Unplugged!

Technology's Ultimate Challenge: Live Without it for a Day

It's only natural to wonder about the increasing influence of technology in the classroom, said Melinda George, executive director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association (www.setda.org). Anyone over age 40 can probably recall switching television channels without a remote, spinning LPs instead of CDs and using the card catalogs in the school library. "In my day," goes the argument, "we didn't have computers, PowerPoint or SmartBoards and we still learned our lessons."

A fair point, said George, but one that must be weighed against the realities of today's education. "Technology is everywhere, part of everything we do." For most K-12 students, technology has been something they've grown up with, "and many are very savvy," said George. But in less affluent school districts, from the inner city to the remote rural area, "a lot of students don't have access to technology except through schools and libraries. We want Congress to hear how critical technology is to the lives of our 21 st-century students."

To make those voices heard, SETDA organized the first Technology Blackout day. Held April 20 (but extending all through May), this event was designed as both a wake-up call and a call to action.

Unlike other initiatives such as National TV-Turnoff Week, "Technology Blackout" was not originally intended to result in the unplugging of monitors, the canceling of e-mail accounts or even the confiscation of a GameBoy. Instead, "we were just asking people to use their imagination," noted George. "To think about the role of technology, then use the technology to record your impressions."

A Step into the Past

But Deb Ray, assistant technology director of Lexington Eastern Elementary School, was eager to take the experiment one step further. The Ohio school serves grades 4-6, and the students had never known a time without technology. "We decided that to really make an impact as well as serve the Technology strand of the Ohio standards, we would hold a real blackout day," Ray said.

That April 20 morning, the school announcements told students (and a somewhat surprised staff) that there would be no modern conveniences used that day. That included "no computer lab classes, no DVDs, no VCRs, no overhead projectors, no copy machines and no Dupo machines," noted Ray.

And the outcome? "The inability to use computers was really felt!," said Ray. With the automated library system off limits, for example, staff and students "had to resort to the 'old fashioned' method of signing books in and out. Our teachers' online attendance, lunch count and grading programs were also not used."

Paper and pencil replaced the keyboard. The squeak of chalk on a blackboard was heard for the first time since SmartBoards were installed. Even the "zapping" of reheated coffee in a microwave oven took a back seat to the classic electric coffee pot.

Lexington's Technology Blackout day wasn't easy, Ray said, but it was enlightening. "The entire day provided for some great discussion and 'teachable moments.' There were also some journaling and writing activities as some of the students' initial reactions were that of anger." But students and staff alike rose to the unusual challenge: "I believe we were able to convey in an unforgettable manner how much technology touches and changes lives."

Getting involved
Nearly 1,000 schools participated in Technology Blackout Day on April 20, but educators, administrators can get involved any time during the month of May. SETDA has designed K-12 lessons and activities that support state curriculum standards in social studies, reading and writing.

Participating in activities and submitting your outcome may win you a prize. Visit www.technologyblackoutday.com for details.

Parents are also invited to participate. Home-based initiatives can be as basic as a dinner-table conversation: "What would you do without your computer?"