Goolge’s new browser, called Chrome, is seriously fast. It renders some pages much more quickly, such as gmail (surprise, surprise). Indeed most pages are loading like lightening for me with Google’s new browser compared to FireFox, Internet Explorer, Flock or even Opera or Safari which are both fast. A good thing surely?

Well I’ve been thinking about the implications of a better browser for educators, tech workers and indeed handsome eduTech hybrids  <glances at self in mirror. no clothes on  back-to-front?  check>. I had to hit myself over the head and say “hey a browser is just a tool”. And tools are only as good as the hands they are in. Monkeys can hit keyboards with the best of them. I know a few personally.

When I hear the old chestnut “people only use X per cent of their brain” I shudder. I’d hate to see a lot of people I know using their brains at full capacity. X per cent more intelligence to focus on some moronic task could be bad news. Web browsers are similar. Just tools. If you spend all day playing online bingo Google Chrome may help you to access that gambling site X per cent quicker. Thanks Google.

For me Google Chrome is a chance to think about real productivity. About what a browser does for me. How it helps me but also how it can distract and possibly detract from my work. The main way technology can make you less productive is by ruining your concentration. Web browers are great for this. But so is tv and anything that gives you choice over consuming content. Think about the letters page of the Irish Times. Which letters do you read first? For me its the short ones every time.

I learned a lot on a recent academic writing retreat in DCU hosted by the DCU Learning Innovation and Unit and facilitated by Dr Rowena Murray of Strathclyde University. There were no phones or talking allowed during the writing sessions. More startling was the ban on internet access. It’s an odd experience to be banging away on a laptop with no internet access available with nothing but the sound of other people banging away.
Rowena Murray has written widely about writing. She knows here stuff. She knows about the mechanics of writing. Nitty, gritty nuts and bolts stuff like how many words you should get written in x amount of time. How to structure things. How to scaffold and outline. And not just easy stuff like blogging (says he) but how to structure mega-big things like PhD theses or books.

All this stuff I lapped up but mainly I was struck by how often I wanted to reach for my mobile phone or peek into my email inbox. Its feels ingrained but its just a habit.

Rowena Murray & Sarah - The Handbook of Academic Writing

Rowena Murray & Sarah Moore - The Handbook of Academic Writing