Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

What if one day Facebook, Twitter, and Instant Messenger just weren’t there? Provost Eric Darr of Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Pennsylvania wanted his students to not only think about this question, but live it, National Public Radio reports. So this week, Darr will enforce a campus-wide social media blackout—no Facebook, no Twitter, no instant messaging—nothing. Access to these popular social media tools will be blocked from campus computers through the week. This is not a disciplinary exercise, Darr says, but an academic one. At the end of the week, students will write reflective essays about their time in social media exile. Three Harrisburg University students, Ashley Harris, Gio Acosta and Oluyemi Afuape, volunteered to discuss the experiment, and it turns out they have mixed feelings. Afuape isn’t a big fan of Facebook, and says he doesn’t expect to be challenged by the blackout. But Harris is going to have a hard time not posting her whereabouts to friends…

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