Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Loyola University
ET 690
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Turkle (2015) proposes an extremely important narrative that focuses on the power and
necessity of face to face conversations. When you are fully present in a conversation you learn to
really listen to one another and you develop the capacity for empathy. Through conversations
you are able to be heard and understood. “Conversation is on the path toward the experience of
intimacy, community, and communion. Reclaiming conversation is a step toward reclaiming our
most fundamental human rights” (Turkle, 2015). Conversations advances self reflection and
allows us to believe in other narratives. Without face to face conversations we are less
Our digital world has become an interference in these natural conversations. “We turn to
our phones, instead of each other” (Turkle, 2015). On a field trip, at the park, or even at the
dinner table, parents are using their devices and children are noticing. “It’s a chain reaction.
Only one person has to start. Only one person has to stop talking” (Turkle, 2015). Parent’s don’t
understand the risks and what is at stake when they pull out their devices. Trust, self
esteem, empathy, friendship and intimacy are qualities that children are lacking because of the
conversations that aren’t happening. Speaking and listening skills can be taught and learned
through practice. Parents need to be mentors for children and teach them how to have
conversations. When parents deprive their children of these conversations, the children turn to
the online world where they feel they are heard and understood, not realizing the damaging effect
the technology has on relationships. The most powerful learning takes place in a relationship.
With technology in our presence, conversations will stay light and never get too serious. We are
risking our relationships and ignoring powerful learning opportunities by allowing technology to
disrupt conversations.
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I believe that Turkle’s narrative is extremely important and I think that the way
technology is currently being used has become a threat to conversations. We are a society that
has become reliant on devices. Technology is a huge part of our life and is here to stay. It can’t
be avoided, it can’t be taken away, so we need to be more self-aware of our relationship with
technology. We are afraid of silence and being alone but we need to embrace these moments
because it helps us discover ourselves for we are vulnerable. When you are on your phone you
are able to push feelings away, but we need to be embracing these emotions. “It is not a moment
to reject technology but to find ourselves. This is our nick of time and our line to toe: to
respect the resilience that has always been ours. We have time to make the corrections” (Turkle,
2015). It will never be too late to reclaim powerful face to face conversations.
In 1845, Henry David Thoreau moved to a cabin to learn to live with more of a purpose.
In his cabin were three chairs, one for solitude, two for friendship, and three for society. The
three chairs link conversation to empathy and self-reflection. “In solitude we find ourselves; we
prepare ourselves to come to conversation with something to say that is authentic, ours. When
we are secure in ourselves we are able to listen to other people and really hear what they have to
say. And then in conversation with other people we become better at inner dialogue” (Turkle,
The first chair, solitude reinforces a secure sense of self. The problem is that with
technology at our fingertips, we don’t take time to truly be alone in our heads. We push our
feelings away with our phones and we don’t take time to embrace our emotions. At a very young
age parents are handing devices to their children in exchange for a moment of silence or hand
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them devices because the children see their parents with one and want one as well. “The shiny
objects of today’s childhood demand time and interrupt stillness” (Turkle, 2015). Children need
play time where they are using their imagination and being creative. A lot of parents are afraid of
boredom and view it as a waste of time. “But childhood boredom is a drive. It sparks
imagination. It builds up inner emotional resources” (Turkle, 2015). Adults, teachers and mentors
need to be more mindful of the impact of technology and the importance of play and boredom so
Teachers spend a lot of time planning and preparing for engaging lessons. There are
always students who finish their work quickly. While the teachers try to help other students, it is
very easy to say ‘go get a computer and get on ______”. Working at a school with one to one
devices, I have been guilty of this on numerous occasions. The programs I put students on aren’t
that meaningful. Students work on typing skills, math facts, or read online books, but the
programs I resort to don’t require creativity or imagination. For me, this is a starting point in my
classroom. I recognize that I don’t need to have students ‘go and get on a computer’ as a filler but
that I can take it as an opportunity to encourage solitude. I think students need to have that quiet
time where they are reflecting on a deeper level. One way I can do this is by providing students
with a reflection journal where they are alone in their thoughts and write down any and
everything that comes to mind. This isn’t something that I need to read or grade. Because we
have one to one devices, this reflection could be done through an online blog, but I feel as though
that takes away the privacy students need to be creative. Thinking about my elementary
school schedule, every grade has an ‘awkward’ fifteen-minute block in their day. Most teachers
fill this time with videos, read-alouds or computer game time. What if we took this block and
used it as a meditation period where we all just sat in silence? After a certain amount of quiet
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time students could draw a picture, write down their thoughts or even create a song to compile
their ideas and thinking. It is important that teachers are off of their phones and computers during
this time as well. If teachers don’t take the quiet moments seriously, students won’t view it as
worthwhile. Teachers need to provide time in the school day to encourage students to be
technology to fill up time when we can be spending it in a more meaningful way that fosters self
awareness.
Being able to pay attention to ourselves, will help us pay better attention to the loved
ones surrounding us. “When adults listen during conversations, they show children how listening
works. In family conversation, children learn that it is comforting and pleasurable to be heard
and understood” (Turkle, 2015). Through conversations with family, children begin to develop
empathy. They are able to let their ideas grow without being judged. In order for this to happen,
parents need to be mentors who are present. Phones can be very seductive and adults need to
understand that children learn by watching. Parents need to unplug and give their child the love
and attention that they need to develop empathy for others. “Children recognize a commitment to
conversation. And they see it as a commitment to family and to them. I think this can make the
difference between children who struggle to express themselves and those who are fluent...”
