Turkle & Wesch

In Turkle's article "The Flight From Conversation", she shares her perspective on the technological universe that we live in today. She discusses that in our current society, we have sacrificed conversation with each other for simple connection (in the form of our communicative technologies). Though we are all connected together through our cellphones, we are not interacting in the same ways we have in the past. This has left us in a 'Goldilocks' zone according to Turkle, in which we use our technology in order to not be too close and not too far from others. In this zone of disconnection, we can be left feeling alone, with our technologies acting as a crutch we use to fend off the feelings of loneliness while only continuing the problem. She ends her article with a quote that succinctly summarizes her stance on new technologies, "If we are unable to be alone, we are far more likely to be lonely".
 In Wesch's article, "Anti-Teaching: Confronting the Crisis of Significance" he speaks about his experience with education and the concept he calls "Anti-Teaching". Wesch struggles with the idea of what teaching means versus what it has become. The education he compares anti-teaching to is one that I, and likely all of us, have experienced; large classrooms, neat rows and desks, and students asking "How long does this paper have to be?". Wesch argues that this form of teaching does not instill true learning that is significant to students, and simply teaches them how to pass arbitrary tests. In order to combat this, Wesch integrates as much connection into his classroom, both personally with his students and through technology. One of his projects involves students digitally creating a time-continuum of humanity that they show at the end of the semester. 

In regards to technology and connection in the classroom, I feel like these two authors are allies, in that they are both attempting to solve the issue of connection and significance in our society. While they are attempting to solve the same problem, they do not have the same viewpoint in regards to fixing this problem. Turkle argues that the solution to the problem is seemingly to avoid technology, removing it from spaces that should be technology free (certain rooms, offices or her trip to Cape Cod). On the other end of the debate, Wesch believes that we must learn to integrate these technologies in order to build connection. Rather than removing technology from his class, he has students embrace it and build connection through his projects or projecting screens onto the wall. Though drastically different solutions, both are working to build connection amongst our world and our students.

If I were to pick a side, I side with Wesch in this debate. Technology is not going to go anywhere, and metaphorically crawling under a rock (or Thoreau-ing it up in Cape Cod) will not teach our students how to use technology in a healthy way. In many debates, one side is often attempting to uphold the status quo, or the way things used to be. If we do not move forward and upset status quo, our society will stagnate. I think that if we were to think of ways to critically integrate technology into our lives in unique and meaningful ways, we can keep our classrooms and world progressively moving forward.