How The Brain is Changing

  I've been hearing from more and more people that the use of digital devices is changing the way we think and the way our brain works.  Last spring,  the local high school ran a documentary on this exact topic.  I wish I'd been able to go but they ran it when I was off at a conference.

The current research indicates that the growing use of technology can both benefit and harm the way children think.

Remember, the brain continues to develop to about the age of 26, when it has reached its adulthood.  In young children, the brain is malleable and  growing, the wiring of their brains is being changed by frequent exposure to technology.  Every age has had technology that changed the brain.  For instance, when reading became more wide spread, the brain became more focused and imaginative because we pictured the words in our minds.  One good thing out of the growth of current technology is that brains are able to scan through information more efficiently.

There are four main areas effected by the rise of technology: attention, information overload, decision making, and memory/learning.  Attention is what allows us to think and leads to decision making, problem solving, creativity and other things.  It is highly malleable and influenced by its environment. So children's type of attention is formed directly by its environment. Unfortunately, constant exposure to the internet has lead to distraction being considered normal, focused attention impossible, imagination is not needed and memory doesn't develop normally.

I've seen how imagination is inhibited because most of my students go to the internet to find pictures to recreate rather than developing their own ideas.  They'll spend hours finding quotes they like to turn into posters.  They look for apps to solve their math problems rather than developing the ability to approach the problem in a variety of ways.

In fact, studies indicate when a person reads text without interruption is able to do it faster, have better understanding, recall, and have learned it better than those who read the same material filled with ads, hyperlinks, and videos.  Furthermore, there is a body of evidence to show that students who are on the internet during a lecture remember less of the lecture and scored fewer points on the same material as those who didn't have internet access.

Technology is good in terms of  improving visual spacial abilities, the ability to identify only important pieces of information, and increase both reaction times and attentional abilities.  Today's students are less likely to remember the information they find on the internet but they are more likely to know where to find it.  In addition, if the brain doesn't have to remember as much information, it is thought that it might open the brain to participate in higher order thinking skills but they are not sure.

So if the attention span of your students is shortening, this might be the reason for it.  There is now a generation of students attending school who have spent their whole lives being entertained by their mobile devices. 

Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great idea.