Group items tagged

Good summary of the dilemma with iPads and tablets: are they good readers or do that make distractions too available?

Great article. Since readers require a higher degree of motivation when reading any given book on a tablet (to actively ignore distractions), this puts more pressure on publishers/authors to make their content meaningful and engaging. Perhaps this might result in higher standards for books/fewer books being published?

This article argues for the benefit of using laptops in university classrooms.

Related to our discussion of attention and flow, this article talks about external and internal causes of distraction and what to do about them.

This article emphasizes that the appeal of technology is not enough to motivate children to learn. Stresses that self-efficacy and the ability to set reasonable and attainable goals on their own is essential to fully engage students.

Perhaps this is also the answer to make sure technology doesn't turn into a distraction instead of a learning tool? I think many kids would benefit from learning strategies for using technology efficiently/avoiding distractions.

Thanks for this article! It captures some of the self-efficacy conversations that have been helpful in designing my project. I think as the role of the teacher evolves, we will rely on students having choices for modes of learning and and as the article states, "we [will] rely more on children's independent initiative and motivation."

Once again, people are approaching social media as a cute distraction and not a powerful data minin tool. I purposefully keep my bday and other info wrong. A) I get to see who of my 'friends' knows me well enoughto notice and B) ...I like to keep the creepers guessing. Still, apparently your freewheeling posts might actually help you get a date...just make sure to meet in a public space and with mace!

While mini articles such as this often leave out half the research - the concept of doodling being an enhancer rather than a distraction is interesting.  The main point is that doodling engages the brain just enough to keep students from spacing out.  

President Barack Obama told college graduates on Sunday the era of the iPod and the Xbox has not always been good for the cause of a strong education.

I found the recaps of these seminars (and the handbook linked from this page) very interesting. Seminar 2 specifically focuses on the role of narrative--at what point it should enter the design process, how it can increase motivation and enjoyment or serve as a distraction, issues with traditional narrative in an interactive medium, etc. This quote from the Seminar 2 overview reminded me of relatedness from SDT Theory: "It was agreed that a quality necessary for engagement with narrative was that of identification with characters or a situation (an example was given from a mine disaster simulation with junior children, where the degree of engagement with the narrative content due to the identification with the victims drove the experience forward). Authenticity could also contribute to engagement. Whilst hard to pin down, it could mean authenticity for the children in cultural terms or in terms of being a 'human' story, one of a kind which resonates for them."

An opinion from Kera Murphy at Boston's Tech Superpowers. She points out that the lack of multitasking on the device (an omission many are complaining about) may actually be an advantage when trying to focus easily-distracted kids and teens. She wonders whether the limitations of the device will prevent it from being a useful content creation device.

Most of the news I found discuss whether video games have any negative effects on kids. IIn constrast, those educational games which play an important role in educating kids are neglected and not paid much attention to.

When I think of engagement and flow I always thought of being focused but need to reconsider how all those stimuli from WOW were really adding to the engagement factor.

Discussion of potentially distracting elements of incorporating technology into a classroom.