Understanding Our High-Tech Students and
Developing the Best Learning Approaches
Larry D. Rosen, Ph.D.California State University,
Dominguez HillsSeptember 17, 2013
TECHNOLOGY USED TO BE JUST FOR GEEKS
AND NERDS. … NOW IT IS FOR EVERYONE
TODAY’S TALK PLAN1. A Tale of 6 Generations2. Gobbling a Daily Media
Diet3. A New Era of
Communicating4. Multitasking Madness5. The Student Brain – A
scary concept!6. Three Simple Strategies
for Educating Our Young Learners
WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF SIX VASTLY
DIFFERENT GENERATIONSGENERATION BIRTH YEARS
Silent/Traditional Generation
1925 – 1945
Baby Boomers 1946 – 1964Generation X 1965 – 1979Net Generation 1980 – 1989iGeneration 1990 – 1999Generation C 2000+
THE PACE OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE IS
DIZZYINGPenetration Rate = Years to Reach 50 Million UsersRadio took 38
yearsThe Telephone took 20 yearsTelevision took 13 yearsCell Phones took 12 yearsThe WWW took 4 yearsiPods took 3 yearsBlogs took 3 yearsMySpace took 2.5 yearsFacebook took 2 yearsYouTube took 1 year
Angry Birds
Took Just 35 Days!
IS IT ANY WONDER WHY?THESE ARE ALL TECHNOLOGIES THAT DID NOT EXIST BEFORE
THE YEAR 2000iPod
iPhoneWii
MySpaceFacebookGoogle+LinkedInHybrid Cars
iTunes
YouTubePandoraTwitter
iPadXBox
Satellite RadioFlickrSkype
Camera Phones
KindleFirefox
Blackberry
3D TVClub
PenguinTiVo
Broadband
FarmvilleGroupon
AND THEY USE THEM ALL …
AT THE SAME TIME
NEW TECHNOLOGY IS MAKING OUR LIVES MORE DIFFICULT BECAUSE WE
ARE CONTINUALLY HAVING TO LEARN MORE AND
MORE . . . AND FASTER AND FASTER
And Sometimes it Just Doesn’t Make Sense
CHILDREN, TEENAGERS AND YOUNG ADULTS SEEM LIKE THEY ARE ALIENS … PARTICULARLY WHEN THEY
COMMUNICATE
HOW MUCH TECHNOLOGY ARE THEY USING EACH
DAY?BABY BOOMERS 8 HOURS A DAYGENERATION X 15 HOURS A DAYNET GENERATION 21 HOURS A DAYiGENERATION 21 HOURS A DAYGENERATION “C” 10 HOURS A DAY
WHAT TECHNOLOGIES DO THEY USE 2 HOURS OR
MORE A DAY?BABY BOOMERS TV
GENERATION X MUSIC COMPUTERS
TVGOING ONLINE
NET GENERATION MUSICTVGOING ONLINETEXTING
iGENERATION MUSICTEXTINGGOING
ONLINEFACEBOOKIM/CHAT
GENERATION “C” TVVIDEO GAMES
HOW ABOUT OUR YOUNG LEARNERS?
THEY ALSO COMMUNICATE “DIFFERENTLY
”
HERE ARE THEIR PREFERRED WAYS TO
COMMUNICATEGENERATION 1st 2nd 3rd
Baby Boomers
Face-to-Face Phone E-Mail
Generation X
Face-to-Face Phone E-Mail
Net Generation
Face-to-Face Texting Phone
iGeneration Texting IM/FB/Phone
Face-to-Face
196
And 42% of teens say they can text blindfolded.
NATIONAL NIELSEN RESEARCH
3,417Septembe
r 2011
Girls:
3,952
HAS THIS LED TOMULTITASKING MADNESS?
THE EPITOME OF MULTITAKSING WAS INTRODUCED AT THE
2013 CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW
MEET THE BRAND NEWiPotty
GENERATION C iGENERATION NET GEN GEN X BABY
4-8 9-12 13-15 16-18 BOOMERS
MULTITASKING ACROSS GENERATIONS
(“Continuous Partial Attention”)
WHICH TASKS ARE EASY OR DIFFICULT FOR YOU
TO MULTITASK?1. Eating and playing a board
game?2. Reading a book and listening
to music?3. Surfing the Internet and
listening to music?4. Reading a book and watching
TV?5. Reading a book and talking on
the phone?6. Reading a book, texting,
Facebooking, and listening to music (with the TV on)?
