Technology in Thalia

Why School Should Start Later for Teens

This Ted Talk shows the importance of sleep. This talk describes why school should start later for teens, and what positive impacts, such as mental and physical health, school starting later will bring. The talk describes negative impacts of sleep deprivation. This can begin from mental and physical health, and extends to performance in the school, attitude at home, and even dangers of driving when sleep deprived. The talk uses a lot of factual information and research to support the idea of walking up naturally, rather than a short disturbed sleep when teens must wake up early for school. 

I chose this talk as I found the title to be captivating, as it is very relatable to my life as a high school student. “Why school should start later for teens” caught my attention, as I myself am very guilty of constantly sleeping in past my alarm. I always thought that an argument for school starting later was simply the laziness of students, and us wanting to sleep in rather than constantly be waking up early for school. When I saw this topic as a Ted Talk, I thought it would be very interesting and educational to listen and learn factual information and research as to why school starting later could have many benefits for teens.

In this talk, I agree with almost everything spoken about. The talk was not only extremely relatable, but also used a lot of scientific research along with the biology of the body and brain in order to back up reasonings as to why school starting later will have a positive impact on teens. Everything said in the talk from “students resort to coffee or energy drinks”, to “sleep deprivation leads to poor mental health and moodiness”, was factually supported, and extremely relatable. Effects of sleep deprivation and how it negatively impacts students, as well as why school start times should be changed, was a very strong point throughout the talk. I agree with the whole idea of the talk, and that school starting later for teens will have benefits for not only students, but their families, and even the general public. At the end of the talk, possible positive outcomes of school starting later were talked about. This was very intriguing, relatable, and agreeable as well. 

In this talk, I disagree with “school should start no earlier than 8:30″. I disagree with this statement because although she is speaking from an American point of view (where school starting at 8:30 is one hour later), I believe school should start no earlier than 9:15. School starting at 8:45 can already be quite difficult for students who live further away from their schools (as I do). On late starts for example, I notice a big difference in not only how I feel when I wake up, but also in my performance throughout the school day. I believe school starting half an hour later than it is now (9:15), will have a huge positive impact on myself and others in terms of physical and mental health. 

One question I have after this talk is “What would be the effects if school started at 3:00pm and ended at 10:00pm?” This would be a question I have as the talk describes the negative effects of sleep deprivation, and backs up all of her points in scientific ways. If a regular school day turned into night school, how would this effect us or the body in a scientific way? Would it be better or worse for us than school hours as they are now? 

Option 3:

If I were to be elected dictator for the day, I would create a law around technology regarding usage. The law would allow for families to only have a certain amount of time daily to be on technology. This could range from 4-6 hours a day, which is still quite a lot of usage. Research has shown that children as young as 5-16 have already developed bad habits, where they are accustom to spending an average of 8 hours on the internet per day. My law will allow for this problem to be fixed, and for better habits to be formed. 

Option 2:

Overall, I think social media has a positive impact on the world; when used appropriately, and in moderation. Social media allows people to stay connected with friends and/or family, and stay updated on current news or events, all around the world. Social media is a great platform to be able to express yourself, and your interests. 

In Mythili and Maria’s presentation, LGBTQ issues were spoken about, as well as how the LGBTQ community can be harassed or unaccepted. Without social media, there would be a lot less awareness of important topics as such. Social media allows for us to not only be more aware, but to connect with others that may be going through rough patches, such as coming out as LGBTQ, letting people across the world know that they are not alone. When used appropriately, people on social media can support one another, and can teach others around the world to be more aware. This can be through simple Instagram posts, and can extend to Youtube blogs, and Twitter threads. When social media is used appropriately for movements such as when gay marriage became legal in the United States, “#lovewins”, or when Twitter recognizes diversity through hashtags such as “#LGBTtwitter”, we are able to spread love and express acceptance for all.  

