#DigiDetoxGA: Dare to Digital Detox!

The Middle School is about to embark on a very interesting experiment. Beginning September 30 and continuing through October 3rd.  For four days, faculty and students are challenging themselves to unplug, turn off and put away the digital devices.  The Digital Detox moment has been gaining currency nationally, recognizing the love for and utility of digital devices along with the need to "shut it all down" on occasion.  What does a Digital Detox really mean? It is a period of time during which a person refrains from using electronic devices such as smartphones, computers, and television.  It is a proactive social experiment to see what happens when we unplug. How do we feel?  What do we do instead?  How does the world react around us? This experience is designed to elevate our awareness and appreciation of how we use our devices and to better understand how they impact our daily lives.

Middle School language teacher Jarrett Anderson gives credit for the initiative to Haley Aronow a current ninth grader who when in middle school started The Controversy Club, a weekly gathering of students and faculty aimed at discussing current issues.  Anderson was struck by the language students used when talking about their devices.  Words like addiction were used to describe behavior and students were concerned about what how they saw very young children using devices. From these conversations came the imperative to try a scaled for GA version of the Detox.

In preparing for the challenge Anderson worked with other faculty and librarians along with student clubs like the Technomancers who are making a video to share with the community, laying out the rules and building support for the challenge.  

So how does it work?  Students and faculty sign a pledge and get a button that says "I am on a Detox". There will be a ceremonial turning off of the devices at the start and another gathering to turn back on. During this time the middle school community can participate in alternative activities like yoga, board games, and "drop everything and read" initiatives.  Anderson comments. "We hope that the #DigiDetox will create new friendships, encourage fun interactions, spark great conversations at home and at school, and also lead us to a new appreciation for the ways that technology is helpful and brings us joy."

What We Are Watching

A pioneer in brush technique, drummer Clayton Cameron has toured with Sammy Davis Jr., Tony Bennett and jazz legend Kenny Burrell.  In his TEDTalk titled, "A-ryhthm-etic" Cameron explores the math behind music beats and proves that hip-hop and jazz aren't cooler than math, they just rely on it. 

Frank Lee Visits GA

Upper school students sat transfixed as Dr. Frank Lee, Professor of game Design, and Director of the Entrepreneurial Game Studio at Drexel University, described the Pong and Tetris games he designed to be played on sky scrapers in Philadelphia.  A Guinness Book of World Records holder for the largest Architectural Video Game Display, he is motivated to change the way gaming happens and how we think of the space of video play.  Concerned about the isolating nature of game play he wanted to develop a way for video games to be a collaborative, outdoor, community exercise.  After his lectures students had an opportunity to meet Dr. Lee for a Q and A session. When asked how he came to do this kind of work, Lee spoke eloquently about his renaissance education studying the humanities, psychology, and computer science and the fact that he simply followed his interests, as varied as they were, until they all seemed to converge in his gaming work. To read more about his presentation and his work click here.

A Tinkering Lab for the Lower School

When eager pre-k and kindergarten students begin the school year, they will have a new space for experiential learning, thanks to the vision and hard work of Lower School Head, Sue Szczepkowski, and teachers Betsy Duryea and Rose Mirabile. Outfitted with a kitchen, flexible studio space, workbenches and tools, GA's Tinkering Lab is designed to build a child's mechanical thinking skills, help them understand problem solving through the making and building of things, and inspire confidence along the way.  To hear more about the Tinkering Movement, watch this TED Talk by tinker-founder Gever Tulley.