A Wake-Up Call


I was reading the Chicago Tribune this morning with the radio on in the background (multitasking - but the weather info is more up-to-date on the radio). The Paul Harvey radio show was on and I was ignoring it as usual, until I heard …..

"Wiring classrooms for Internet access does not enhance learning".

What? Did I hear right? Someone named Greenfield at UCLA really was quoted saying this?

I turned on the laptop and found the following article in the UCLA News: Is technology producing a decline in critical thinking and analysis? Studies shed light on multi-tasking, video games and learning By Stuart Wolpert dated 1/27/2009
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/is-technology-producing-a-decline-79127.aspx


Yes, Patricia Greenfield, UCLA Distinguished Professor of psychology and Director of the Children's Digital Media Center said this.

What she was referring to was a review of a research study that stated students who used internet access during a lecture (my emphasis) processed the lecture less than students without internet access at the moment.

In other words, college kids who were surfing didn’t pay as much attention during a lecture. (Well, DUH!) (Besides that, I don’t know if we really want to promote lecturing as a teaching tool. For those who do not know the data on how lecturing affects long-term memory, check out the Learning Pyramid research at the bottom of this web page http://mrlevine.wikispaces.com/administrator-research )

What the Paul Harvey Report failed to mention were other of her findings, such as “By using more visual media, students will process information better.” Isn’t that the key to learning? Don’t other studies show that the more students process information (i.e. use higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy) the more they can demonstrating understanding (i.e. the more they really learn)?

One caveat that Professor Greenfield gave was "However, most visual media are real-time media that do not allow time for reflection, analysis or imagination — those do not get developed by real-time media such as television or video games. Technology is not a panacea in education, because of the skills that are being lost.” (Another Well, DUH!)

So, why don’t teachers build in time for reflection, analysis or imagination into their learning activities? Why don’t teachers use online tools to foster reflection and analytic discussion? Why don’t teachers demand that the products they have students create show an imagination (i.e. creative) component?

I think that what Professor Greenfield should have stated is “Wiring of classrooms for Internet access without any solid educational plan for effectively using the available tools does not enhance learning".