 There is a fundamental shift in how we interact with technology that has been progressing for a bit more than 15 years now. Shift Sight stands firmly on one side of this shift. Other companies are scrambling to get to the other side by any means possible.
This is a great divide in technology that defines how we interact with gadgets. The implications in schools (and edtech) are especially worrying.
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 If you follow technology news, you might catch an article or two about the benefits of open-source software. A few cavalier individuals are even on a crusade to open-source all of the software in the world.
There is no such thing as a free lunch. As with most modern technology, we have become too distracted by it to notice the burden imposed by open-source software. It is rather severe.  How we see the world is based on the world that we have experienced. The advice that we give is the advice that we would give ourselves. If someone tells you that "you can't," they are actually saying that "I can't."
We are mirrors. This is not a limitation, but by design. It is nearly impossible to summon something into our consciousness that we have never encountered. If you don't believe me, close your eyes and imagine a color that nobody has ever seen before. Good luck.  Fundamentally, people excel at doing two things. We invent games. We tell stories.
Most of our daily activity can be placed into one of these bins. Even if we are on autopilot while doing repetitive work, we may tell ourselves stories as we think about our past or future. How is technology shaping our stories and games?  Here's your mental exercise tonight. Imagine that, in the photo above, each of those marbles is on a plate that you are holding. Now picture trying to dump them, single file, into a jar.
Well, on the upside, at least you don't need to expend mental energy cleaning up the mess. This exercise has very important implications in your happiness and the overall well-being of this planet.  You are either a product of your circumstances or an observer of your circumstances.
Genuine observers are scarce and difficult to find since they do not seek the limelight. They are also very happy, resilient people. Keep reading to learn about why we need more observers.  Nothing happens in a vacuum. Our entire known universe is interconnected.
Feedback is all around us. It can arrive in the form of verbal comments from a trusted friend. It can be cells in our bodies interacting with each other via biochemistry. Or, on a grand scale, it can be biodiversity in action as one species ensures the survival of another in a very obscure way. Why is it so hard for us to notice and interpret feedback all around us? What happens when feedback is manipulated artificially?  “We become what we behold. We shape our tools and then our tools shape us.” – Marshall McLuhan
What are you thinking about right now? What were you thinking about 5 minutes ago? A month ago? Our attention is our most precious commodity. It determines how we spend every minute of our day. It is also the target of companies operating in the Information Age.  Evil never presents itself as evil. There are no corporations standing on street corners twirling their proverbial mustaches.
There are lies and deception. There is whitewashing. And there is technology forced on society without full disclosure. This is a wolf in sheep's clothing. What is a common theme in the tech marketing you will hear? “This technology is helpful!”  Who likes making mistakes? Societal institutions and attitudes punish those that make mistakes. Mistakes are forbidden. This is why we hold acts of forgiveness in such high esteem.
I am not advocating that we intentionally make mistakes. I am suggesting that we need to change how we think about and act on them. Dr. Montessori was on to something when she believed that children need to make mistakes. Adults need to make mistakes too, but with a caveat. |
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Ty is a Founder of Shift Sight, LLC. Archives
February 2019
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