24 Hours

I gave my students an assignment this past weekend to try to go 24 (consecutive) hours without technology; that is, without television/movies, video games, Internet, and texting. To clarify, they were allowed to make phone CALLS on their cell phones and they were allowed to use the computer, given that it was offline and not a video game.

Of approximately 85 students, only 7 were successful in their quest. Of those who were not, a few lasted 16-20 hours, while many others lasted fewer than 10 hours (during most and/or all of which they were sleeping). Granted, a few didn't even make the attempt...

They each had to write a paragraph about their experience, successful or otherwise. For those who were successful, the assignment was to write about what they did instead to fill the time that would have been spent involved in aforementioned activities. For those not, they were to write about the moment they broke. And what the last straw was. And how they felt.

It sparked a very interesting discussion in class today. Some students felt bad about not being able to last 24 hours, while others were proud of the fact. Some saw themselves as powerless to avoid what they have been bombarded with from their infancy. Others found it refreshingly peaceful to interact with reality--go outside, get fresh air, talk to people in person rather than via words on a screen.

And some insightful conclusions. Like how maybe we need to be more aware of how technology is controlling us. And how aware we need to be of the information we make public, however flippant, light-hearted, or humorous it may seem in the moment.

As a whole, students were able to come to the conclusion that the point of the assignment was not to prove technology a force of evil, but rather to see it as a tool, to become more aware of the ways in which we interact with computers as opposed to humans, and to recognize that our dependence on it has both positive AND negative impacts.

More so than most lessons, I think it really made a lot of students think. I had more voluntary participation with this discussion than any previously.

If you are interested, the homework assignment was prompted by a short story by Ray Bradbury called The Pedestrian. Oh, and to give proper accolades, I didn't come up with the assignment either. I borrowed it from my pal, JT. 5 stars! :)