{"id":5952,"date":"2014-04-21T06:46:21","date_gmt":"2014-04-21T11:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/?p=5952"},"modified":"2015-03-13T15:26:33","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T20:26:33","slug":"information-and-contemplation-teaching-students-how-to-unplug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/2014\/04\/21\/information-and-contemplation-teaching-students-how-to-unplug\/","title":{"rendered":"Information and Contemplation – Teaching Students How to Unplug"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>
Reflecting on Technology<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Do we need to teach college students how to unplug? Is this a good use of their educational time, not to mention tuition money?<\/p>\n

David Levy<\/a>, a professor in the Information School at the University of Washington says \u201cYes,\u201d according to a recent article in USA Today<\/em>. In \u201cProf tackles tech distractions one student at a time<\/a>,\u201d we learn about Levy\u2019s course entitled \u201cInformation and Contemplation\u201d:<\/p>\n

A college course that starts with 15 minutes of doing absolutely nothing would seem like stiff competition for Basket Weaving 101 as a credit filler.<\/p>\n

And yet for harried students in the throes of the tech age, that silent intro has proven to be the toughest part of professor David Levy\u2019s \u201cInformation and Contemplation,\u201d a University of Washington class whose popularity and reputation is growing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey start the course rushed and with tight shoulders, but my argument is that it\u2019s precisely for the sake of productivity that we need a greater connection with ourselves and our tech tools,\u201d says Levy, a former Silicon Valley denizen who teaches out of the Information School\u2019s Mary Gates Hall, honoring the mother of tech, godfather Bill.<\/p>\n

Notice that, at least in the article, Levy is not seeking to help students have richer and deeper lives. He\u2019s teaching his course \u201cfor the sake of productivity.\u201d Yet, Levy isn\u2019t merely interested in getting people to accomplish more. He is motivated by his concern for today\u2019s collegians:<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel for this generation; they just seem incredibly busy and stressed,\u201d says Levy, who was a researcher at the fabled Xerox PARC lab in Silicon Valley throughout the \u201990s. \u201cIt\u2019s that very American view that we all should be working all the time, an intensification of our more-faster-better industrial era.\u201d<\/p>\n

Levy\u2019s approach to technology appears to be influenced by a variety of religious traditions. According to USA Today<\/em>, he takes a \u201ctech Sabbath\u201d every Saturday. He explains, \u201cIt\u2019s about a having a deeper conversation and being mindful of limits, about asking yourself, \u2018How do I want to live?'\u201d His use of the term \u201cmindful\u201d connects with the Buddhist<\/a> tradition of practicing mindfulness, which is becoming increasingly popular in the tech world. As the article explains, \u201cThough hardly a new concept \u2014 Buddhists have practiced the art of focusing on the moment for millennia \u2014 staying on track in the face of calls, e-mails, social media, news alerts and other distractions could be the killer app for a killer life.\u201d I wonder if practitioners of mindfulness would appreciate this description of their discipline: \u201cthe killer app for a killer life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prof. Levy\u2019s course and the USA Today<\/em> article join a chorus of voices calling for intentional unplugging from our continually connected lifestyle. This seems wise, though I worry about an argument for unplugging that emphasizes greater productivity. What about greater wholeness? Greater fruitfulness? Deeper relationships? An enhanced awareness of God\u2019s presence?<\/p>\n

Levy\u2019s course appears to help students, not only step back from technology, but also learn to use it more intentionally. We need, not only to unplug, but also to discover how better to work, how better to live, while plugged in.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do we need to teach college students how to unplug? Is this a good use of their educational time, not to mention tuition money? David Levy, a professor in the Information School at the University of Washington says \u201cYes,\u201d according to a recent article in USA Today. In \u201cProf tackles tech distractions one student at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17829,788],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reflecting-on-technology","category-technology"],"yoast_head":"\nInformation and Contemplation - Teaching Students How to Unplug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Do we need to teach college students how to unplug? Is this a good use of their educational time, not to mention tuition money? 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