Disruptive silence: deepening experiential learning in the absence of technology

ABSTRACT

Technology plays an integral role in the lives of the majority of the US population. As technology becomes integrated into young people’s lives, questions arise regarding its effects on learning. This exploratory study draws on interviews with students who attend university in the United States to determine how separating students from technology deepens experiential learning. Participants were interviewed following a study abroad course to New Zealand, during which they were disconnected from technologies such as cell phones, the Internet and social media. In the interviews, students discussed their feelings of being disconnected and describe how disconnecting impacted their overall experience. Participants agreed that disconnecting from technology had positive effects on experiential learning and the global experience. Major themes that emerged include students’ enhanced immersion and engagement, the value of disconnection in providing opportunities for personal growth and the difficulty of initial separation from technology as a result of conditioning.

KEYWORDS:

• Experiential
• conditioning
• technology
• study abroad

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Carol A. Smith

Carol A. Smith is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health & Human Performance, and Program Coordinator of the Adventure Based Learning curriculum at Elon University in North Carolina, USA. Her PhD is from Texas A&M University in Kinesiology, specializing in Outdoor Education; with a BS and MEd in Physical Education & Health pedagogy. Her primary area of research relates to adventure based education and the impact on first year students specifically in terms of leadership qualities, retention and locus of control.

Rodney Parks

Rodney Parks is University Registrar and Assistant to the Provost at Elon University, where he has served since 2013. Dr. Parks also serves as an Assistant Professor of Human Service Studies. Parks earned his PhD in Counseling from the University of Georgia in 2011 and has published numerous studies focused on unique student populations and their challenges in navigating higher education.

Jesse Parrish

Jesse Parrish is Assistant Registrar for Communications at Elon University, where he has served since 2015. Since coming to Elon, Mr. Parrish has worked extensively with undergraduate research students, mentoring them on research techniques and contributing to numerous publications.

Ryan Swirski

Ryan Swirsky is a graduate from Elon University with a BSBA in Entrepreneurship. Mr. Swirsky served as an undergraduate research assistant during his senior year under the guidance of Dr. Rodney Parks. Mr. Swirsky is currently pursuing his JD degree at the University of Georgia.