Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers
TL;DR: It is found that participants who multitasked on a laptop during a lecture scored lower on a test compared to those who did not multitask, and participants who were in direct view of a multitasking peer scored lower than those who were not.
Abstract: Laptops are commonplace in university classrooms. In light of cognitive psychology theory on costs associated with multitasking, we examined the effects of in-class laptop use on student learning in a simulated classroom. We found that participants who multitasked on a laptop during a lecture scored lower on a test compared to those who did not multitask, and participants who were in direct view of a multitasking peer scored lower on a test compared to those who were not. The results demonstrate that multitasking on a laptop poses a significant distraction to both users and fellow students and can be detrimental to comprehension of lecture content.
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TL;DR: A way to define the potential educational impact of current and future apps is offered and how the design and use of educational apps aligns with known processes of children’s learning and development is shown to offer a framework that can be used by parents and designers alike.
Abstract: Children are in the midst of a vast, unplanned experiment, surrounded by digital technologies that were not available but 5 years ago. At the apex of this boom is the introduction of applications ("apps") for tablets and smartphones. However, there is simply not the time, money, or resources available to evaluate each app as it enters the market. Thus, "educational" apps-the number of which, as of January 2015, stood at 80,000 in Apple's App Store (Apple, 2015)-are largely unregulated and untested. This article offers a way to define the potential educational impact of current and future apps. We build upon decades of work on the Science of Learning, which has examined how children learn best. From this work, we abstract a set of principles for two ultimate goals. First, we aim to guide researchers, educators, and designers in evidence-based app development. Second, by creating an evidence-based guide, we hope to set a new standard for evaluating and selecting the most effective existing children's apps. In short, we will show how the design and use of educational apps aligns with known processes of children's learning and development and offer a framework that can be used by parents and designers alike. Apps designed to promote active, engaged, meaningful, and socially interactive learning-four "pillars" of learning-within the context of a supported learning goal are considered educational.
592 citations
01 Oct 2014
TL;DR: Colleges and universities can use the data from this study to improve information technology services, increase technology-enabled productivity, prioritize strategic contributions of IT to higher education, plan for technology shifts that impact students, and become more technologically competitive among peer institutions.
Abstract: Technology is a critical part of undergraduate students’ experiences in higher education. This study explores technology ownership, use patterns, and expectations as they relate to the student experience. Colleges and universities can use the results of this study to better engage students in the learning process. Furthermore, institutions can use the data to improve information technology (IT) services, increase technology-enabled productivity, prioritize strategic contributions of IT to higher education, plan for technology shifts that impact students, and become more technologically competitive among peer institutions.
575 citations
01 Jan 1998
520 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present scientific evidence that there is no such thing as a digital native who is information-skilled simply because (s)he has never known a world that was not digital.
387 citations
Cites background from "Laptop multitasking hinders classro..."
...It is even the case that multitasking on a laptop not only poses a significant distraction to users but it is also a distraction to fellow students not using a laptop in class and can, thus, be detrimental to comprehension of lecture content for both (Sana et al., 2013)....
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TL;DR: In this article, a path model with technology use, student engagement, self-directed learning and academic performance among undergraduate students was inspected, showing that use of technology has a direct positive relationship with students' engagement and selfdirected learning, however, no significant direct effect was found between technology use and academic performances.
342 citations
References
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9,000 citations
"Laptop multitasking hinders classro..." refers background in this paper
...Some studies suggest that if a primary task is more difficult or novel, it will inherently require a greater degree of attentional resources to perform the task at a satisfactory level (Kahneman,1973; Posner & Boies, 1971; Styles, 2006)....
