Technology and Learning

I have a sort of love - hate relationship with technology.  I like to have access to it, I also very much like some parts of life void of it, or some time void of it.  I think Ranald MacCaulay's 'Technology Sabbath' talk still rings in my ears somtimes.  We don't have the latest/fanciest gadgets - there is no iAnything in our home right now, but we do have some useful gadgets and I try to look at them as tools.  There are other pieces of technology and ways that technology is used in our home that I find distracting/disruptive and we try to keep within certain boundaries. 

One thing I am very thankful for, however, is the amazing access we have through our cable internet connection and wireless network in our home to learn - espeically from videos.  To see and meet people and connect with their ideas in a way that we would never be able to - even with the perfect book.

A couple of years ago I read Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks and fell in love with this man and how his mind works and his passion for learning and creative thinking.  The boys have seen his videos on Ted Talks and I've read to them excerpts from some of his books.  When Jonathan takes Chemistry (hopefully next year) Uncle Tungsten will be required reading.

This morning while doing some reading about desks and workspaces because I've been thinking about these areas in our own home I happened across this video from another favorite use of technology around here (NPR on the radio, internet, mp3player, phone, etc.).  A chance to see Oliver Sacks in his periodic table T-shirt sitting at his desk talking about how he works - "Yes, please!"



Evidently Science Friday did a whole series of these this year called Desktop Diaries.