Social Media: Mindful Participation

This session will be an attempt to dig deep into how we interact with the tools we create. With social media heavily ingrained in our culture today, what do we make of it? What can we make of it? What should we make of it? As an Amish person once said “We don’t stop asking at what a tool does. We ask about what kind of people we become when we use it.” In this session the presenter will describe her own journey into online communities and will then engage the audience in discussion and activities around which they can discover their own behavior and opinions about it all. Once we know how we have changed, we can begin to use (or not use) our tools creatively, productively, and most importantly, mindfully.

There will be discussion in small groups, and an activity done both individually and within a small group. The activity will have the participants explore their own use of technology – from a pencil to a high powered computer, from word processing to twitter and blogging. With the use of some visuals, the group will map their use, time spent, benefits, and distractions and get a holistic picture of what kind of people we as a whole have become as we use (and/or abuse) the tools available to us. The purpose of this activity is to help people stand back and become mindful of what they are doing. They then can take this new knowledge back into their classrooms, business, or community.