This is What Your Brain Looks Like on the Internet

Reading a great book called Now You See It by Cathy Davidson.

She was behind the iPods-for-all-freshmen experiment at Duke University a few years back and has written extensively on how the digital age is transforming not only commerce and communications, but the way people learn and how our brains process information in the Age of the Internet.

Well-researched and compelling, her argument stems from the notion that our schools have to embrace the opportunities and challenges this digital revolution has laid at our feet. I've written before that schools in general tend to prepare our students for our past, but not their future. Knowing what to do and how to do that in the classroom is difficult. And controversial.

That being said, her arguments are sound, her reasoning is clear, and her practical advice is compelling and, I believe, very useful for teachers in the classroom today.

I recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the revolution in learning we're currently experiencing.

Blinking Lights - A Reminder to Pay Attention to the Right Things

We were connected, yet disconnected. Jana was next to me, texting, the kids were in the back: Sophie streaming an episode of The Office on her iPhone while Sam played Monopoly on the iPad. I was talking with my mother, who, at that moment, was driving through the deserts of New Mexico.

Auto-pilot fully engaged.

As soon as my phone call ended, I  looked over at Jana and joked:

“We’re out of gas.”

I've said this many times over the years and while I always think it's funny, I'm usually the only one laughing.

Yes, I know about 'The Boy who Cried Wolf'.

Much to my surprise and dismay, this time I was right. No more than three seconds had passed when a glaring red triangle appeared on the dash, accompanied by a loud and menacing beep. I pumped the gas to no avail. So, I carefully steered the car toward the shoulder, rolled to a stop and told everyone to turn off all electronics. I wanted to make sure they held enough charge so we would be able to get help, in case of an emergency.

Trucks flew by and our surprisingly roomy Prius shook. I sat, dumb, slow, and unable to think. We were out of water, there were no exits within sight, and the last three ice cubes in the cup next to my seat had been devoured by my son moments before.

And, it was hot. Really hot.

This wasn't supposed to happen. The Prius should have been immune to situations like this. Yet, here we were, a living, breathing definition of irony. 

But then, I had an epiphany. We were on the side of the road without water and over 100 degree heat without a reserve tank or a plug-in to recharge while surrounded by the most sophisticated technology imaginable. However, none of those devices would be walking down the road, buying a gallon of gas and returning to us to fill our tank.

These devices had served as purposeful distractions from the monotony of a 12 hour car ride, and now they needed to be re-purposed as survival tools.

While I certainly regret ignoring the blinking indicator on the fuel guage, and driving past two off-ramps crowned by Shell, Conoco, and Texaco stations, I don't regret the opportunity this presented for myself and my family. So, slowly, I remembered that GPS, cell service and so on could connect us to someone who could assist us. Using the map app on the phone, we located the nearest gas station, and, to make a long story short, we purchased gas, walked back, refueled and started up again.

We need real distractions to engage our thinking in ways that connect us to the real world. Virtual life is engaging, being connected through technology to others and vast streams of information is real and can be very useful, but there are times when we need to realize that using our own two feet and remembering what we really need to live is the only way we get to move forward.

As we travel both on the sun-beaten tarmac highway and the virtual information highway,  let's try to remember to take time to connect in the real world, our eyes on the road ahead, and our minds attuned and ready to respond to real-world warnings.