Digital Distraction

Distraction: noun

1. 1.

   a thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else.

   "the company found passenger travel a distraction from the main business of moving freight"

Growing up in America today is to be a part of a society that is rapidly and constantly changing. The fact is you are surrounded by technology and information and spend a large portion of your time interacting with it. But what is it doing to your brain?

As we saw from the video in class, our brains are not wired for multi-tasking. Some tasks require more concentration than others and when we switch between many tasks we lose focus. 

Specific Instructions:  For this post think about something you do that requires your full attention. Then think about your habits with technology while trying to concentrate. Do you listen to music while doing homework? Is that bad? Do you respond to texts while doing homework? Then go online and find evidence to support  your response. Please include the link to the site you use in your response. -5 points if you respond with no link. Do not copy other people's posts, ideas or links. You will get a 0 for plagiarizing.

If you missed the video in class please watch the first 8:40 minutes of this documentary:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/digitalnation/

Sample post: 

I like to listen to music while I do homework. It helps me to relax and focus. After reading this article (https://gradeslam.org/blog/does-listening-to-music-help-with-studying) I learned...

Why no cell phones in class?

We discussed in class the importance of non-verbal cues and looked at the impact adolescence has on learning development (see below). We also talked about how technology can negatively impact social development because our focus is  removed from everything else.

So for our blog post using the above chart, pick one element of development under Early or Middle Adolescence and make an argument for or against using a phone in school. Then go online and find an article that supports or negates your position and give us a brief summary of what the article states. 

For example: During Early Adolescence as my intellectual interests expand I need a phone to engage more with what I'm interested in studying. The article I found talks about how 75% of students using cell phones in class are performing worse than those without. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/04/do-smartphones-have-a-place-in-the-classroom/480231/

Do not copy my example.