(Turkle, 2015). When we exchange conversations with devices, we lose the opportunity to make
eye contact, to read body language, and to truly listen. Although listening skills may start with
parents, it trickles into the classroom. At a young age students use their phones to get the
validation through texts and phones become a source of solace. Texting allows students more
space to say the ‘right’ thing and edit their responses. The conversations aren’t natural and free
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flowing.
A lot of teachers encourage collaboration and online discussion. We teach students how
to be safe ‘21st century digital learners’ but do we teach students how to converse online? In the
classroom, I provide multiple opportunities for students to interact with each other on Canvas. I
post a discussion question and they respond with their initial thoughts and then comment on the
thoughts of others. The responses are very short and limits possibility of further discussion. If
students have to defend their position on a subject, their typical response is “I respectfully
disagree”. They aren’t able to go into detail about why. This makes me wonder how I can
My first thought is to make sure students develop appropriate social skills. We are
worried about students being empathetic, but what are we doing as teachers to help students
become strong listeners? As a third grade teacher working with eight year olds, I strongly believe
in and encourage the use of community circles in the classroom. We need to develop a safe space
where students are comfortable in opening up, where they let their ideas grow without
judgement. In Turkle’s (2015) book, Reade discusses how friend-ships are now one-sided. They
broadcast their feelings but they don't listen and there is no emotional level. There is no
investment in the person. Community Circles build this investment. There are no devices out or
around, all bodies are facing one another, all eyes are on the speaker, all ears are listening.
Students won't/don't open up during the first circle, but when you do it daily, or weekly, they
begin to feel comfortable and eventually share a lot. We aren't just teachers, we are parents,
mentors, guidance counselors, friends. Students trust us. We need to create this space for
students to develop speaking and listening skills. We need students to see that moments of
silence or awkwardness are okay and they don't need to rush to their phones. Having one to one
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devices in the classroom is amazing. The opportunities are limitless. If it is clear that students
don’t understand how to have a conversation, are we using discussion boards and threads just to
Another way technology has impacted conversations in both a positive and negative way
can be seen through a writing activity known as “Two Stars and a Wish”. Students take time to
write a piece and when they are finished they read it out loud to a partner. The partner listens and
then provides two ideas that they loved about the writing and one idea that they wished could be
added. With access to one to one devices, we now have students type their work in google docs,
share with a partner and provide comments on the document. The positive is that this is a quick
efficient way to complete the activity because you can have multiple people providing advice at
any given time. What is not taken into account is the face-face questioning that unfolds and the
writer’s ability to recognize mistakes when he/she verbally reads the writing to his/her partner. I
think google docs are a powerful addition, but I don’t think students need to start there. They can
write their work, read it to a partner, bounce ideas off of one another, go add in the new
additions, type up their work, and then have a partner comment on the side bar with additional
comments. Technology in the classroom doesn’t need to and shouldn’t go away. However, it is
proper speaking and listening skills before allowing them to converse online.
Working on our phones and computers so much makes us lose the opportunity to
converse and play with ideas in the workplace and classroom. Turkle (2015) mentions classes
that are device free and how the students became much more relaxed and felt relieved because
they weren’t temped by their devices and had more control of their own attention. When we are
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on our cell phones and computers we begin to multi-task and although we may think we are
getting more accomplished, our performance is actually worse. We need to start promoting
unitasking where we are focusing on one given task at a time. When students complete these
tasks we need to encourage teamwork. Students need to work together so they can learn from
speaking and listening to one another. We give students homework where they are required to
collaborate online outside of the classroom, but it would be more beneficial to create
assignments where they are together face to face. “These educators think their schools need more
classroom time where students present opinions, hear the objections of others, and are asked to
refine their ideas. They need practice making and defending an argument” (Turkle, 2015).
very powerful tool to conduct research. The amount of resources online that can be used are very
beneficial to student success. Students spend a lot of time online, but don’t spend much time
discussing their findings. In this case, the class would benefit from a device free day, where after
their initial research, they come together and discuss their findings. They can then create a plan
for moving forward and decide on how to best use their time on their device. Are they being
biased and need to pull more sources from a different perspective? Providing students with the
time to just talk and come up with a ‘next step’ is something that they need. We were very quick
to encourage “bring your own device” to school to connect more and expand the possibilities of
completing work. I think teachers should create an “unplug from your device” day where
students focus on developing their ideas by having discussions with one another.
As I discuss the chairs and impact of technology, I am thinking about this from an
elementary teacher perspective and reflecting on what I see at my school and in my classroom.
Looking at it from a middle/high/college level, there would be similar ideas, however the impact
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of technology is probably greater due to the access older students have. This is something very
powerful to consider because if we can teach students and help them learn at a young age the
importance of self-reflection and empathy, and how to be mindful of the power of technology,
then maybe they won’t be so reliant on it in the later years. It comes down to what we know and
what we are used to. We need to break the pattern of ‘needing’ our devices and using them as
escapes. At the end of the day, what makes a difference in the lives of our students is the
“presence of one strong figure who shows an interest, who, the student would say ‘get’s me’. You
need a conversation for that” (Turkle, 2015). It is time to be mindful of the technology
surrounding us and reclaim conversation. It starts with one person. You, Dr. Marcovitz, were that
person for us, and we can be that person for our students. It’s not too late.
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References
Turkle, Sherry (2015). Reclaiming conversation: The power of talk in the digital age.