Issues Related to Technology and Education/Learning

In todays society technology is so affordable, accessible and available that students lives practically revolve around it to a large extent. Their reliability on such source can be in the light of acquiring knowledge or simply for other educational purposes, but it is important to consider that there exists the possibility that technology can have effects on mental functioning, health, social development, etc. For the purposes of this paper, we shall focus on how technology may possibly change how people think in a way that is detrimental to education, whether or not multitasking is a good or bad development, and what are the implications for education. To begin with, to get an idea on how prevalent technology is in the lives of many children lets take a look at some statistics. Pew Research Center released a report that states that daily text messages from teens sprung from 38% of teens texting in February 2008 to 54% of teens texting daily in September 2009 (Pew Research Center). It is said that half of teens send 50 or more text messages and this number only gets larger as we continue to analyze it over a period of time (All Academic Research). According to Common Sense Media Inc, more than 75 billion text messages are sent each month, and the biggest texters are between the ages 13 to 17 (Common Sense). These findings basically show that most children are spending a lot of time texting which might affect other aspects in their lives such their education. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, approximately one-third of children say they usually absorb some other medium while watching TV, listening to music, using the computer, or reading (Stanford University). Such activity described is basically what we

would consider to be media-multitasking. Multitasking refers to the habit dividing attention, switching attention, and keeping multiple trains of though in working memory (Stanford University). Unfortunately, such task has significant implications for the way these children socialize, learn, think, and understand the world they live in (All Academic Research). Mediamultitasking behaviors can be measured using the time spent multitasking and total media used but the advantages and disadvantages of different measures are not understood. Therefore when considering the effects of media-multitasking on learning and cognition, we must consider the educational context provided in that particular media. Currently, there are not a lot of research that proves how media-multitasking affects the development of childrens neural structures and cognitive abilities and what neural structures are involved in media multitasking but it is something researchers are interested in and are conscious of (Stanford University). According to information recollected from Burgess, Koechlin, Basso, and Pietrini shows that the cognitive and neuroanatomical systems located in the pre-frontal cortex of the brain support multitasking. Having said this, the pre-frontal context basically has executive control which means it coordinates thought and action and direct it toward obtaining goals. Research has proven that multitasking ability is limited in adults due to the fact that even though several tasks might be going on at the same time, they are bond to conflict at some point (Common Sense). That is, these tasks might need a particular resource which then gets distributed among them thus creating a problem since the resource is not fully devoted in aiding one particular task. However, there are studies that show that two tasks can be performed efficiently if and only if these tasks are practiced very often because it is then transformed to procedural knowledge (Stanford University/Science Daily). As mentioned earlier, there are not many studies showing cognitive mechanisms and

neural structures when it comes to childrens media-multitasking but some exists. The fMRI studies show that children are better at multitasking than adults possibly a result of their ability to distribute attention and eliminate irrelevant information (Stanford University). Research shows that playing video games improves visual attention in the ages of 7-22 when it comes to distributing attention and eliminating irrelevant information (All Academic Research). In addition, research shows that playing video games enhance the ability to divide visual attention among college students. It is important to state that even though electronic visual media may help with the skills visual attention and visual-spatial processing, it does not develop a higher order cognitive processing skills (All Academic Research). In addition, another study showed that heavy media-multitask are more susceptible to interference from irrelevant environmental stimuli and from irrelevant representations in memory. This basically was proven by the results of the study, which showed heavy media multi-task performed worse on those tests that required task-switching. There are also studies that mainly focus on the relationship between electronic media use and learning. These studies for the most part show that the content delivered by electronic media is far more influential that the media themselves but it is important to note that few studies have actually examined media multitasking and learning in children (Stanford University). Those studies performed with adults show that multitasking disrupts the speed and quality of task performance (Science Daily). For instance, in a study they focused on the effects of media-multitasking in classrooms so they had a group of college students using laptops while in lecture and a control group which did not. Those with laptops became distracted with resources provided by the laptops and so they showed a lower mastering of lecture content. It can be stated that if students are media-multitasking during lectures and homework then the later

