This weekend, as part of a class assignment, the 808 – Technology and Literacy course was required to go “tech free” for 24 hours.  My initial thoughts about this were, “man, I think this will be fun.”  The more I thought about it, I began to think, “hmmm….how fun WILL this be?”  This blog will journal my time going Tech Free from Thursday June 2 @ 5:00 PM to Friday June 3 @ 5:00 PM.

Thursday June 2 –

5:00 PM:  I got back to room a little before 5:0o.  The meet and greet with the 1st year cohort is tonight so that will give me a chance to talk to people and not think so much about not having my technology.  I am writing this in my notebook so that I can recall this when I want to type this in the journal after I’m done tomorrow.  I’m glad “The Squad” (my PhD. cohort) decided to do this together as a group AND I’m glad we decided that we would not use technology post 2000.  If we had not done that, this would have been really bad because people would have started saying stuff like “oh, we can’t use lights or the stove/microwave.”  That would have been crap.  I laid down for a bit, but then Bita stopped by to bring back the headphones I let her borrow and she brought my external flash drive that I was looking for all day.  Thank God for that!  She mentioned that they were helping to set up for the party so I agreed that I would go and help.  That would get me out of the room and out of the silence… We took the stairs down to the first floor and helped with the set up.  That helped me out.  I turned off my phone at 5 and did not touch the TV at all.

6:00 PM:  Between 5 and 6, Mellissa and I drove to the Little Caesars inside the Kmart, inside the mall (imagine that).  We violated the tech free a bit because my car is 2011, however, I did turn the Satellite Radio off since that was a clear use of modern technology.  We talked in the car and had a good conversation.  Once we got to Little Caesars, we did have to use our credit cards to pay for the food which was for the party.  Once we arrived at the party, we were so engaged in conversation, that the technology was not missed.

7:00 PM:  As the party wrapped up, we all contributed to the clean up.  We decided since we had a little bit of energy and could not really work on other assignments like we wanted to, we all went to The Coney on Philadelphia to have drinks and to converse more.  I was still feeling o.k. not using the technology because I was out with other people – interacting and enjoying each other.  Abby did mention that she felt like she was missing an appendage because she felt like she was forgetting her phone.  Once we got to The Coney, we sat down and Jack noticed a TV that was facing him.  He moved to the other end of the table so that he would not be tempted to watch it.  Again, the conversation was good and I was a bit tired from the day so after we talked for a while, I went back home to go to bed.

9:00 PM:  Mellissa, Bita and I walked back to our apartments.  When I got back to my apartment, I wanted to turn the TV on to wind down, but I remembered not to.  I was so tired from the day, that I did not feel too awkward not doing that.  The only noise in the room was the air conditioner coming on/going off and actually, I forgot that my tablet was still on and plugged up.  A notification alert came through and made  sound.  I had to refrain from going to the tablet to check it.  I actually left the tablet on because I didn’t want to touch it for fear of violating my agreement.  Sleep came rather quickly.

Friday June 3-

7:30 AM:  I awoke confused about the dreams of sex and work that I had throughout the night.  I looked at my alarm clock (somewhat of a violation) just to see what time it was.  I made breakfast and ate because I had to attend a workshop sponsored by the Writing Center, “Word – Beyond the Basics” at 9.  I took a shower and got dressed with no noise of the TV or music.  On my way out, I almost grabbed my iPod and headphones, but I realized what I was doing, sucked my teeth, and continued out the door on my way to the Writing Center.

8:30 AM:  As I was walking to the Writing Center, I got lost.  I could have just looked at a campus map on my phone, but I did not have it.  I finally asked a student where it was because I had only been there one time.  I found it as well as some of the 1st year cohort students who were attending as well.  Computers flooded the writing center.  I figured if I was going violate my tech free rule, this would be it.  Then I had the idea, maybe I would just take notes and not use the computer at all.

9:30 AM:  Eureka!  Not touching the computer worked.  I still violated a bit because I was looking at the computer screen/projection screen but I did not touch a computer.  Actually taking notes worked better for what we were doing because much of it incorporated using shortcut keys and instructions on where to find certain things.  I wish I could contact others to see what they are doing.  According to the plan we set at The Coney the night before, we were planning to meet at the Library at 10 and study until about 12, then meet at Amadeus Cafe at 2 and work until 5.  The library is where I am headed after the workshop.

10:30 AM:  Got to the library and met Jack, Meg, and Abby.  We spent our time reading articles and bouncing ideas off of each other about possible research topics for Dr. Hanauer’s class next session.  As I was writing in my notebook, I realized how much easier it would have been to just type my notes about the articles on my computer and to do some research while reading.  I also wanted to check some emails.

11:30 AM:  I was still reading and planned to grab some lunch at 12:30 PM.

12:30 PM:  Grabbed lunch at my apartment.  It was really tough not to turn on the TV because I am so used to eating and watching TV.  After I ate, I took a small nap in silence.  I noticed that my tablet was still on because another notification came through.  I sighed and continued to lay on my love seat.

1:30 PM:  Awoke from my nap and got myself ready to walk to Cafe Amadeus.  I needed to go to my car to grab some clothes to be dry cleaned as the cleaners was on the way.  I mistakenly took the elevator to the 1st floor instead of the stairs (another small violation). I stopped at the dry cleaners and dropped off my clothes.  I also stopped at an IUP gift shop and Greek Paraphernalia shop.  I decided to buy an IUP T-shirt and as I was walking to the register, a TV with Julie Chen’s face was staring me in the face.  I immediately looked away and tried to avoid it.  I could not even look the cashier in the face because the TV was right behind him.  I managed to get through that but it was hard because I wanted to make eye contact.

2:30 PM:  I made it Cafe Amadeus and met Meg, Jack, Abby, and John.  There was music playing the background while we worked but I don’t think it was too much of a violation because they were playing songs like, “Kokomo,” “We Are the World,” and some unrecognizable Michael Jackson songs that we deemed must have either come from “Michael Jackson:  The Lost Album” or must have been new music that he just released because he is not dead.

3:30 PM:  Still working a bit at Cafe Amadeus.  Bounced some ideas off of Jack and Meg for my research topic for Hanauer’s Class.

4:30 PM:  Left Cafe Amadeus a bit before 4:30.  Meg is now back to her tech and I wish I could see the elation on her face.  I decided to walk back home and go get ice cream for being so productive throughout the day.

5:00 PM:  I am FREE!!! I turned on the TV, turned on my cell phone, and started checking messages and notifications on my tablet.  It took me about 1.5 hours to catch up on everything – including finding out that my uncle passed away during my tech free 24 hours.

The Aftermath:

I have learned that I don’t really need technology to survive – as long as I am around people.  If I had to do this by myself, I could not have made it.  I would like to try this assignment in my Writing in a Digital World course towards the beginning just to see how well the students handle it.  It could work to show the students that writing – albeit much easier to use technology – isn’t the only way to convey your ideas and ultimately get your point across.  I enjoyed this experience, but I don’t want to do it again anytime soon.

DM