I guess I tend to see it first and foremost as a learning tool, without qualification of where the learning takes place, or what form it takes. That’s the way I see learning in general anyway really – I look at it in its broadest sense.

But in doing that I think it makes it difficult to pigeon hole, since personal development and learning becomes closely intertwined with professional development, and examples such as the learning experiences I share with my kids blurs with the topics that I’m researching elsewhere.

Of course I also see this blog as a way to model practice with other educators, particularly those who are less familiar with social media environments – not just in terms of what they are and how they work, but how their use might look from the learner’s perspective. So there is that distinct professional thread to it as well.

Then again I don’t think this blog is particularly unique in that respect – quite the contrary I would imagine. The more and more learners take to the open web to establish their own spaces, where they make the rules and dictate what is covered, when, and in what context – the more the lines between classroom and outside world, public and private, personal and professional are all going to become blurred and less easily distinguished or categorised. But that’s the way life is really: complex, rich, diverse and closely integrated and connected.

That is, there are inherent differences in each tool that facilitate different things – so it’s perhaps unfair to paint the entire topic of engaging through technology with the same broad brush, but be a bit more specific about each case.

For example, my little one is sick at the moment and feeling very yucky, so this morning we put on The Wiggles and had a cuddle on the couch together. In this case the technology played a central role in establishing a shared focal point, but it didn’t detract from our interaction since our time together was an integral component as well. So really, the TV here added to the experience instead of taking away from it.

What I want to explore in my next post, I think, is a rough categorisation of technologies based on a combination of their affordances, along with whether they are connecting or isolating mediums. This is not to say that “isolating” technologies are “bad” per se, but perhaps should instead inform the amount of time you allocate to their use.

This train of thought is still emerging as I type though more to come LOL

I’ve been writing in the mornings and when I do, I close the browser and Twitter and turn on some music. I try to spend time outside, exercising or working in the yard every day. I generally try to spend most of my afternoon offline, not returning online until 4, where I give myself an hour or two before dinner to play or read or whatever. And I’m also limiting my time in the evenings, reading books or hanging out with the family.

A bigger challenge for us, I think, is getting us all to be mindful of our time in front of the screen. My husband, who is usually doing work even in the evenings, is particularly difficult to pry away from the computer. Sigh.