Lesson Title: Technology and the Decline of Face-to-Face Communication Subject and Grade: Social Science - Challenge and Change in Society, Grade 12 Course Code: HSB4M Suggested Time: 75 minutes Rationale for Lesson: In a fast-paced technological age, it is imperative that students recognize the role of technology in our communication practices. Students will understand that our individual behaviours are directly affected and shaped, both positively and negatively, by societal factors such as technology. Lesson Description: As we progress further into the 21 st century, it is undeniable that technology is becoming increasingly central to Western society, but what does this mean for its members? This lesson will focus specifically on how technological change has re-invented the way we communicate with one another. A starter activity will work to reveal the usage of technologies such as text messaging, e- mail, online chat rooms, Facebook and Twitter by students. Once our dependence on technology is identified, a Zits comic will help structure the instructor s modelling using questions inspired by the Bloom s Taxonomy approach. This input will allow students to dig deeper into the topic and explore the Why s and the How s, providing them with the skills to analyze their own usage of communication technology. Students will demonstrate their understanding of the issues pertinent to technology and the decline of face-to-face communication through the creative development of a new dialogue for the Zits comic. In addition, students will answer comprehension questions in response to an article about Internet dialects and conclude in a culminating activity that ties together the idea that technology undoubtedly changed the way we communicate, for better or for worse! The lesson will develop the student s ability to perceive as well as critically assess social patterns and tendencies, employing strategies from the disciplines of anthropology, sociology and psychology. Being able to recognize the social change that is happening amongst us will improve our understanding of the way society works and changes under the influence of forces such as technology. Enduring Understandings: Students will recognize that: Although there are numerous advantages to communication technologies, there are also disadvantages to our increasing usage of them. Our Western society grows more dependent on technology every day; this can negatively impact our individual behaviour when made independent of that technology. Page 1 of 6
Ministry Expectations: Students will: Overall [CHV.03] Study and analyze the patterns of technological change from the perspectives of anthropology, psychology and sociology. Specific [CH3.01] Identify strategies for coping with the psychological stress of technological change on the individual; [CH3.02] Use their critical thinking skills to identify which technological developments have had a social impact in recent years leading up to the present day. Describe and analyze patterns of these technological advancements. Apply students knowledge to reflect on their own day-to-day schedules and how technology has affected their social structure and dynamics (with family, friends, teachers, etc.). Big Questions: What kind of role does technology play in the way you communicate with others on a daily basis? How has this technology affected you as a social individual? Positive or negative? What are the advantages and the disadvantages of using technology to communicate? Agenda: Lesson Title Technology and the Decline of Face-to-Face Communication 1. How do you communicate? (5 min) 2. Zits comic (35 min) 3. L33+5p34 < (25 min) 4. OMG! WTH? LOL! Wrapping up (5 min) 5. What can we take home? (10 min) Resources: Appendix A: 1 overhead copy of Zits comic Appendix B: Photocopies of the article L33+5p34 < : New Internet Dialects by Peter Hitchcock for the entire class - A mug full of popsicle sticks with the name of each student written on each of them Curriculum Strand: The following lesson will be taught in the course HSB4M titled CHALLENGE AND CHANGE IN SOCIETY in the SOCIAL CHANGE strand under the sub-topic of TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE. Context/Prior Knowledge Required: This lesson assumes that students will mostly be made up of teenagers in the 21 st century. A class with older students, however, would still benefit from these activities so as long as they are still members of Western society in the 21 st century. These circumstances would have then allowed them exposure to an increasingly technological age. It is assumed that students will have experience using technologies such as cell phones, online chatting and virtual networking communities on the Internet. Also, this lesson will take place at a point in the course when students have already established a basic groundwork for the three fields: anthropology, sociology and psychology (i.e. they know what each domain generally focuses on), hence this lesson s occurrence during the second unit of the course. Page 2 of 6
