I'm going to disconnect from the world and be offline for a month; no Twitter, no Facebook, no Instagram, no email.
Questions:
1. Why as a Computing/technology teacher would I do this?
2. What problems am I going to have?
3. What will the benefits be?
Answers
1. I am going on a holiday to Europe with my family (wife, ms 11 and ms 8) for 4 weeks (April). I could load myself up with technology; laptop, phone, gps etc and stay connected but I'm making a deliberate decision not to. I am going to spend time with my family. I want to immerse myself in the locations and culture. I don't want to take time away from this (You'll hear enough about it when I get back - sorry, you have to wait)
2. The biggest problem I foresee is forgetting all of my passwords (and I think I can take steps to manage that one). All of the other potential problems I think will actually be benefits, such as:
- not having access to the latest news! I don't need to know and if it is big enough news I'll hear about it when I get back.
- forgetting how to use it. I think a break will freshen me up and when I come back to it I will hopefully see it through fresh eyes.
- getting lost without a gps... I'll have to talk to a local. [I'm sorry, who will be asking for directions?? - Ed.]
3. Some of the many benefits of having a forced break include:
- the chance to strengthen my relationship with my daughters, without distractions. This investment I hope will pay-off as they move into their teenage years.
- immersion in what I am seeing and experiencing because I am not wasting time recording and sharing every moment with the world, I will use this time to share it with the most important people to me, my family.
- time to think
Am I doing the right thing?
What would you miss if you were disconnected for a month?
See you all in May!