tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117005533318160902.post6752490619733275648..comments2024-03-27T19:53:53.708-06:00Comments on growing changing learning creating: Is multitasking making us scatterbrained?Tom Haskinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12658791778134826289noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117005533318160902.post-4063196388295639662010-02-12T15:03:28.823-07:002010-02-12T15:03:28.823-07:00I'm delighted to learn of your own "multi...I'm delighted to learn of your own "multi-tasking" in a culture that does the same. The research you'd like to see seems valuable to me too!<br /><br />There's been a lot of studies of how "pre-literate" cultures perceive their surroundings and process information differently from "literate" cultures. It has been speculated that the digital generation is reverting/progressing to those modes of perception and cognition. The Koreans may be extremely literate in the schooling and not an indicator of this perceptual shift.Tom Haskinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12658791778134826289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117005533318160902.post-67348919190157214182010-02-12T13:00:38.014-07:002010-02-12T13:00:38.014-07:00I agree with you on the "experiments" th...I agree with you on the "experiments" they conducted. Like you, I saw a number of flaws in their design and results. One area that US researchers overlook is how polichronic cultures are able to communicate effectively. They would be "multi-tasking" as part of their culture. Having taught in one of those cultures, I was able to develope the ability to speak to students, while monitoring the progress of multiple groups.<br /><br />I'd like to see research in which the brain waves of Latin Americans are compared to English speakers to see if there is a difference in how people from different cultures (monochronic vs. polychronic)process stimuli. We assume that the American brain is universal. However, couldn't there be differences in cultures? That is why the report on the Korean teens was interesting. I wonder if culturally they have been "programmed" towards technology the same as other teens with access to technology.V Yonkershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11910904367068063554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117005533318160902.post-40707689066945030342010-02-12T08:51:33.676-07:002010-02-12T08:51:33.676-07:00I also watched the Digital Nation documentary on F...I also watched the Digital Nation documentary on Frontline nine days ago. I was distressed when I saw the design of the experiment with the multitasking M.I.T students. It seemed to be asking the same question as "if you hold a book in each hand, can you read them at the same time?". It assumes that school work and factory work are the only ways to get things done. The experiment failed to explore questions relevant to the new uses of Wifi and G3 connectivity like: "can you handle four people paying attention to you at once?" or "can you keep three conversations going simultaneously if they don't all require your immediate attention?. In the world where those questions deserve further investigation, work gets done collaboratively, socially and open-mindedly. It's quite a contrast to the focus that is essential to reading, school work and jobs in assembly lines. <br /><br />Thanks for all this food for thought, Virginia. I'll follow up on all this in today's blog post.Tom Haskinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12658791778134826289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117005533318160902.post-91370545074768801632010-02-11T16:33:12.369-07:002010-02-11T16:33:12.369-07:00Ken Allen made a good point about multi-tasking in...Ken Allen made a good point about multi-tasking in learning. He said that at some point, to learn, a student needs to focus and stop multi-tasking. <br /><br />I like your analogy to it being like an open window. It's there, perhaps waiting for your attention. However, to really get something done, you need to concentrate on one of the windows and close it (or minimize it) when it is not as important.<br /><br />BTW there was a good report on PBS Frontline on the Digital Nation which looks at the brain function during multi-tasking.V Yonkershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11910904367068063554noreply@blogger.com