It’s an unconnection record! And I survived!

One whole week. Not one of those wimpy work-week things. A real seven day version. I was disconnected for over 168 consecutive hours. No email, word processing, or texting. I didn’t touch a keyboard. And I only made one phone call during that period – to check on my Mom.
Things were shaky at first. Reaching in my pocket for my phone only to find I was in a bathing suit. Mentally composing emails that had to be sent. A sinking feeling of nonproductivity. Then I started to notice some things around me – humans. Turns out I am related to at least three nearby – my wife and two sons.
On the beach, I realized that this was the longest stretch of time that I had been disconnected in the 21 years I have been teaching at UGA. And the string probably goes back farther. I may be “gone” but I am always connected. In Transylvania I checked email. In Barcelona a couple of weeks ago, I actually taught class via VOIP (Skype). I have been proud that I am never disconnected. Professor “always on.”
But connectivity takes its toll. My interactions are chunked into messages.. Emails. Texts.. Voicemails (nobody ever answers the phone). Short. Discreet. Contained. Data processed. I/O. Tasks completed. My job reduced to a binary string of digital details.
But in Cabo, my family stopping tapping and started talking. Lingered at the dinner table. Conversed about the profound and the petty. And sometimes just sat together without saying a thing.
Now I am back, typing away. Thkfuly the time way hasn’’t affected my perFOMeance. It is tempting to spew those resolutions about slowing down and turning off. But that won’t happen. It is what I do and now it is even who I am. But it will be fun to remember what is like to truly be “away.” And I have a tattoo to remind me.

This DBB (Tu, 3/18) -- Teaching in/with Virtual Worlds – Brett Robinson

Flying. Outrageous avatars. Alternative gender experimentations. Pretend dollars you can convert to real ones. Yeah, virtual worlds like Second Life are, well, interesting, right? But do they have pedagogical value? Can they be used as a teaching tool? I have been watching Brett Robinson (Grady Ph.D. student and NMI teaching assistant) explore the ways that Second Life can be used to teach visual story-telling. And it is cool. At our next Digital Brown Bag (Tuesday, 3/18. 12:30P, NMI, 412 Journalism) Brett will be sharing some of his experiences. Join us!