Media Free Living Spaces Week 1

5/2 - Tomorrow is the big day!! All incoming media is shut off. And, I have so much grading.....should I rethink this? We took two road trips this weekend to visit my brothers. Perhaps I've been oblivious to the obvious but, on several occasions I saw bill boards saying "Make your car a no phone zone". My first thought was to get around the safety issue because I don't want to do without the phone. To do this, we need hands free capability - just another piece of technology I need!! Then, the phrase 'no phone zone' reminded me of my impending 'media free living space'. How long will we last? One child has predicted two weeks. I thought that was rather ambitious given that they are against it and I'm getting nervous!!

The kids have started to milk every minute of media, out of me, that they can get. One child has revisited his DS and his Gameboy Advance SP......Previously, they were buried in his back pack. I think he is constructing his strategy for back up media use. Such a good planner......alas, now I'll have to address this. The idea is to free up our home time, enjoy family time, and decrease the amount of time we spend engaging with media. I want to use the tools; but, I want to use the tools wisely and efficiently. Hand held video games may not have a place in my grand scheme!

Brad, my husband, has not complained a bit. Of course, he's been busy out of town off an on for the last couple of weeks so he's hardly noticed. He has access to media in the hotel rooms. As for me, I've started plotting ways to retain access while the house is cut off. Perhaps IPhones are now in order? The kids might consider this cheating so I'll wait......

An occasional pang of guilt strikes as I consider what my boys get from their social media connections. Each day, they would connect with friends and play games virtually. I looked at these times as the 21st century equivalent to monopoly, battle ship or scrabble (the games I used to play). I don't want them to miss out on these opportunities to engage with peers, yet I do see a need for change in our home with respect to media. I'm leaving this thought with some words of one of my favorite theorists - Jame Gee, provided by Edutopia:

Big Thinkers: James Paul Gee on Grading with Games | Edutopia

4/28 - Now that the weekend has passed and the viral threat is over, the kids are rethinking this adventure. One concern from both boys was how they would keep in touch with the friends they 'see' primarily online. I have to admit, one thing I have liked about highly interactive virtual environments (HIVEs) is that my kids have been able to 'play' with their friends - even if virtually - in a safe place (our home). Distance and danger makes it difficult for children to run around outside the way they used to; so, the XBOX 360 has been great for my oldest child. He's got friends spread out over the metroplex. Much like neighborhood kids know when their friends can play or ride bikes, my son and his virtual friends 'know' when they can get together for virtual gaming....at about the same time each day. My youngest son uses a speaker phone and computer to play online games with his friend. Again, they know each other's schedule and I'm able to supervise and join in their conversation. I love it. It's a great way to nurture friendships. Makes me feel a little sad as I don't want them to miss each other! And, I love to nurture good friendships.....

I reminded them (and myself), it's only for the summer (unless we really like having a media free living space) AND we will find other ways to visit with their friends. Our first outing with their virtual playmates and friends is a trip to Six Flags for the annual home school day.

Another thing - I have a media free bedroom policy. We do not have televisions, electronic games or computers in any of our bedrooms. A good night's sleep is essential for optimal growth, health, development and academic performance. Also, if we are going to use media - I don't want us in five separate rooms doing our own thing. The policy works well, I think. Everyone falls asleep rather quickly and there's no isolating behind closed doors. I'm hoping we get some of the same benefits this summer with our media 'diet'. At the worst, we will come away with new ways to maintain safety as media comes in and we may put new 'policies' in place to curtail the number of negotiations and the amount of time spent on media.

Lastly, I've asked the kids to journal about our media diet this summer. They didn't like that idea either. I read an article at the Chronicle.com describing a study examining college level students' reaction to abstaining from social media for one day. The students experienced withdrawal symptoms after only one day!!! What about an entire summer? At least for us, the incoming media is only off limits at home. We will simply feed our habits else where and it will require more effort! Home will be used for other activities I hope. Bless their hearts......

4/27 - It's Tuesday morning. The computer is loading updates and the offensive material seems to be gone. We shall see....While working on the computer virus, I decided to seize my youngest son's IPOD Touch. I had already decided he was too young for this tool and it sat, under used, for months. Hence, this was a good time to have a look. I figured this would help me decide whether I would like an IPhone, or not; and, honestly, I've been lusting after the IPhone for awhile.

I discovered a couple things. One, I LOVE the IPOD Touch......So, I'm pretty sure an IPhone or an IPad is in my future. This is a handy tool for checking e-mail, getting directions, checking time, keeping a calendar, and maintaining an address book. I'm sure most people know this by now as I've been a little slow with my cell phone upgrades. I have concentrated on other items needed for dissertation such as End Note, NVivo, Adobe, a projector, and a 500 GB storage device. I did find one reason to keep IPhones out of a child's hand, though. Despite the fact that I have set all ITunes programs on all five computers to TEEN - I still found x-rated material coming at me while I searched free applications on the IPOD Touch. This is nothing less than thinking we are walking into a PG film only to find we've entered an X-Rated movie - WITH CHILDREN!!!! How many children are walking around with these phones while parents think they've put proper restrictions in place? It's infuriating and I'm still mulling this over........

Has it gotten to the point that children aren't even safe in their own homes?

