Attempting to stop the computer technology that is starting to take over my life

This week has me reflecting on my relationship with computer technology as a student, instructor, and as a "regular" person. And, as I consider those different types of relationships that I have with computer technology - I feel as if it is slowly making me so dependent on it that its beginning to take over my life.

As a student, I've seen a steady increase in the amount of time that I spend using computer technology. Where I once mainly used a computer to word process or occasionally use the electronic mail features associated with computer technology, I now find myself using computer technology, in one form or another, more than I sleep. My current scholarship has me using computer technology to do virtually any and ever thing. I can research, word process, electronic mail, skype, tweet, give presentations, and a panoply of other features which, in theory, should assist in making me a "better student". However, with all of the "assistance" that this technology is allowing, it is sometimes hard not to psychically go through the actions of researching, writing, conversing, etc in real time and not in the time of computer technology. I'm beginning to feel lazy and less creative as a student because the allowances of computer technology sometimes have me taking the easier way.

Even as an instructor I've seen my dependence on computer technology greatly increase. At the start of last semester, my first time instructing at the college level, I was determined not to use computer technology in my pedagogy because I felt that it would be more of a hindrance than a help to my students. I was unsure of how to teach them how to most effectively use computer technology in the scope of our class without feeling like they were using digital spaces such as easybib.com because it did the work for them, and not because they knew how to do it and were in a time crunch. Aside from actual instruction with my class, I also depend heavily on computer technology to keep me current with the questions/concerns that are vocalized by my students which are sent to me via electronic mail and the facebook profile that is a part of the course. I find myself checking my email routinely throughout the day and night so that I may assist my students with the work that they are doing. And now that this type of technology has infiltrated my student/instructor side in the way that it has, I've found that it is now greatly affecting me as a "regular" person.

Currently I have a Blackberry which has my student and instructor emails, access to the facebook group that I have for my English 101 class(s), my twitter and blogger accounts for my scholarship as a student, and every other form of computer technology that I should need. I can now do everything from my phone, which has made separating my personal and academic lives somewhat of a nightmare. I'm constantly getting messages and updates throughout the day and into the night from both sides of the spectrum. The computer technology helps me maintain and stay abreast on assignments/tasks that I have, but it makes time outside of academia virtually nonexistent and now a part of my personal life. I've been seeing, and using, these different forms of "new media" routinely for the last few years and it is hard to imagine that I'll be stopping any time soon.

Anne Frances Wysocki, in her piece "Opening New Media to Writing: Openings & Justifications" states that "new media texts do not have to be digital; instead, any text that has been designed so that its materiality is not effaced can count as new media. New media texts can be made of anything; what is important is that whoever produces the text and whoever consumes it understand" (15). Due to this understanding of new media, I feel that in order to redefine the relationship that I have with computer technology, I need to reassess how I've been using it and currently understand its purpose - and not let it take over. I use computer technology and new media(s) so much, currently, that I have looked past just how effective it has been and focused on my over use of it. The new media that I've incorporated into my pedagogy has greatly improved the instructing that I do, as well as the new media that I'm using in my scholarship as a student. I think the lack of understanding that I'm dealing with, is how to keep it from seeping into my personal sphere.

Today...I had a moment. (Teching w/ Technology - Arola)

While I was reading Made Not Only in Words: Composition in a New Key by Kathleen Yancey, the first sentence of her piece struck a chord inside of me that made me, once again, a believer in academia. In her piece, Kathleen states that "sometimes, you know, you have a moment," and today I most definitely did (297).

As my current scholarship has me researching the use of technology in the classroom and the pedagogy of the instructors as a result of the increased technology being brought and used in the class, I've found myself incorporating digital spaces such as facebook.com and prezi.com into my English 101 pedagogy to see how it plays out firsthand.

One of the requirements for my 101 class is for the students to add the facebook profile that I've designed specifically for the course, and to use the info in the profile to help them stay current with the movements of the course.

It was during the process of adding students to the course facebook profile that I knew I had my moment. One of my students wrote, "a class that uses facebook, the greatest thing ever." I was overjoyed, and really encouraged that the work I am currently doing is being understood the way I envisioned it to be - even if its only one student that picks up on it.