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!