On a positive note, DISH waived our final bill!! ;)

4/26 - Our first day. Children complained, the husband feigned concern over my difficulties in teaching online if I don't have internet access at home and I worried myself....but, I didn't worry for long. On the first day, after much complaint from the children, our oldest daughter encountered a computer virus. X rated web sites kept popping up (fortunately, without the pictures) and security warnings were nonstop.....This brought them into the fold. We are all in agreement and the adventure began with several phone calls canceling or suspending services. Don't get me wrong, please. I love tech tools and we will continue to use them. I am simply pulling them from my home! I want safe, healthy access and I want to see if we fare better as a family with technology maintained outside the home (at least while growing children are here).....

Later, I began work on eradicating the virus. I didn't crawl into bed until 6am but I couldn't sleep until I knew the mess was cleaned up....I had several FB friends share their experience with this so I know I'm not alone!

Media Free Living Spaces

So, this weekend we had a media incident in our family. It was an important weekend. My six year marriage anniversary and my daughter's prom both fell on Saturday of this weekend. I had big plans to thoroughly enjoy myself. Hence, this was not the right weekend to bother me with trivial matters - and, it was certainly not the weekend to pester me with or about media issues. While, I love media and enjoy gadgetry, I've been vexed by media quite often of late. This last incident took me over the edge.

What bothers me about media? It bothers me when I find out my child has accepted text messages from someone or some organization that he or she is not familiar with despite frequent warnings. It bothers me when my children hound me throughout the day, on a daily basis, to play XBOX or Webkinz. I am concerned when I can see they are cleaning, or completing school work, or playing their music just to get through it so they can return to media. I am incensed when my husband sits at the computer and plays solitaire for hours on end....while watching scores and play by play action of his favorite baseball team via the web. I am not against Facebook; infact, I love Facebook but I don't like to look up from work to see my daughter on Facebook and distracted from her studies. I loathe the constant banter of sportscasters in the background knowing that we could all be outside throwing a frisbee, riding bikes or walking the dogs; yet, we allow ourselves to be held captive as mere spectators. For me, I am often distracted from my reading and note taking as I wander aimlessly in the world wide web looking for new resources or reading the latest news! Then finally, I was furious that I left my volunteer position at prom early to return home because my husband and son were having a disagreement over the amount of time that should be spent with media. In the end, I believe they were both right and they were both wrong. Still, I missed out on watching my daughter make her grand entrance (this prom was phenomenal and the decorations were breath taking - I couldn't wait to see her face) and I missed out on getting photos with her. Everyone else has a photo with her - even my husband and boys; but, I am painfully absent as I was busy working behind the scenes and then busy rushing home to keep peace. So, I have had it.....

My plan is this: I will suspend all incoming media, such as internet and satellite, in our living space (our home) for all of May, June and July. I want to keep a journal to see how we fare without media as it has become an integral part of our life. And, I do not say this lightly. We have five computers in our home, one for each of us!

The internet, in particular, has become a very important tool that we use daily. For example, I home school and my daughter has one online class that meets three times a week. We have to have access to the internet for this. I also have a wiki that I use for some of our studies. I have begun work on a world history class that my daughter is using to meet this high school requirement. I love my wiki and I am amazed at the number of resources I have found to help us enjoy learning about world history. I think of Guns, Germs and Steel - this is but one of the many resources I've found. This documentary is a fascinating look at why some civilizations may have become more powerful, or advanced, than other civilizations. To use this wiki, we will have to travel to a library or internet cafe. I imagine this will be a very difficult adjustment for both student and teacher!

My boys use media for their studies as well. We have enjoyed Teaching Textbooks and Switched on Schoolhouse(SOS). While they can use these without internet access, SOS provides links to outside web resources that may enhance learning. I utilize internet games to help with rote memorization drills. One of my favorite sites is Arcademic Skill Builders (yes, it's really spelled that way). Here, my boys can play math games with other students online. They enjoy it and it helps them with instant recall. I have no doubt we will miss this.

It's easy to see how I will miss the internet as a homeschool mom. But, as the manager of our household, I use the internet to balance my checkbook, make grocery lists and prepare my menus. I love MyRecipes.com - this, along with my blog and wiki, is a perfect example of cloud computing. I hold all of my recipes, menus and shopping lists here and I never have to hunt for a recipe again. The idea of having to travel somewhere to access these tools makes this plan of mine difficult to swallow. I don't know if I can do this!!

On top of everything else, my husband and I both, like many - if not most - Americans, use the internet in our everyday jobs. Brad often comes home to take care of things he did not have time for at the office. There are fewer interruptions here at home. I assist in an online class. Plus, as a doctoral student who has comprehensive exams and dissertation looming ahead (not to mention several research projects), I rather dread a daily trek to the library when I could easily walk to my lap top each day to complete much of my literature review and grading. This may be hardest on me; but, I feel as though our family needs some sort of intervention and this is what comes to mind. Negotiating and making life style changes have not yet worked as I must still wrestle with the monster on a daily basis. The monster is incoming media and the negotiating comes through my family - can I finish watching this, can I finish this match, can I call Josh to play on Webkinz, can you hand me the romote, change the channel, mute this, mute that and on and on it goes!!!!! Are the rewards greater than the hassles associated with media in the home? Can we keep media at bay by keeping it out of the home while we will go to it, rather than it coming to us? I don't know if this will work; but, I'm going to try. Here after, this will be my journal documenting this little adventure I have set before us!