A Mediated Life

This weekend I went to Kansas City to visit my mother. I took Sam, which means that I also took all of the things that have to travel with Sam (diapers, toys, many changes of clothes, food, bottles, stroller, car seat, etc.). As I was packing, I laid everything out on the bed so that I could figure out how many bags I would have to take. Once I had everything neatly tucked into suitcases, I realized that there was one major item missing–my laptop. Although my laptop doesn’t take up much space (it’s a cute little Sony Vaio), it’s hard to travel with a baby, a stroller, and a computer that has to be removed from its carrying case in order to go through airport security. So I considered the idea of traveling without my computer.

And then I realized that I haven’t traveled without my computer in a very, very long time.

Granted, I have a Blackberry, so I can check email without my computer. And I have access to web-based tools like Google docs and Todoist, so I can work on my own stuff on my mother’s computer. But the idea of traveling without my own little laptop really freaked me out. And then I realized that I needed to do it. Plenty of students I have worked with (especially at Mesa Community College) did not have access to the kind of personal, customized technology that I have, and I thought it might be good–even if only for 72 hours–to experience what it is like to have to get work done on a computer that is not my own. My students tend to use computers available in the library or a lab, but my mom’s computer would work, too. I couldn’t download new software on her computer, and I couldn’t change her settings and configurations. I would just need to work within a “generic” space and rely on the tools available to me online.

It’s been challenging, but I’ve noticed a few patterns in my work this weekend.

First, I don’t do as much of it. I spend less time on the computer because I’m limited in what I can do. I don’t have access to my own software and desktop, so I don’t experiment as much. I don’t play around with new technologies, and I’m afraid that I’ll be taking up time that my mother needs to have on the computer. I have to share work space with someone else, which alters that amount of time that I spend in that space and the amount of connection I feel to it. (I’ll be the first to admit, though, that spending a little less time on my computer could be a good thing.)

Second, it takes longer for me to accomplish simple tasks. My mom has an unfamiliar version of Microsoft Word (yes, my own mother got Word 2007 before I did), and so inserting comments on a rather simple document took me at least twice as long as it would have on my own computer. At first I couldn’t figure out how to change the user information so that the comments were labeled with my name instead of my mom’s. And then I had to locate simple commands such as “Save as…” and “Track Changes.”

The up-side is that some tasks really are the same on my mom’s computer–such as writing in my blog. Web-based applications that I use on a regular basis function the same regardless of where I am, and I’m finding myself thinking of new ways to incorporate these technologies into my teaching. I can’t assume that students have access to technologies that I can’t provide for them or point them to, and that makes me rethink the ways in which I use technology in my own classes. For example, I’ve spent time in previous classes teaching students how to insert comments into a Word doc, but if they don’t have the same version of Word (or any version of Word), then that time might have been better spent doing something else. I’m rethinking my entire philosophy on which technologies I use in the classroom, and I’m thinking more and more about how I can introduce my students to open source tools that might help them accomplish what they need to do.

But now–because I didn’t do as much work and it took me longer to do what I did–I’m further behind than ever. My Vaio will look like an old friend when I see it tomorrow, and I’ll have a renewed appreciation for how much I rely on it, and how much I take that access for granted. I challenge you to give it a try–live without your personal computer for 48 hours. What would change in your own work habits?