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01 Oct 1991TL;DR: In this article, the authors introduce engineering psychology and human performance, and present an overview of the major aspects of engineering psychology, including: Signal Detection, Information Theory and Absolute Judgment, Attention in Perception and Display Space, Spatial Displays, Memory and Training 8. Decision Making 9. Selection of Action 10. Attention, Time sharing and Workload 11. Mental Workload, Stress, and Individual Differences: Cognitive and Neuroergonomic Perspectives 12. Automation 13. Epilogue
Abstract: 1. Introduction to Engineering Psychology and Human Performance 2. Signal Detection, Information Theory and Absolute Judgment 3. Attention in Perception and Display Space 4. Spatial Displays 5. Spatial Cognition, Navigation and Manual Control 6. Language and Communications 7. Memory and Training 8. Decision Making 9. Selection of Action 10. Attention, Time sharing and Workload 11. Mental Workload, Stress, and Individual Differences: Cognitive and Neuroergonomic Perspectives 12. Automation 13. Epilogue
5,366 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1958TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe a transition between behaviourist learning theory and the modern information processing or cognitive approach to perception and communication skills, and provide a principal starting point for theoretical and experimental work on selective attention.
Abstract: First published in 1958, this book has become recognized as a classic in its field. It marked a transition between behaviourist learning theory and the modern 'information processing' or 'cognitive' approach to perception and communication skills. It continues to provide a principal starting point for theoretical and experimental work on selective attention. As Professor Posner writes in his Foreword to the reissue: 'it remains of great interest to view the work in its original form and to ponder those creative moments when the mind first grasps a new insight and then struggles to work out its consequences.
5,325 citations
TL;DR: This paper describes and evaluates explanations offered by these theories to account for the effect of extralist cuing, facilitation of recall of list items by nonlist items.
Abstract: Recent changes in prctheorclical orientation toward problems of human memory have brought with them a concern with retrieval processes, and a number of early versions of theories of retrieval have been constructed. This paper describes and evaluates explanations offered by these theories to account for the effect of extralist cuing, facilitation of recall of list items by nonlist items. Experiments designed to test the currently most popular theory of retrieval, the generation-recognition theory, yielded results incompatible not only with generation-recognition models, but most other theories as well: under certain conditions subjects consistently failed to recognize many recallable list words. Several tentative explanations of this phenomenon of recognition failure were subsumed under the encoding specificity principle according to which the memory trace of an event and hence the properties of effective retrieval cue are determined by the specific encoding operations performed by the system on the input stimuli.
4,197 citations
"Laptop multitasking hinders classro..." refers background in this paper
...Numerous experimental studies have shown performance decrements under conditions of multitasking or divided attention (e.g., Broadbent, 1958; Tulving & Thomson, 1973). entre for Child and Youth Research, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada....
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TL;DR: These conclusions challenge widely accepted ideas about attentional resources and probe reaction time methodologies and suggest new ways of thinking about continuous dual-task performance, effects of extraneous stimulation, and automaticity.
Abstract: People often have trouble performing 2 relatively simple tasks concurrently. The causes of this interference and its implications for the nature of attentional limitations have been controversial for 40 years, but recent experimental findings are beginning to provide some answers. Studies of the psychological refractory period effect indicate a stubborn bottleneck encompassing the process of choosing actions and probably memory retrieval generally, together with certain other cognitive operations. Other limitations associated with task preparation, sensory-perceptual processes, and timing can generate additional and distinct forms of interference. These conclusions challenge widely accepted ideas about attentional resources and probe reaction time methodologies. They also suggest new ways of thinking about continuous dual-task performance, effects of extraneous stimulation (e.g., stop signals), and automaticity. Implications for higher mental processes are discussed.
2,740 citations
"Laptop multitasking hinders classro..." refers background in this paper
...Attentional resources are not infinite (Konig, Buhner, & Murling, 2005; Pashler, 1994)....
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...As a result, encoding is disrupted, and this reduces the quantity and quality of information that is stored (Pashler, 1994)....
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...According to dual task theories (e.g., Pashler, 1994), one would expect to see greater deficits in learning performance as the difficulty level of either primary or secondary tasks increases (e.g., a student who attends their physics lecture, but chooses to spend most of the class time studying for…...
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