Group items tagged

All those kids glued to social media, for example? That’s not because of who the kids are; it’s because they’ve come of age when the technology is available. In fact, a recent survey found that older adults actually use social media more than younger adults do.

Sometimes these bogus claims are due to a tendency to describe as generational shifts what are actually developmental differences:

the authors whose research showed this to be true have also debunked conservative psychologist Jean Twenge’s sweeping claims about Millennials (which, in her telling, almost always reflect poorly on them). For example, assertions about their supposedly higher levels of narcissism, which are catnip to the media, rest on embarrassing methodological errors.

we should be very cautious about offering any generalizations about an entire generation.

stop blaming technology for your personal failings and start blaming yourself

the fact we’re all carrying smartphones means that “distraction is easier than ever to find”. But he stresses that “This doesn’t mean we’re powerless – it means we need a new skill set

There are only three reasons for a distraction,” he adds. “An internal trigger, an external trigger or a planning problem

but it takes me for ever to figure out how to label my emails

“hack back” my iPhone by adjusting my notification settings, reducing “external triggers” from apps.

the scale does not distinguish between TV and other types of screen use

no child had a vocabulary score in the impaired range

misleading

The study was not pre-registered, making it hard to know how many analyses were conducted but not reported

The study does not provide credible evidence of an adverse effect of screen time on child development, but could serve to stoke anxiety in parents who may worry that they have damaged their child’s brain by allowing access to TV, phones or tablets

an association between screen time and brain wiring says nothing about causation: you can speculate that an apparent delay in brain development might be caused by high screen time but it is equally possible that lower brain developmental status increases screen time

Whenever you give your attention to a bad actor, you allow them to steal your attention from better treatments of an issue, and give them the opportunity to warp your perspective

Internet users need to learn that our attention is a scarce commodity that is to be spent wisely

four simple principles:1. Stop.2. Investigate the source.3. Find better coverage.4. Trace claims, quotes and media to the original context.Otherwise known as SIFT.

The question we want students asking is: Is this a good source for this purpose, or could I find something better relatively quickly

We’ve been trained to think that Googling or just checking one resource we trust is almost like cheating,” he said. “But when people search Google, the best results may not always be first, but the good information is usually near the top

The students are confused when I tell them to try and trace something down with a quick Wikipedia search, because they’ve been told not to do it,” she said. “Not for research papers, but if you’re trying to find out if a site is legitimate or if somebody has a history as a conspiracy theorist and you show them how to follow the page’s citation, it’s quick and effective, which means it’s more likely to be used

Use Wikipedia for quick guidance! Spend less time torturing yourself with complex primary sources

instill a reflex that asks if something is worth one’s time and attention and to turn away if not

different attitudes towards or ways of using digital technology, can have an impact on the effectiveness of teaching and learning. But many trainee teachers are left to develop this understanding by chance.

Teachers need to be supported by policy and research to help them develop expert knowledge on the use of digital technologies

a lack of detailed explanations provided to teachers “as to how, or why, using tablets within certain activities can improve learning”.