are failing to engage students (All American Research). In the Kaiser Family Foundations time-diary studies, one can conclude that children media-multitask to avoid boredom and therefore maintain productivity. Unfortunately, when media displaces educational activities, we observe negative impacts on scholastic achievement. Contrastingly, other experts simply believe that multitasking needs more training in order to master the skill and perform it to the best degree possible without affecting academic achievement. Paul E. Dux, is a former research at Vanderbilt University and he states, We found that a key limitation to efficient multitasking is the speed with which our prefrontal cortex processes information, and that this speed can be dramatically increased through training and practice (Science Daily). They found that with training, the thinking regions of our brain simply become faster in performing each task and so they become available for other tasks faster. In their research, they used seven people, who they trained for two weeks on two simple tasks such as choosing the appropriate finger response to different images, choosing an appropriate vocal response to the presentation of different sounds, etc. These tasks were performed wither separate or together. Then scans were conducted three times during those two weeks using functional magnetic resonance imaging, to see changes in the brain (Science Daily). The study showed that before the task, the participants showed a strong interference between the two tasks being performed. After practicing, and training, the participants became faster at performing the tasks separately as well as together, Based on the data obtain by the fMRI they concluded that it was a result of the prefrontal cortex processing faster and more efficiently. According to experts that have conducted these studies, solutions to this problem do indeed exist. For instance, media multi-tasking might prove to be helpful if it concentrates on

revealing multiple and simultaneously true meaning of a concept because it is building dialectical reasoning. In addition, the author of the ICA Paper Submission states that even though multiple mead use and multitasking are recent concepts, they have not been investigated properly which they should in order to understand the media effects (All American Research) . As a result they propose for a new working definition of the audience behavior in order to be able to provide a framework for investigating the context of the multimedia environment. They acknowledge that the biggest challenge for academic research is to develop efficient ways to determine the extent and under what circumstances, measures of exposure to media affect individuals (Stanford University). The focus of future research should be to analyze how significantly multitasking and multiple media use influence relationships among attention, media exposure and effects. Lastly, there is also the option of mastering the skill of

multitasking. That is, practicing and training to multitask for a period of time so it comes natural and therefore the brain works faster thus leaving that particular resource available for the next task. In conclusion, after reading through all of this dense literary material on the subject I believe my perspective and stand on the issue mightve changed. To begin with, I initially believed that multitasking was completely a bad activity to engage in. I personally like to multitask when working on a school-related task because it eliminates some of the boredom that comes along with it. The only reason I so strongly believed multitasking was bad is in part thanks to my teachers. Most of them believe multitasking is a negative activity that affects your scholastic achievement but now I know that this argument is not completely correct either. I mean studies have shown that if one trains and practices multitasking for a particular activity, it may well prove to be effective and beneficial. Our brain masters it and becomes much faster

thus allowing for tasks to be accomplished faster and therefore for others to start quicker. It is not for certain that the studies provided are all correct but this study is one that I can relate to. For many years Ive personally done homework while at the same time having music, TV, or noises around so I would venture to say I have master this skill. Going back to the information I presented earlier about texting, I think that I am still working on it and I have not master it fully. I believe the problem with texting is that the individual must rationalize what they are going to write and then act, which in doing so it is very likely that the skills used here might conflict with those skills needed to perform another activity at that exact time. At the end, I guess what really matters is what each particular individual is comfortable with while at the same time ensuring that their academic achievement is not affected.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Is texting taking over your teen?." Common Sense. Common Sense Media Inc,, 2010. Web. 1 Nov 2010. <http://www.commonsensemedia.org/texting-taking-over-your-teen>.

Fox, Susannah (2010). Adolescence, Mobile Technology and Culture. Pew Research Center, Pew Internet and American Life Project. Retrieved November 1, http://www.pewinternet.org/topics/Teens.aspx

Vega, Vanessa (July 15th 2009). Media-Multitasking: Implications for Learning and Cognitive Development in Youth. Stanford University. Retrieved November 1.http://multitasking.stanford.edu/Multitasking BackgroundPaper.pdf

Vanderbilt University (2009, July 27). Multitasking Ability Can Be Improved Through Training. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 2, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases /2009/07/090716113401.htm

Jeong, Se Hoon., Zhang, Weiyu., Davis, Elisabeth., Jordan, Amy., Fishbein, Martin., Hennessy, Michael. and martin, suzanne. Multiple Media Use and Multitasking with Media Among High School and College Students. All Academic Research. All Academic, Inc., 2008. 30 Oct 20 10 http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_ apa_research_citation/0/1/4/4/5/pages14452/p14452-28.php