ETEC 511- Final Essay: Technology and the Erosion of Traditional Relationships: Implications for the Classroom Teacher
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Prior to this course, I had never even heard of Sherry Turkle before. The moment that I was introduced to her work, I was quite taken with her thoughts on technology and the way in which is impacting people today. One of the main reasons that I chose educational technology as my Masters focus was that I felt like I needed to be more informed about how technology is influencing my students in order to better understand them and meet their evolving needs in the classroom. Upon first diving into her work, I instantly felt like Sherry Turkle was going to be the source of many of the answers to the questions that I had.
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When we began to examine Sherry Turkle’s ideas about the intensive use of technology today, I was thoroughly intrigued. Although I was bothered emotionally by some of what I was learning about, something about the way in which she expresses herself in her articles and speeches drew me in. The more I read and watched, the more certain I became that I needed to use Turkle in some way in my final essay for the course (which also meant throwing out the previous outline and list of potential articles that I truly thought I was happy with prior to discovering Turkle).
I am sure that my reaction to her studies and reports on relational artifacts is a very jaded one due to my own personal experiences. At this time in the program, I had a loved one living in an extended care facility. I saw firsthand just how lonely many of the residents in the facility were, despite the fact that they were very well-cared for by the staff and the recreation department provided many entertainment opportunities too. Reading about the use of robot companions in these types of facilities was actually quite appalling to me. There is just something so wrong to me about using robotic animals and/or dolls to act as companions in this type of setting. To me, it feels like a cruel trick as some of these individuals do not have the mental capacity to differentiate real from robotic at this stage of their lives. With this particular group of people, I personally feel that care facilities should do everything that they possibly can to provide their residents with real human contact and visits from community pets. There is no substitute for the real thing in these special circumstances.
Turkle’s opinions about the way in which the rise of technology in every aspect of our lives is changing who we are and how we interact with each other had the greatest impact on me. This is what intrigued me and left me wanting to find out more. I began my search for videos and additional articles written by Sherry Turkle and an idea for my thesis quickly began to take shape. As an educator, I have seen the children that walk through my door each September change quite dramatically since I began teaching in 1999. I began to formulate my own ideas about the role that technology is playing in how children today develop, and how that in turn impacts the teachers who are entrusted with the task of educating these young minds. I have included my essay below (Technology and the Erosion of Traditional Relationships: Implications for the Classroom Teacher).
I am sure that my reaction to her studies and reports on relational artifacts is a very jaded one due to my own personal experiences. At this time in the program, I had a loved one living in an extended care facility. I saw firsthand just how lonely many of the residents in the facility were, despite the fact that they were very well-cared for by the staff and the recreation department provided many entertainment opportunities too. Reading about the use of robot companions in these types of facilities was actually quite appalling to me. There is just something so wrong to me about using robotic animals and/or dolls to act as companions in this type of setting. To me, it feels like a cruel trick as some of these individuals do not have the mental capacity to differentiate real from robotic at this stage of their lives. With this particular group of people, I personally feel that care facilities should do everything that they possibly can to provide their residents with real human contact and visits from community pets. There is no substitute for the real thing in these special circumstances.
Turkle’s opinions about the way in which the rise of technology in every aspect of our lives is changing who we are and how we interact with each other had the greatest impact on me. This is what intrigued me and left me wanting to find out more. I began my search for videos and additional articles written by Sherry Turkle and an idea for my thesis quickly began to take shape. As an educator, I have seen the children that walk through my door each September change quite dramatically since I began teaching in 1999. I began to formulate my own ideas about the role that technology is playing in how children today develop, and how that in turn impacts the teachers who are entrusted with the task of educating these young minds. I have included my essay below (Technology and the Erosion of Traditional Relationships: Implications for the Classroom Teacher).
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