mindful or mind full? mindfulness and its application in the 1to1 classroom james whittle - acce...
TRANSCRIPT
Mindfulness and its application in the 1:1
classroomACCE2016
James WhittleHoD Elearning - Kenmore SHS
Overview• Potential benefits of technology in education• How distraction is making it hard to realise these
benefits• Various solutions to the distraction problem• Using mindfulness and awareness of the mind as an
effective solution• Questions and discussison
200,000 Years ago until now
1.8 Million years ago
1.5 Million years ago
200,000 Years ago until now
1.8 Million years ago
1.5 Million years ago
Image credit: dasjabbadas
Technology is an amplifier
“Professional activities
performed in a state of
distraction-free concentration
that push your cognitive
capabilities to their limit.
These efforts create new
value, improve your skill, and
are hard to replicate.”
“More than five million jobs, almost 40 per cent of Australian jobs that
exist today, have a moderate to high likelihood of disappearing in the
next 10 to 15 years due to technological advancements”
• http://www.ceda.com.au/2015/06/16/five-million-Aussie-jobs-gone-in-10-to-15-years
"There’s never been a better time to be a
worker with special skills or the right
education, because these people can use
technology to create and capture value.
There’s never been a worse time to be a
worker with ‘ordinary skills’ and abilities to
offer, because computers, robots and other
digital technologies are acquiring these skills
and abilities at an extraordinary rate."
Children and young people are preparing for a very different future from that of their parents... Students will need to become:• lifelong learners who are
knowledge creators, technology savvy, problem solvers, innovators and effective communicators who share ideas with others and respond positively to change• successful people who set goals,
are resilient, able to create opportunities and are confident in pursuing their passions
The Deep Work Hypothesis:The ability to perform deep work is becoming
increasingly rare at the exactly the same time it is
becoming increasingly valuable in our economy.
As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill,
and then make it the core of their working life,
will thrive.
Attention economics“[What information consumes
is] the attention of its recipients.
Hence a wealth of information
creates a poverty of attention.”
Herbert SimonNobel winner, Economics (1978)
“We are moving from a world
where computing power was
scarce to a place where it now is
almost limitless, and where the
true scarce commodity is
increasingly human attention”
Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft
“Continuous partial attention describes how many of us use our attention today.
It is an always-on, anywhere, anytime, any place behaviour that involves an artificial sense of constant crisis. We are always in high alert when we pay continuous partial attention.” Linda Stone
Generation MAverage time that 8-18 years
olds reported consuming
media per day:
a 44% increase over a decade
(Rideout, 2010)
1999 7 hr 29 min
2009 10 hr 45 min
Multitasking
Media-multitasking and the classroomLaptop use in university lectures reduces memory for lecture content (Hembrooke, 2003)
For both the multitasker and for students sitting close-by (Sanaet al, 2012)
This remains the case even when the laptop is only used for note taking (Mueller et al, 2014)
distraction
Multi-tasking
Shallow work
Confusion / frustration
helplessness
distraction
Multi-tasking
Shallow work
Confusion / frustration
helplessnessTechnology amplifier
Technology amplifier
technology = distraction = shallow work?
• Solution 1
“So many of those debates fail to even acknowledge or
realise that we can educate ourselves, even in the digital
era, to be more attentive… What’s crucial is education.”
David Levy
“calm down and pay attention”
Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to, and seeing clearly, whatever is happening in our lives. The attention paid is purposeful, in the moment,
and without judgment. Irene Au
• Scientist / yogi
• Graphs and MRI scans
…structural differences between the brains of experienced meditation practitioners and individuals with no history of meditation, observing thickening of the cerebral cortex in areas associated with attention and emotional integration. Sue McGreevey
Mindfulness in schools - examples• http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/nightly-news/meditation-curbs-viol
ence-at-san-francisco-schools-378464323951• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fq9Wid9ECU
Mindfulness in schools – suggested program
• My experience
Technology and mindfulness updates on Twitter
@wjittle