Context/Prior Knowledge Required (cont d): This lesson will facilitate an evaluation of the social impact of technology, specifically pertaining to human-to-human communication. Students will be able to apply their new knowledge to their own personal experiences with communication technology by the end of lesson. The culminating activity will challenge students to reflect on a collage of their own examples of internet dialects and how technology has revolutionized the way we communicate. 1. HOOK (5 minutes) Ask students to: Put up their hands if they check their Facebook, MySpace, Twitter or any other online social network every day. Ask students to keep their hands up if they check their email accounts or text message someone every day. Ask students to keep their hands up if they talk to friends on the phone every day for more than 15 minutes. Ask students to keep their hands up if they have a face-to-face conversation for more than 15 minutes with a friend everyday outside of school hours. Tell everyone to put their hands down. Ask the class if they noticed any patterns or anything interesting about the activity, use the mug of popsicle sticks to pick a name if no one raises their hand. Students are always permitted to pass if they don t have anything to add. Write down the remarks on the blackboard. Conclude with the cliff-hanger question: We use technology all the time to communicate, so what? 2. Instructional Input/Modelling (40 minutes) Place Appendix A Zits comic onto the overhead. Give the class 30 seconds to read it and then use the Bloom s Taxonomy concept to structure the instruction and scaffold their learning. Ask the class the following questions, ensuring that different people are being heard. Use the mug of popsicle sticks if the number of responses is lacking. a) What s going on in the comic? - Ensure that the roles of the two characters are identified (mother and son), as well as the context (takes place in a North American home). Could you see this comic being printed in Kenya? Russia? Why or why not? What s the difference and why does it matter? Outline the importance of our environments and how it affects our technological exposure. - Talk about the importance of the characters ages. For example, this dialogue probably wouldn t happen between two classmates, or two parents. Different generations are products of different forms of technology. Since texting and Facebook are very recent developments in communication technology, it is understood that parents, who are middleaged, are not with the program or up to date on current trends. Would, however, students even want their parents to be tech-savvy? Page 3 of 6
b) Why is the comic supposed to be funny? - Allow students to explain the humour in the comic strip. Exaggeration is often used a tool for humour, and it is effective because there is always an element of truth in the exaggeration we are making an overstatement about something that is, in fact, true. - How unrealistic is the exaggeration in this comic? - Can we attribute our reliance on communication technology to any psychological factors? - Do we take technological shortcuts that don t really end up being shorter? Ask the class to put up their hand if they think communication technologies such as cell phones and computers make our social exchanges faster. Are there instances where they slow us down? - *Equity Point: For those who don t have a cell phone or Internet at home, ask them if it changes the way they communicate or feel in situations where others talk or use it excessively. Communication forms bridges but can it also build barriers between people? c) Has anyone experienced a similar situation? - Divide the class into groups of 2 or 3 using the elbow technique (Get together with those beside you), then ask them to share their experiences with various forms of communication technology. It can be a funny or frustrating or maybe unusual situation. Before discussion begins, tell them that they will be choosing one member s story to quickly re-enact in front of the class. Pick groups starting on the left over to the right to present their cases. - Summarize aloud what happened in each skit for the whole class so that everyone understands, including yourself (ex. by repeating in your own words what happened, the students can correct you didn t get something or clarify ideas). d) Is there anything wrong with the depicted situation? - How many of us have encountered obstacles in communicating because our Internet wasn t working or our phones couldn t get a signal or a text message/email was never received? Because technology has become so central to how we communicate, we become very reliant on it. This can be dangerous because when it fails to work, we become virtually helpless, not knowing how to function without technology. What other disadvantages of technology can we think of? What are the advantages? Convenience, facility, etc... Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? - What effect is the advancement of communication technology having on our face-to-face communication skills? Distinguish the differences between an online chat versus a phone chat versus a conversation in person. - Talk about the role of multitasking: using a cell phone, emailing someone and having a face-to-face conversation at the same time. Ask the students if they think it is possible? If so, does it comprise the quality of communication present in each exchange? e) Imagine it is the year 3000. Create an updated version of this comic. - As a take-home homework assignment, students will rewrite the dialogue for the Zits comic so that it reflects what they predict to be the situation far into the future. Encourage them to use the exaggeration technique as well as the trends you ve just discussed. Tell them they can use Internet lingo, such the kind in the Hitchcock article that you will hand out at this point. Page 4 of 6
