Feed was definitely a breath of fresh air after the novels we have been reading. It was nice to read about something that wasn't just another teenage drama. Of course Feed has elements of a teenage drama but it also has complex themes like consumerism, data mining, privacy issues, and the future of technology. I think it would be interesting to explore these themes with students of any high school age.
Students use technology more than the average person because they are young enough to know what's new, and smart enough to use it to every advantage possible. If I were to teach this to a high school class I would want students to discuss their use of technology and how it is different or similar to Feed. I explored this idea more in-depth in my webquest as just a simple two page reaction, but it could be lengthened to an experiment. Students could see how much they rely on technology by pledging to spend twenty four hours "unplugged." I think this would not only be a great lesson to go along with Feed, but it would also clear their minds for a discussion about the role technology plays in their lives.
Twenty-four hours of being "unplugged" would not be a problem for me. But I do know of many, many people who would die (not literally!) without Facebook or their phones or computers. I like your idea for teaching this book. I think students would be fascinated and more than a little amazed at the amount of time and effort our society puts into connecting to technology and not to people themselves.
ReplyDeleteConsidering being "unplugged" sounds like an excellent idea to try on high schoolers since they're mostly already fitted out with the latest gizmos. I also like the idea of discussing futurastic technology and how it might evolve or how your class might react to it. The protection topic though, I think would be the most in depth conversation, since there always seems to be a hacker that's better than the latest security software, and I doubt that will change in future advancements in technology.
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