Unplug

We've linked to other Lowell Monke articles in the past. Here's a link to his first article in Orion. Worth considering.

Computers not only divert students from recess and other unstructured experiences, but also replace those authentic experiences with virtual ones. According to surveys by the Kaiser Family Foundation and others, school-age children spend, on average, around five hours a day in front of screens for recreational purposes. All that screen time is supplemented by the hundreds of impressive computer projects now taking place in schools. Yet these projects—the steady diet of virtual trips to the Antarctic, virtual climbs to the summit of Mount Everest, and trips into cyber-orbit that represent one technological high after another—generate only vicarious thrills. The student doesn’t actually soar above the Earth, doesn’t trek across icy terrain, doesn’t climb a mountain. Increasingly, she isn’t even allowed to climb to the top of the jungle gym.

Technology and the Outdoors

OK.

We want to get kids outside, away from the television, computers and video games.

Can we do that by using those same items of technology to help lure them outside?

I know a number of folks that say the only way to engage kids now is to infuse technology into kid's outdoor experiences. Using a GPS or video camera are good examples of this. But what about using the internet to introduce kids to a wild place, like Grand Teton National Park? The Park Service is trying this out at GTNP and other locations with efforts like video podcasting and what they call "webisodes".

Here's a recent story that describes what they're doing.

I'm still on the fence on this, but I'm sure that going the way my Luddite friends want to go, which is: "get the kids out like we got out, we don't need any technology, ever" may not always work. On the other hand, I'm intrigued by Lowell Monke thoughts on this-- he once said "throw out the computers and give the kids shovels!" There are prices to pay for a reliance on technology.

It does seem that many kids today view technology as more than an accessory, and that shows a root of the nature deficit problem , but also gives opportunities on ways to reconnect the kids, as long as we don't forget our real goal.

Let's give the NPS a chance to show if these new tools do in fact get kids back outside in the Parks.