In Oliver and Ajmim’s presentation, social media related to technology was discussed. Although all your information being exposed on social media was a heavy topic, if you protect yourself well with high privacy settings, social media can continue to have a positive impact. An example of this is when the Arab Spring was discussed. In 2011, when all the Middle Eastern countries were revolting. People across the world, such as here in Canada, were able to keep informed on the issues at hand. This relates back to awareness. Social media allows us to stay in touch with current news and politics, and in this presentation, it was specified that this could be done through means such as a chain of continuous Facebook comments. One friend posts something, which is shared by a friend, which is shared by another friend, and so on. This, when used appropriately, for things such as current news, has a positive impact on the world. 

I very much so enjoyed the experience of this placement plan. Although it may have been slow at times, the project allowed me to gain more knowledge with different types of technology. In this case, it was programming flippity cards for the app. This was all done while also being able to assist a teacher, which I also think was great. The project was fun and different from any other project I’ve done in high school before, making it very enjoyable.

What went well with my placement is that my partner and I were able to work together efficiently to finish a high quality project. Although the beginning of the placement might have been rough (see difficulties), by the end, my partner and I were able to work together not only to complete the project, but to solve some technological difficulties in the flippity app. By the end of our placement plan, we were able to work with focus and high spirits. 

The main difficulty that my partner and I had with our placement plan was getting in touch with a proper placement teacher. This was difficult as our teacher switched twice, and then there was some difficulty in contacting our final placement teacher. This however was solved, and we were able to complete our placement plan with more specific instruction to the teachers satisfaction. Another difficulty we had was a slight technological issue in the flippity app. We were able to solve this with strong thinking skills, developed from when we were both in the ICS class; a requirement for MaCS students. Surprisingly, the basic programming skills we learned back in grade 9 and 10 came into handy!

I consider the placement I had with my partner a success! Through our difficulties, we were able to complete a very useful project for grade 9 students learning math terminology. We used glossary words, definitions, and examples, to further the understanding of essential grade 9 math terminology, to academic, applied, or ESL students. 

This placement plan and project has high use to the placement teacher. Our flippity project will give great use and help enhance the learning to the students in the teachers grade 9 math class. This project does not really have value to IDC students/teachers, unless they are taking a grade 9 math course. However, the concept of the placement project, being the app flippity, is useful to everybody in Mackenzie, This can teach students a new learning method, that can help them study after a lesson to reinforce their learning, or even prepare for quizzes, tests, and/or exams. This can be useful for teachers as either a review for the students, or as a fun in-class activity!

At first, I was not very successful. I tried implementing the Pomodoro technique, and found myself getting quite distracted. Even though I was not distracted by my phone or social media, I often found myself  zoning out. I could, however, tell that I had more motive to do my homework as soon as I got home, And an organized workspace, being my desk, allowed me to have a more clear thinking mind. As I realized that the technique was slowly working, but not as effectively as I liked to, I began to test things out to improve the effectiveness of my strategy. The first thing I did, I found to have a lot of success. At the end of each question during my study sessions, or when I finished writing a paragraph, I gave myself 5 gummy bears. This small reward allowed me to get more into the “zone”, and have a prize at the end of each but of my hard work. After this, I found the Pomodoro technique to work excellently.

 This learning strategy improved my focus and learning, and reduced my procrastination. When I came home, my first thought was to put my textbooks and homework on my desk... which was now perfectly organized and spacious. This way, even if I wanted to procrastinate, I had the guilt of textbooks staring at me, rather than losing them in the mess of my desk. Evidence that I have to support this claim is that even my mom was pleasantly surprised by my improvement of being able to finish all my homework and assignments by mid evening, and then go to bed and get a good night rest early, rather than staying up until 3am due to my procrastination. In addition to this, my first law quiz, I received a mark of mid 70s. This was before I implemented the technique. During the week I was trying out my new learning strategy, I had a law test. Studying, using my gummy bears and the Pomodoro technique, was a lot more effective. I was able to absorb and understand information, without getting sidetracked, and received a mark of low 90s on my test. This was a much better mark compared to my last mark, before I implemented the Pomodoro technique into my studying.

Procrastinating affects me in many ways. I constantly start projects or assignments early, get distracted before completion, and then don’t return back to the project or assignment until the night before the due date. This causes me to become stressed, and my work quality greatly decreases as I have less time to go back and review or revise my work. Fixing my procrastination problem will be effective to my learning, marks, and mental health, all in positive ways. 

