#mscuttle

Do you think it is possible to be addicted to technology? Do you personally have a problem with technology addiction?

I think it is definitely possible to be addicted to technology, I however do not feel that I have a personal problem with technology addiction... And the first sign is always denial. The definition of an addiction is this:

Habitual psychological and physiological dependence on a substance or practice beyond one's voluntary control

And while I do sometimes subconsciously type in "t" or "f" into the web address bar which leads me directly to Twitter or Facebook, I would say that it's not voluntary, especially considering that I've had the willpower to not go on Twitter or Facebook for the last 48 hours. I will however admit, I did WANT to, like REALLY badly, but I didn't. This just proves that I do have some sort of control over this "addiction". I did however use other types of technology, TV, using the computer for homework, in which case I wasn't completely distanced from technology, only the distracting types. I would say that my life would be a lot more boring if I weren't able to use technology and it would be hard for me to really... function. I'm finding it hard even with this detox to just be productive, I'll just stare blankly at the screen if it stops me from doing homework.

I think that in the society we live in today where people are so dependent on technology, I wouldn't necessarily call it an addiction, it's more of a lifestyle, a new way of getting things done. To completely distance one's self from technology would just make life so much more inefficient. We require technology to communicate with others, type out information quickly, learn new things. And although we can learn new things from books, there are some things that only the internet can show us. There is however, a possibility to be addicted to technology that makes us inefficient. Things like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, etc. For those who like to tweet, update their status every two minutes.. well THEY have a problem.

Does technology affect your attention span?  If yes, in what way?  If no, why not?

My attention span is very much affected by technology. *Goes on Facebook for an hour*. I find it difficult defining the line between when I should be doing school work as opposed to doing other things like going on Facebook, Twitter, etc. and I end up doing both at once. I often lose my train of thought for whatever school assignment I'm doing because I get distracted by a new notification or something. This is probably not a very good thing going into university and it is definitely something that I am trying to work on.

At the same time, a distraction is a distraction. If we're working on something that is completely uninteresting, we will find something to distract us whether it be technology or not. 

Are digital distractions a problem for you? Do you see a problem among your peers? Should teachers do anything to help students manage digital distractions?

Technology Operations & Concepts

I'm able to organize and manage my own personal files and group them accordingly, and can also use most work publishing tools online, however I'm not too familiar with online forums or database software. I think that after this IDC class though, I should be able to use these forums and database softwares. If i'm not sure how to use some devices, i'm usually capable of figuring it out on my own because most are pretty similar as to how their operated. 

Research and Information Fluency

I would say that I'm quite capable of using search engines and gathering information for projects. Although sometimes i'm not so great at knowing WHAT it is exactly that I should search for, or how I would word what I'm searching. As for citations and such, I think over the years I've improved at properly citing my work.

Critical Thinking & Problem Solving 

When organizing my notes, I would say that I usually go for the traditional route of writing notes, so I don't think i'm very strong at creating mind maps or online timelines.

Communication & Collaboration  

This is most likely my strongest skill, I usually think best when I can bounce ideas off of others and collaborate our ideas. Again, with technology, I think I can usually quickly figure out how to navigate a site that I haven't used before, because the layout is quite similar in most sites. 

Digital Citizenship  

When using other peoples work or images online, I've always learnt and made sure that I cite it and show that it is not my own work. I can generally know what sites are safe online and am able to responsibly use online content. 

Creativity & Innovation  

Since I was in middle school, I've always been familiar with different presentation methods using technology since I was in a cyber arts class, so I would like to think that I'm pretty creative with any digital presentations. However when it comes to creating my own learning resource type thing, I'm not very familiar with complex softwares. 

Skill That I Need To Develop 

This was while ago, but i really enjoyed it. Grade 10 business, also known as... alright so i don't remember the course code, big deal. Ms.Graham was teaching our class about Ergonomics, the study of comfortable office space... no just kidding, it's really the study of efficiency in working environments and also the design of proper workspace equipment to provide a comfortable environment. (So really, i was sort of right about comfortable office space) The assignment was to create an ergonomically correct office that is both professional and useable. We really had a lot of freedom as to how we went about creating the model, whether it be a floor plan, 3D model etc. My partner and I started off with trying to create a 3D model, that didn't go so well... So using our 21st century skills--which we yet to know were 21st century skills--of problem solving, we learnt to use a really cool tech tool formerly known as "Google Sketch-up" (I think its called Trimble Sketch-up now) and we ended up with a great final product of a 3D floor plan model!