tcu common reading, 2012
TRANSCRIPT
Common Reading,
2012
Beata M. Jones, Ph.D.
Professor of Business Information Systems Practice
This semester teaching business core INSC 20263 class.
Director of Neeley Honors, Former NeeleyFellows Program Director (business honors)
At TCU since 1995
Born in Warsaw, Poland
And You?• Name• Hometown• Major• Technology Native?
Howdy Y’all!
Medieval Help Desk
The technology we interact makes us act and think in a certain way
Changes observed:
The Shallows Take-Aways
“We are evolving from being cultivators of personal knowledge to being hunters and gatherers in the electronic data forest.” (p. 138)
“ There needs to be a time for efficient data collection and time for inefficient contemplation, time to operate the machine and time to sit idly in the garden.” (p. 168)
“I turned off my phone, computer, and iPod last night to spend six hours without technology. I found that I rely on technology for the most simple daily tasks, and without my technology I am unsure of myself and my place in the world. (…)My uneasiness about the time, was accompanied by attempts to find effective ways to utilize my time without technology. I read a chapter in my Accounting book, only to realize that I usually take quick breaks from reading on my phone or on Facebook, without which I realized reading can be much faster. I finished the accounting chapter in less time than expected, which allowed me to finish Romeo and Juliet. The most amazing part, of the six hours without technology for me, was that I was more efficient on my technology-less homework while also being more focused. I realize that I am constantly multi-tasking by reading and using my phone/computer at the same time. This constant need for multiple sources of stimulation really has decreased my effectiveness. While I was unable to know the time and uneasy in that fact, I found that on the whole this six hour experience was freeing, because now I feel more capable to turn off my phone, or music, or computer and focus solely on a specific task..”
Six Hours Without Technology
But Then Again…?
Why Was This Book
Bestseller?
Some Possible Answers
Thoughtful
Eloquent
Disturbing
Provocative
Broad appeal
“The future of knowledge and culture no longer lies in books or newspapers or TV shows or radio programs or records or CDs. It lies in digital files shot through our universal medium at the speed of light.” (p. 89)
How is this book relevant to Your
experience at TCU?
“A personal letter written, in say, the nineteenth century bears little resemblance to a personal email or text message written today. Our indulgence in the pleasures of informality and immediacy has led to narrowing of expressiveness and loss of eloquence.”
( P. 108)
Can you be successful in college if you don’t
read books?
“One of my classes has 7 books, two classes have 3 books, and then one with 2. Yay for senior year? “
From my TCU Friend on Facebook
8/13/2012
What do you expect to learn in college?
A Vision of Students Today
A TCU Sample Story
1. Acquire Knowledge & Skills- Travel
2. Discover Your Natives- Build Relationships
3. Learn New Things About Yourself- Find Your Passion
4. Take Risks- Learn from Failure
5. Embrace Chaos & Ambiguity
My 5 Wishes For You
What concerns do you have?
What’s Next?
Come Meet Nicholas Carr and Hear His Presentation
August 20, 2012, 6 p.m.
BLUU
Presented by Frost Foundation Lectureship for Global Issues and the Center for International Studies: TCU Abroad