To work on my procrastination problem, I will implement the Pomodoro technique. Before working, I will make a plan. This will be an organized description of how my night after school will go, what order I should do projects or assignments in, and when I will take breaks. Short breaks will allow for a higher attention spam for 20-45 minutes. I will work in a spacious and organized area, where there are no distractions. I will keep in mind that getting things done now will result in having an easier week ahead of time, which I will need in case assigned more work. 

The end goal for me is to be able to complete all my assignments halfway through the assigned date, and the due date. This will give me the other half of time to be able to review and revise my work, allowing it to reach the highest level of quality possible to my capabilities. I will know if the strategy works for me if I am able to work throughout the whole 2 hours without getting distracted. This will provide an improvement in my marks, and a more organized, clear mind. 

My critical moves to implement this will include a half hour snack break after school, and then 2 hours of focused homework everyday, in a clean, organized, quiet, desk. I will take a 5 minute break every 30 minutes. I will not take breaks browsing the web or checking my phone in order to avoid the negative effects of a distracted mind, even later on when focused. This was described under the multitasking presentation. Even when returning to work after doing something that was distracting, your focus levels do not return to as high as they were before. Instead, I will take 5 minutes to step away from my workspace, stretch, or walk around my living room. Throughout the school day, I will also make a list of all the homework or assignments that need completion. This will allow me to go through an organized checklist as I work, and complete work.

I will shrink the change by using the Pomodoro technique gradually so that it becomes a natural habit. I will begin in sessions. For example, first week, I will do one session of a 30 minute study with a 5 minute break, returned to a 30 minute study. The second week, I will add another break and study. The third week, I’ll add another break and study. This gradually leads up to me getting to my goal of a 2 hour focused work time, without forcing it upon myself. Doing this step by step will allow me to get into the habit of the Pomodoro technique, where it is more of a natural habit versus me forcing myself.  

I do not feel as if school is adequately preparing me for the future. Although I can agree that school does prepare you with adequate skills needed in many work forces, such as business, law, or science, I do not believe that school prepares you with the knowledge of many necessary life skills. Although school taught skills are very important, these cannot be used without life skills. For example, numeracy skills cannot be put into use when paying taxes if you do not know how to pay bills in the first place. It is impossible to be adequately prepared for the infinite possibilities we might face in day to day life; monthly bills just being a small example of something all adults face. 

Personally, I feel that technology enhances my learning. Not only can I use technology as assistance (such as typing a question into google when I don’t understand my homework, checking what assignments I have to do when a teacher posts on their websites, or finding my online textbook because mine is sitting in my locker over the weekend), but I also rely on technology heavily for assignments. Technological aids, such as Powerpoint or Prezi, offer visually appealing learning aids for many of my presentations. This not only allows the class to be more engaged in my presentations, but usually grants me a higher mark too. 

I find that when teachers incorporate technology into their lessons, not only does the class become more appealing to me, but I can also understand the information being taught a lot better. Technological aids used by teachers, such as a documentary projected onto a smartboard, allow me to better absorb lessons, and truly leave class knowing I learned something not only new, but useful. Although I do not mind a hard cover textbook, or even writing pen to paper, technology is becoming more innovative, allowing most tasks to be done a lot faster. When a teacher teaches a lesson through Powerpoint, I do believe that it is faster than writing on a chalkboard. This allows me to look at all the information in a specific part of a lesson before cutting out flowery writing, and only putting down the important information on paper. In addition to this, lessons do go by faster, allowing for time to either ask questions, review the lesson, or get started on homework. All of this allows me to enjoy a class more, better understand what is being taught to me, and better succeed in the class overall.

Personally, I do prefer when teachers use technology in class. It doesn’t necessarily matter to me to the point where if a teacher chooses to not use technology I would drop the course, however the use of technology in the classroom is a preference to me. This allows for more convenience (such as teacher websites), and better course content understanding. The use of technology in classrooms today allow me to succeed to better extents in school, while staying organized.