Turkle and Wesch

In reading these two articles I felt like they were both discussing the current state of human interconnectedness. Turkle focused more on the individual and how media, and smartphones, in particular, can connect people on a large scale but also make us more disconnected and lonely in our real lives. While Wesch focused more on the educational implications of how we use technology and grouping and also how we can take what is happening in our classrooms and expand it to how it affects people on a global scale.


I felt like conversations were at the center of both of their messages. In order for people to communicate effectively, there needs to be a balance between face to face conversations for sharing ideas and using technology with a purpose. People need to learn conversational skills such as, how to introduce themselves and start a conversation, how to respectfully disagree, and how to share what we are feeling, which are all part of our social-emotional health. Additionally, these are skills used in both the real world and the classroom when we collaborate. We also need to be aware of how and why we are using technology. There is definitely a need for people to "unplug" and learn to limit the tech use as Turkle points out but there is also a need for us to learn how technology can support connectedness and drive social change. I think Wesch was using technology as a way to take people's ideas and turn them into action, as a way to give students power and make their learning more significant.

I see them as allies because they are both arguing for people to be less alone and in their own bubble and more connected to the world around them. They just take different approaches. Turkle is talking more about unplugging and connecting to family and friends, while Wesch is talking about using collaboration and technology with a purpose to teach people how to connect.