3. Guided Practice (20 minutes) Hand out copies of Appendix B - L33+5p34 <: New Internet Dialects by Peter Hitchcock. Give the class a few minutes to read it on their own. While students are reading, write the following questions on the board. 1. Were you able to understand the comic without looking the script at the bottom? 2. Do you think L33+5p34 < is a good idea? Bad idea? Why? 3. Do you agree or disagree with the author s idea that there are new internet dialects? 4. L33+5p34 < is an extreme. What are some more common online expressions? Make a list. When students are done reading the article, ask them to answer each of the questions on a piece of paper. Tell them you expect answers that are 5-6 sentences long. Let them know you will be collecting their papers at the end of class and you will be looking for clear explanations to support their answers. This will be for completion only, it will not be evaluated. Walk around to help those who have questions/need clarifications. Make sure that everyone is doing their work. Tell students that when they are done all the questions to go up to the blackboard and write their words from question 4 on the blackboard. If someone has already written one of their words, start a tally beside it. 4. Culminating Activity (5 minutes) By the end of the guided practice, the goal is to have a blackboard filled with pieces of internet dialects. Ask students why do they, or people in general, use internet dialects? Are they easier or faster to type/read/understand? Ask them if there are any negative effects of using internet dialects. For example, does it increase poor grammar and spelling habits among its users? What happens when we bring this internet speech to our face-to-face speech? For example, saying OH-EM-GEE aloud; is this funny/cool/silly? 5. Homework/Plan for Assessment (10 minutes) Make sure the questions from the Hitchcock article are complete and handed in to you before the students leave. Remind the class to complete the revised Zits comic for next class. Encourage students to incorporate L33+5p34 < into their homework assignment! Go through the following evaluation scheme (Technology Comic Creation Rubric: Levels 1-4) with them. Explain what they need to demonstrate in order to achieve each corresponding level. Student evaluation will be given in the form of a level from 1-4 Page 5 of 6
Level 4 (16-20 marks out of 20) - Student demonstrates a great amount of creativity in the dialogue as well as an excellent grasp of the communication technology situation in Western society. The comic created is original, effective, humorous and touches upon the topics discussed in class. Level 3 (14-15 marks out of 20) - Student demonstrates a good amount of creativity in the dialogue as well as a comprehensible grasp of the communication technology situation in Western society. The comic demonstrates good imaginative thought and connection to the topics covered in the lesson. The effort for a humorous dialogue is present. Level 2 (12-13 marks out of 20) - Student demonstrates some creativity in the dialogue as well as a fair comprehension of the communication technology situation in Western society. A connection to the lesson material and the potential for humour is present but could be made clearer. Level 1 (10-11 marks out of 20) - Student demonstrates very little creativity in the dialogue and an incomplete comprehension of the communication technology situation in Western society. A weak connection is made to the lesson material and the attempt at humour is ineffective. Below 50% - Student has not demonstrated creativity or comprehension of the communication technology situation in Western society in the dialogue. Comic lacks humour, originality and relevance. Planning Considerations: - If there are students with special needs that prevent them from ever having used communication technologies such as the Internet and cell phones, then I will try and incorporate a different aspect of communication technology that they have experienced OR - Take advantage of the diverse class demographic and get another point of view: how students who don t have these devices feel about them? Do they want one? Are they indifferent? Do they ever feel excluded when others are using their phones/internet/etc.? - I can provide copies of the comic as well as the article before class for students who need more time to digest their readings. - Instead of giving out the original article by Hitchcock, I could simplify it and give out a summary for everyone. On the board, I could create a legend. I.e. < = K - We could read the article by Hitchcock as a group, taking turns reading amongst the students. This way, students who are unsure of certain words can hear other students pronounce it. I can stop after each paragraph and define more complex expressions. Reflection after Peer Sharing / Ideas for Final Draft: - Provide details as to how I will manage class participation, group formation and presentation order. - Equity issues: ensure that students who don t have their own cell phones or Internet access at home will still benefit from the ideas presented in this lesson. Reach out and get their point of view without making them feel excluded in any way (I.e. avoid asking questions like: who can t afford a cell phone?) - Give an initial overview of activities in the Lesson Description component. - Expand on the topic of multi-tasking in the Instructional Modelling, section (d). - Make the agenda more exciting. Give the debriefing activity and even the homework an exciting name. Remember to create selling points to teenagers, who tend to judge a book by its cover. Inspire enthusiasm with creative, mysterious titles. Page 6 of 6