Turkle and Wesch: Allies in Media and Technology

 Human Collaboration and Engagement are Keys to Learning

Imagine you are surrounded by family and friends, finally all in the same room, some you haven’t seen in a while. Everyone is so happy to be together, but there is no conversation. There is no face to face contact.You can easily hear a pin drop. Everyone is in their own little world, the world of social media. I can honestly say that I am guilty of participating in this same exact situation. Many times I find myself searching for my phone eager to begin scrolling through Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, etc. to see what events have occurred since the last time I checked (maybe 20 minutes ago.) How much time have I missed out on to make memories with my loved ones because of technology? How disconnected am I to my own feelings? “Are the technological devices in our pockets so psychologically powerful that they change what we do and who we are?”

Being together, is it really together? 

Sherry Turkle’s Ted Talk “Connected, But Alone?” and Michael Wesch’s “Crisis of Significance” both resonated with me in their own individual ways. I would consider Turkle and Wesch to be allies in the discussion of new media and technology as they believe in human collaboration and engagement is the essence of learning and communicating. Turkle begins her discussion by highlighting how odd and disturbing behavior has become familiar, the norm. She gives examples such as texting and emailing during corporate meetings or texting and emailing over dinner with family (which again I am guilty of). These two examples ultimately lead to the question, being together, is it really together? She has credited technology as creating the “Goldilocks Effect” which states that people can deal with each other at a distance, a distance that is not too close, not too far, but just right. We use texting, emailing, and tweeting as ways to disguise our insecurities. For many people, it has created and promoted a false sense of reality where we are able to edit, delete, retouch, and clean up aspects of ourselves that aren't deemed perfect. Technology takes away our vulnerability to have real conversations, where we pause, stutter, and give up control. We have come to a time where we “expect more from technology and less from each other.” What are we losing? We are losing our connection to isolation, the ability to be separate, gather ourselves, find solitude,be self-aware, and reach out to others for real and authentic conversations and attachments.

In “Anti-Teaching-Confronting the Crisis of Significance”, Michael Wesch dives into significance being a huge problem in education. Students are currently struggling to find meaning and significance in their own education. As learning is described as a hallmark of humanity we think about if  “perhaps we have made the mold too narrow or inflexible, or more likely, just not meaningful enough to inspire a student to fit in. That’s the significance problem.” (Wesch, p. 2). The reason that I find Wesch and Turkle to be allies is because I believe they are both discussing how youths can be engaged in the world through their day to day experiences. From the perspective of Turkle, she focuses on how technology can lead us back to real lives and communities through relationships, connections, and authentic conversations. While Wesch’s perspective focuses on student engagement on world stimulation through entering the cultural diversity of the real world. Learning to ask questions that force critical and creative thinking. Looking at both perspectives, there is a sense of bringing media into making
connections between life and reality that are worth living and exploring. As educators this can

certainly pose a challenge, but it is a unique opportunity to push ourselves outside of the virtual world. How can we create opportunities in the classroom where technology is part of the project, but is not the main feature of learning? Turkle and Wesch are allies who both provide the balance that is needed for today’s youth in and outside of the classroom. Thinking of my fourth grade classroom, I want to build a sense of community that is engaging, loud, and collaborative (listening to each other). I want my students to feel comfortable to take risks (reveal ourselves to others), make mistakes (show vulnerability), and learn from them (self-reflection). I know that I can do this alongside technology and media through the teachings of Wesch where , “we find our-selves as co-creators of our world, and the future is up to us.” (Wesch, p.4)