Thoughts:
This week we are beginning to explore ideas about digital competency development and what role technology plays in learning&teaching. During Tuesdays webinar we discussed how perception then leads actions. For example, viewing digital technology as a tool vs a space to inhabit and collaborate. I had not thought of technology in this way before. Rolling things over in my mind .... If we view portals as a type of digital coffee house where we go to encounter others, then group dynamics play a role in the level of satisfaction one feels after the encounter.
- What social norms do we expect/have when engaging in this type of activity?
- How do we perceive others and what do we use to measure others? (Because we do judge)
I am brought back to one story of a mother here in Finland who felt like the black sheep because her 6 year old daughter's school had implemented online platforms parents were expected to use daily to keep up with what was happening at school. This mother was from a foreign country and her Finnish language skills were only basic. Too, she had not had computers growing up and could barely manage the basics. Navigating this schools many portals was simply impossible. Even if she had the time in the evenings after a long day at work, she spent even more time trying to figure out what the teacher expected from her. So, within a few weeks this immigrant mother and her 6 year old daughter where labeled by that small group. The child was constantly embarrassed because she did not have the correct shoes or permission slip and this went on and on. On the playground this small child was made fun of by the other children and often was found hiding, trying to escape the abuse.
The teachers became frustrated with this mother and sent angry messages to her. Finally when the mother was called into school, the rector also sat her down and began to explain things to the mother, of course in Finnish...the pattern continued for many months...think of the impact on a developing child, the other children - what are we teaching them through our actions and inaction, the teachers, the other parents, the community?
I am wondering if we get so caught up in creating platforms because it is expected that we provide services online now. We want to "keep up with others and pat ourselves on the back because we are doing the "right" thing, what is expected of us.
We get tunnel vision and perhaps forget to ask ourselves should we be creating these platforms and for whom?
The mother here was an immigrant but we see the same dynamics at play in each society regardless of origin, religion, gender. We can take Facebook for example. If I get an invitation to connect with someone on Facebook it shows that person's statistics. Lets say this person has 1000 friends, I feel, wow this person is really important, look at all their friends. Oh and see they are friends with that famous person XXX. And wow, where did they go for vacation last year! Oh, for sure I want to be their friend. Whereas if someone has less than 100 friends, it is saying that a person is a "looser". Really they should hang their head in shame...Competition on these social sites does exist and we tend to classify people based on what is shown on these pages ... I wonder what implications all of this will have on the fabric of society in 100 years time?
Having said this when I look back in time and think to myself, hummm, I wonder that thoughts humanity had with the invention of electricity or that of the telephone? Did we ask similar questions and contemplate the potential fallout of that invention. Now we are communicating with classmates around the world because of that invention. Too, great harm has been committed through these inventions...
In the end, is it the human soul or spirit that decides ...(stigmatize).... we either build and encourage one another using tools like digital technology or then use these same spaces to tear down others. Perhaps we do a bit of both....?
Hummm.... thinking....If digital competency is one arm and we only develop say our right arm it becomes very powerful but what about the left arm? Do we exercise that as well? We could think of the left arm as caring for one another (patience, kindness, grace, forgiveness, compassion). We walk on this planet with two equally powerful arms.
In class I teach new nursing students that "doing things is not nursing". Yes, we need skills and competencies technical in nature but we also need caring. (Our left arm) We need to care for patients using both hands because if we only use our right arm (technical) we could do things perfectly and still injure the patient. (The patient is just like a car on an assembly line, assembly line nursing) If we only use our left arm we care very much but unless we can act properly using skills the patient will be injured.) Nurse with both hands is our motto :)
Hummm, no clear answers ...will think about these things....maybe it will become clearer by the end of this course.
