A Technological Leap of Faith
There has been a recent resurgence of conversation around student cell phone use in schools. And while this is now a decade-long argument, it is clearly reaching a much greater sense of urgency than ever before. Even the most tech-accepting teachers admit to struggling with the best way to approach the situation. But let’s try to focus this contentious battle as we contemplate a more constructive question: rather than seeking to neutralize or ban them, can devices themselves become the source of the solution?
This is a question we as technology developers have been asking ourselves.
This is Your Brain on Engagement
The default response from educators is that cell phones are an obvious distraction. Students, much less adults, whose attention has become commodity, are carrying around tiny machines that are optimized to pull them from reality and into an endless loop of engagement. It’s a definite and serious problem. Then the job of teaching becomes a job of gaming attention: how can I get them to care about me more than this device? Can I make them put it away? Leave it in a locker? At home? Should the whole school do the same thing? Am I not doing the right things as a teacher?
In order to compete with the kind of algorithmic engagement that cell phones lock us into, we feel like we have no choice but to aim for excitement in our classroom activities. Students are looking to the next moment to be engrossed in something without effort. The reliance on tech for social needs during the pandemic has only exacerbated this push-and-pull.
Now here is the inconvenient truth. Technology that optimizes for our attention affects our biology. Specifically our neurobiology. You can’t simply put your phone away and be ready to focus. That is why the demand to BE engaging keeps elevating. What students really need is recovery - whether passive or active - and they are not getting it.
As a result, students are reliably arriving at school in a neurobiological depression. They spend the previous evening and part of the morning scrolling, watching, talking, typing, and recording. Or they were playing video games late into the night. Or… it quite literally could never end.
Diminished levels of dopamine and testosterone are caused by this consistent hijacking of attention. Without active steps - self-regulation of some kind or another - to restore balance would take more hours than there are in the school day to fully recover.
A Great Leap Forward
So how does that translate to the learning environment? If students are already unfocused before they get to class, it’s hard to blame their lack of focus completely on the presence of technology. And more specifically, it isn’t the device itself that is the problem. It is the software algorithm in games in social media that are so good at gaining our attention.
Teachers don’t need to think of themselves as John Henry here. What if instead, an algorithm with a different goal could be the answer? And not just an algorithm that uses the same engagement tactics better aligned towards learning goals, but instead towards strengthening student’s focus? And teaching them how to take control of their own attention? And then… could it make the presence of that device turn from a distraction to an aid?
We believe it could and it is what we are developing with Focusable.
Further, if this development were possible, it would not only aid students in the classroom, but far beyond it, into adulthood.
If it is the job of education to prepare kids to be functional and successful in that outside world, it would make sense for educators to contribute to the development of that algorithm. This is our hope with the #optimalist community. Will you take that technological leap of faith with us?
We’d love for you to share what you’re thinking in our Twitter Community, as well as connect with other optimalists. 🐠
New Infographics: What are Focus and Flow, Exactly?
Through our conversations with educators in the last 6 months, we've found a wide variation in definitions for focus and flow. So we thought we'd put together some infographics that would help clarify the meaning of these concepts that are at the core of the work we are doing.
You can check them out (as well as download them to share!) here:
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💬 The Next #Optimalist Chat…
Join us on Twitter Thurs, June 2, at 8:30pm ET, for a discussion on the Digital Dilemma w/ Tammy Musiowsky-Borneman. Tammy is Head of Teaching & Learning at an independent school in Hawai’i, a Professional Learning Facilitator, and an ASCD author. To participate in the chat with Tammy, just follow the tag #Optimalist on Twitter!
🤝 Thanks, Focusable Beta Testers!
This spring we’ve been testing our new product, Focusable, with a wonderful group of educators from the Optimalist community - and even some of their students! We have learned a lot from the experience of working with all of you, and we are excited to continue building this summer in preparation for the new school year. Curious and want to be on the waitlist for the next testing period? Just enter your email here!
📚 First Book Study Underway
The first ever Optimalist Book Study is almost finished! Yikes! We have been reading Peak Mind: Find Your Focus and Own Your Attention by Dr. Amishi Jha. We are studying the science of attention to learn how to better train our brains to practice focus, and explore ways we can use it to transform learning. Interested in what we’re doing? Sign up for the next group here.
📷 Introducing Focusable on Instagram!
You can now follow us at @getfocusable on IG for visual, shareable insights into focus, flow, and the neuroscience behind finding the optimal learning experience.
🧭 Follow us on Twitter
We are a small team of product and community managers who would love to connect with you and start learning together. Are you ready to join our school of fish? 🐠
Follow → Sara // Arlen // Andy // Brian // Ali // focusable
Don’t be afraid to say hi, and use the tag → #optimalist