Reading friend and coworker Katie Dunn's recent post "Unplugged -- Sorry Digital Nation" -- I had to chuckle. I, too, felt a little unplugged this weekend, but unlike Katie I was in one of the most urban of areas -- Boston.
My sisters and I had decided to take a girls weekend to celebrate my youngest sister's 30th birthday. We splurged and stayed at (what was for us) the posh Marriott Copley Place. I say "posh" as there was a mall attached by escalator to our hotel -- a mall that included a Tiffany & Co. and Jimmy Choo -- obviously a place that none of us could afford to shop in, but we felt dang cool that we could shop there if we wanted to. I was shocked then, to learn that I would have to PAY for internet service in our hotel room -- $12.95 a day as of two days prior to our check-in.
Now I pay for internet service at home, and refused to pay what would almost be a monthly fee for a few days. I had assumed that free wi-fi is just a standard option in most hotels -- especially one as ubiquitous as the Marriott. I, however, was wrong. Free Wi-Fi was available in the hotel lobby or on the second floor near the Starbucks, but we could not access the costless option from our room on the 32nd floor.
I felt lost.
I was used to waking up, and reading the newspaper online, perhaps working a bit on an online course that I am taking, planning for upcoming classes, stalking new and old friends on Facebook, checking my bank account -- but now, with no in-room access I was forced to make my private surfing more public. I felt naked. What was I to do without being able to access my laptop in my pajamas?
It made me start to think about my students, and how plugged in they must feel. If I, a mere "immigrant" in this new Digital Nation felt lost without access, how must they feel when we deny them access in many ways?
This does not mean that I will allow them to have cellphones and IPods in the classroom -- and I certainly don't believe that Facebook is necessary on school property, but the experience does make me feel more empathy for them. I can understand a little more of their sense of unease at our taking away these things away. They must feel as lost as I did, having to actually put on clothes to use my laptop.
It felt good to be home this morning in my pjs...
Another angle your piece makes me think of is how unplugged the kids must feel who have no computer or internet access. We complain about minor tech problems and some of them don't even have the technology. Then school and the public library become the links to the larger world, as much as they can function as such.
ReplyDeleteInternet access at hotels is one of the odd paradoxes in access today. Upscale hotels that provide complimentary bathrobes and slippers to guests charge for Internet while Motel Six does not. I usually find this is true of conference hotels. I think the only explanation is that the upscale hotels count on business travelers expensing Internet (but not bathrobes, I guess). I must say it is aggravating when Internet access is not available at conferences.
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