ARE THEY REALLY MULTITASKING?
• Their brains are really “task switching”• They make use of “Slack Time”• Technology makes them task switch: Sounds Vibrations Visual displays
WHAT ARE THE COSTS OF MULTITASKING?1. Attention Difficulties2. Poor Decision Making3. Breadth vs. Depth of
Material4. Information Overload5. Internet Addiction6. Poor Sleep Habits7. Overuse of Caffeine
THE PROBLEM IS BETWEEN THEIR EARS … OR RATHER BEHIND
THEIR FOREHEAD
PREFRONTAL
CORTEX
WHAT DOES THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX
DO?• Executive controller
• Working memory
• Attention & focus
• Decision making
• Multitasking control
• Impulse control
NERVE CELLS IN THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX
DO NOT FUNCTION WELL FROM BIRTH
INFANT NEURONS START WITHOUT A “COATING”
CALLED MYELIN
AT BIRTH CHILDREN START TO MYELINATE NEURONS BUT SOME
SIGNALS STILL ESCAPE
BY ADULTHOOD ALL NEURONS ARE MYELINATED
THE DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESS OF MYELINATION
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?• Without myelin, neurons
don’t conduct signals properly• The last brain area to be
myelinated is the prefrontal cortex• The prefrontal cortex is
your executive controller• This happens in late
20s/early 30s
YOUR BRAIN READING A
BOOK
YOUR BRAIN SEARCHING
AND TECHNOLOGY OVERLOADS OUR BRAINS
IT IS ALSO ABOUT ANXIETY• 67% of teens and young
adults check their phones every 15 minutes or less
• If they can’t check in that often, 50% get moderately-to-highly anxious
• What are they checking? Text messages Social Media – Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, etc.
OUR RECENT STUDY OF ANXIETY AND OBSESSION
(Cheever, Pasquerella, Rosen, & Carrier, 2013)
• 163 college students • 75 minute session• Half allowed to keep/use
smartphones• Half had smartphones removed• THE TASK? JUST SIT THERE AND
DO NOTHING – NO TALKING, NO SCHOOL WORK … NOTHING
• Measured anxiety three times: 20, 40, 60 minutes
Anxiety 1 Anxiety 2 Anxiety 334
35
36
37
38
Smart-phones allowed
Smartphones taken
away
WHAT HAPPENED TO ANXIETY?
WHO GOT THE MOST ANXIOUS?
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Smart-phone Al-
lowed
Light Smartphone
Users
Heavy Smartphone
Users
Smartphone Taken
Away
Incr
ease
d An
xiet
y
WHAT DOES A BRAIN NEED TO STAY
HEALTHY?• Time away from technologyCommunication SkillsCreative ThinkingCalmness
•Sleep for “synaptic rejuvenation”•Periodic “resetting”
THE BRAIN NEEDS SLEEP
• Doctors recommend 9 hours per night for preteens and teenagers!• Average teen sleeps 6.1 hours per school night; 10.3 on weekend• Sleep Debt = 12 hours per week• 80% of teenagers say they “rarely or never get a good night’s sleep
WHAT DO TEENS DO IN THE HOUR BEFORE SLEEP?
AND THEY SLEEP WITH THEIR PHONE ON!
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR CELL PHONE WHEN YOU GO TO SLEEP?
Leave the
ringer on
(44%)Put
ringer on
vibrate (31%)
WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SHOW ABOUT TEEN SLEEP
DISRUPTION?• Is it the light? NO IT IS NOT!• Is it “couch potato”
activities? NO (in fact a little nighttime TV helps!)• Is it their computer use? NO• Is it their homework? NO
SO, WHAT IS IT?• Incessant multitasking in last hour• Smartphone use in last hour• Cell phone interrupted sleep
“NORMAL” SLEEP CYCLES
• Synaptic Rejuvenation• Default Mode Network
WHAT HAPPENS IF SLEEP IS DISRUPTED?
• Instant dreaming• Lack of consolidation/pruning• Less time for creative thinking
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN
FOR EDUCATING
OUR CHILDREN, TEENS & YOUNG
ADULTS?
