames baby. lol
March 24th, 2010 at 4:57 pm
Joseph Woodall Says: “my generation spent a great deal of time spinning 45’s (our parents thought that was a waste of time too).”
Yeah, but we didn’t bring the record player to class with us–and if anyone was caught with an earplug transistor radio, it was confiscated. The technology is not the problem; it’s the distraction/surrogate we’ve allowed it to become.
You also mention, “Without their mastery and utilization of all available technology we simply could not function.”
Two observations: When teaching becomes impossible without “all available technology,” the e-cart is drawing the virtual horse. Also, define “mastery of”; the longer I teach, the more it seems the technology is mastering the student, not the other way around.
March 24th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
I did a project like this for a full year with high school students:
http://web.me.com/thelastpintaturtle/Voluntary_Simplicity/Home.html
March 24th, 2010 at 10:35 pm
I am all for students who know where to find information for school related assignments. Unfortunately, technology has been used to as pacifiers to this wired generation. It is common place to text your friend even though they are sitting in the same room as you. Our immediate access to technology can waste unbelievable hours on youtube, facebook, and on-line games. I think a No E Day (no electronics) could help all people realize how their time is being spent.
March 25th, 2010 at 2:55 am
What about five days without graphing calculators? (The original article didn’t mention them, but I’m sure they’d be counted as well; the first one came out in 1985.) Most students who are taking a math class couldn’t survive that. I’ve seen college students use a calculator to find 4 times 5.
March 26th, 2010 at 11:46 am
Depends on what you believe to be the potential “purpose” of the exercise…which is not clearly stated…other than just to see if they can do it.
If you believe that we’re going to show the younger generation the merits of simpler times, than I doubt that will have any measurable or lasting effect.
However, if you believe that knowing how to function (and function “well”) without the digital and/or electronic gadgets could be damn beneficial in a post-apocalyptic world, then “yeah”…I think there’s value in it.
So, without knowing what “knowledge” the instructors are hoping, or trying to impart to their students with theses exercises, it’s virtually impossible to gauge the value of them.
March 10th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
Paul M is quite right: My students are servants to their tech-tools. They can text quickly but can’t write well; they read their received texts but don’t read assignments or the comments I write on their essays. They navigate the screens of their smart phones but don’t indent, proofread or read, write and think critically. Of course I’m generalizing, but never have I had so many plugged-in students who are so nearly absent in class. They may be physically present, but their attention, focus, and minds are elsewhere.