Technology Awareness Week kicked off Sunday and is set to focus on students’ engagement in a dialogue about faith and technology, according to associate director of university events Victoria Smith.
Students will be challenged to be aware of the amount of time they spend using technology on a daily basis and can expect activities, experiences, seminars and chapels to discuss the many facets of technology, according to associate dean of students, Matthew Hooper.
“The focus of this week is on cultivating, inspiring, influencing student awareness around their power to choose how they are going to use or not use technology in their lives, day in and day out,” Hooper said.
A challenge to go to Chick-Fil-A without a phone
Associated Students is sponsoring the week and is in close collaboration with the University Communications and Marketing department, Hooper said. Advertising has been around campus, including #TechFail cards and “On/Off” banner. The symbol for Technology Awareness Week is the “On/Off” power button.
Technology Awareness Week kicked off with free pizza at “The Tech-Savvy Professional” luncheon sponsored by AS and facilitated by Career Development on Nov. 13, Hooper said.
There will be prompts — or challenges — designed to invite and encourage student participation, according to Hooper.
One of the challenges he proposed is to go to Chick-Fil-A with a friend, leave your phone in your dorm room and just observe.
Hooper believes that students will more than likely see things you would not notice with the distraction of technology. This challenge is a part of day two of Technology Awareness Week.
Hooper stressed that it is not about technology being good or bad.
Using technology as a tool
“Technology is more neutral. It’s all about how we’re choosing to use it that takes us down certain paths,” Hooper said.
On Thursday there will be multiple ways to engage, explore and be together, according to Hooper. These events include: Empowering Your Pathway, A Powered-Off Space to Consider, a 24-hour Practicing On/Off: The Power of Choice, and Be With Who You Are With.
The week will end with a Dwelling Chapel on Friday reflecting specifically on Technology Awareness Week.
“We just want to be sure that our students are proactive about deciding the role of technology in their lives.” Smith says. She added that technology should be a tool that benefits and enhances students lives. Technology, according to Smith, should not be a power over students and students should be mindful of the role they allow technology to play.
“We want technology to be a tool that they use — that benefits them and enhances their lives, not something that has power over them — so we are hoping that at the end of the week, our students will be mindful of the role they allow technology to play in their lives,” Smith said.
Encouraging students to be culturally relevant Christians
Both Hooper and Smith want students to engage and educate themselves in the chapels and seminars while gaining answers to their questions.
“I expect to learn more about [how] people in mainstream [are] using more technology,” junior biblical studies major Monica Gonzalez said.
Biola holds several awareness weeks every year, one each semester. Last year included Addiction Awareness Week and Sexual Violence Awareness Week. Hooper and Smith chose the topic of technology for a variety of reasons.
“For starters, technology dominates so much of modern culture, so if we are going to be encouraging our students to be culturally relevant Christians, we certainly need to initiate a dialogue about the intersection of faith with technology,” Smith said.