THREE CONCERNS FOR OUR STUDENTS
AND CHILDREN• Underdeveloped Social Skills
• Shallow Thinking Skills/Habits
• Changes in Brain Functioning - Neuroplasticity
THIS LEADS TO THREE MAIN ISSUES FOR
EDUCATORS• Understanding their
values• Helping them
understand why their brains get distracted
• Helping them learn how to focus and attend
OUR YOUNG STUDENTS HAVE 10
UNIQUE VALUES1. Social connections are
everything2. Speed/Immediacy is
CRITICAL3. Belief in SELF: Any dream
can be reality4. Enjoy being creative5. Strong family connection
(not f2f)
6. Strong work ethic, but tempted by distractions (both external & internal)
7. Prefer to work in teams (“social”)
8. Prefer project deadlines but no progress reports
9. Need positive reinforcement immediate and often
10.Motivated by time off to play with technology
HELPING THEM LEARN “FOCUS AND
ATTENTION” IS CRITICAL
HOW DO STUDENTS FOCUS WHILE
STUDYING?ARE THEY DISTRACTED?
---------AND WHAT ROLE DOES
TECHNOLOGY PLAY IN THEIR
FOCUS AND ATTENTION?
OUR STUDY OF STUDYING:
A CASE OF DISTRACTED LEARNERS• 279 students observed
studying [middle school, high school, college]• 15 minutes – observe every
minuteo On-task or off-task?o What is on computer
screen?o Daily use of technologies
and mediao Studying strategies?o Preference for task
switching• School performance/grade on
test
FOCUSED
FOCUSED
FOCUSED
DISTRACTED
DISTRACTED
SAME FOR COMPUTER
PROGRAMMERS AND
MEDICAL STUDENTS
AND … THE MOST OFF-TASK STUDENTS HAD THE MOST OPEN
WINDOWS!!!
WHAT PREDICTS SCHOOL PERFORMANCE
(GRADES)?How much they stay “on task” (GOOD!)If they have strategies for studying (GOOD!)Preference for task switching (BAD )Daily media consumption (BAD )Whether they checked Facebook ONCE during 15 minutes (AWFUL!)
WHY CAN’T THEY FOCUS AND PAY ATTENTION?
• OUTSIDE IN THE REAL WORLD The “alerts” that come from
smartphones And television has changed, too,
to grab our children’s attention• INSIDE THE BRAIN
Human Orienting Response The mind is always thinking …
about technology AND THIS MAKES THEM ANXIOUS
• Knowing how you best learn
• Knowing how your brain works
• Knowing what conditions help you best learn and study
IT IS ALL ABOUT “METACOGNITION”
• 4 university classes; n=175• 30 minutes video lecture• Interruptions: no texts, 4 text, 8 texts
What is your major and
why did you choose it?
OUR RECENT STUDY:METACOGNITION IN ACTION
IMPACT OF INTERRUPTIONS
8 TEXT GROUP DID
WORSE THAN 0 TEXT GROUP
72%
=
DID ANYONE SHOW “METACOGNITION”?
• Those who IMMEDIATELY read and respond to a text message got a “C”• Those who waited for a few minutes to read or respond got an “A”!
POSSIBLE METACOGNITIVE QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS
• The best room for me to study in at home is ___________ because ___________.
• Some ways that I can avoid distractions while studying at home are ___________.
• A good place for me to put my phone before a class or before studying is ___________.
• If I use technology in class, some ways that I can make sure I don’t get distracted are ___________.
• Electronic Communication: Texting, e-mail, IM
• Social media
WHAT DISRUPTS STUDENTS THE MOST?
RESETTING THE BRAIN• THINK coffee break or
cigarette breakImproves performance
• Pre-teen, teen & young adult behaviorsBored – used to task
switchingTexting is modern day
“passing notes” Attention span
(remember 3-5 minutes!)
• The teenage brain – where does the oxygen flow?
HOW TO RESET THEIR BRAINS(and maybe yours, too!)• Nature Breaks (live or virtual)• Tech Breaks• Music/Art• Exercise• Meditation/Biofeedback• Laughter• Hot Bath• Talking (live) to a friend (3:1
ratio of positives)• Practicing a foreign language• Playing a musical instrument
TEACHING OUR STUDENTS DIGITAL TIME
MANAGEMENT USING THE A-B-C METHODAware of options (distractors)
Breathe – calm/reset brain
Choose good options (metacognition)
Tk u 4 ur tme. r thr n e qs 4 me?