The Distracted Generation
Are you a competitive person? Do you like the satisfaction of winning? I know I do. Our students like to compete for trophies, perhaps a “personal best”, or the blue ribbon. I end up competing in my classroom, usually for the attention of my students.
When I first began to teach I was concerned about student attention, thinking that perhaps television was affecting their attention spans. It seemed like students really could only pay attention to the task for 10-12 minutes. Some people, including myself, thought that perhaps it was due to the placement of commercials in television programs. Perhaps the show would air for 10-12 minutes before inserting a break for commercials allowing movement and a distraction.
It seems like teaching is different today. I am not worried about competing with the television or frankly commercials, in fact I wish I was. At least I could get 10-12 minutes of attention. Now days it seems like I am competing with all different types devices and a billion distractions such as video games, texts, instant messages, and web searching. It seems like their attention spans are even shorter and there is even less time to hook my students on the lesson before they switch the remote in their heads to mute or change the channel all together. I’m not alone in this belief, both the Pew Internet Project and Common Sense Media have research to support these beliefs. 87% of the teachers in the study said technology is creating an “easily distracted generation with short attention spans.” Pressure is being put on teachers to be more interesting than the media. But, I won’t place all the blame on television or digital media. I often reflect on my teaching checking for best teaching practices and hooking my students to create motivation and engagement. Perhaps I needed a better plan for differentiation?
According to the PBS video Digital Nation distraction is a major problem among our students. I felt this distraction first hand while watching. I too checked my Facebook account, verified that funds were in my checking account to pay my mortgage, stopped the video in order to answer the many questions my kids had to ask, and checked my email. Was I able to multitask well? I think I did pretty good. I was able to stop and start the video as needed and I could rewind it too. Would I multitask if I were a student in a classroom, absolutely. Would I always be able to do a good job? I don't think so.
The virtual gaming section of the video amazed me. I wasn't aware of this world, its intense following, or even what makes it appealing. I have never played a virtual game. After watching the PBS video I can totally understand how it would be intense and consuming.
Watch Digital Nation on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.
I have
friends who play games through Facebook and I have now seen
what online gaming is about. I can understand the relationships that are
built. It is similar to the ones I build through this online course.
Although I have never met any of these people individually, I learn to
respect their ideas because the work they produce is good. However when the video introduced the idea that I could remake the world into something I fit into, my curiosity was peaked. For example, if I was a peasant and could play a game where I became a Queen, would I? While this particular question doesn't hook me personally, I could transcend that idea and could fantasize about becoming something different. Like a firefighter or maybe a missionary traveling in Africa. Now, I could be hooked. I could try out something that I would never be able to do in real life! Potentially with no ramifications to my personal or professional life. Amazing. Trying it out is less risky. Perhaps I could find success and that I liked this new world. Would I change my real life or just keep both worlds, separate, but keep both? Would this dual world fill voids and make life more enjoyable? I'm not sure, but it is fun to imagine and I suspect will create a lively conversation at the Sunday dinner table. Which means, I would have to unplug in order to eat.
I love this post Andrea! Your thoughts on distractions, multitasking, and gaming are all compelling. I too am constantly competing with cell phones. How do we win? I try 10 min "lock downs" where students can't move and I am vigilant about cell phones being away. I implement these almost once every class to make sure the crucial information I need to deliver is given some attention. I think putting a time limit on it helps students "cope" with having to sit still and pay attention to only me. Also incorporating the use of their phones to help them complete an assignment turns the use around from inappropriate classroom use to something they are learning from. Regardless of these strategies, it is still a constant battle. How can we get through to our students if some of the brightest students in the nation (ie MIT students) think that they are capable (even though studies prove otherwise) of "multitasking" (succumbing to distractions) during class.
ReplyDeleteDistraction is a concern even in the college classes I have helped out in. If the student gets a phone call, they get up and leave in the middle of class (the same students do it often) or if they are playing a game on their phone or computer, they will almost not stop for anything until they are done. The PBS video talked about the instant nature of the world children are growing up in. If someone texts you, an answer is expected immediately. Sometimes at my husband's work they are required to put their phones, computers, etc. in a basket when they come to a meeting. Is this the answer? I don't know because then the argument of having to "power down" when students come to school comes into play.
ReplyDeleteInteresting you mention how the virtual game world is new to you. Today I was talking to my 6th grade students and they love the game minecraft. I asked them if they would be interested in a gaming club next year rather than the traditional computer club I normally run. Of course I would require permission, as they need to log into their accounts on school computers. Then one student showed me another virtual game he plays and how he video records it through some type of streaming recorder. I could only make out about half of what he was explaining but I wanted to know the point of the game. It was to work together to conquer some type of space and capture some kind of magical creature! So many of my kids, especially 6th graders are so into this type of play. I wonder if we start teaching through video gaming! Oh, and the attention span - I have about 5 minutes if that and they are already talking to each other. Not sure how to deal with it and what the cause is!
ReplyDeleteAndrea, Your focus on student distraction is interesting (lol). Really. When I worked in a high school for students with learning differences, there was an overabundance of 'diagnosed' ADD and ADHD students. I found that I developed strategies for keeping their attention when there were times that I had to be simply delivering information or giving instructions. The approach was for me to create and control the distractions. Some of the strategies - I put a fish tank in the front of the room. Many students would watch the fish while I spoke and were able to concentrate better.I encouraged students to doodle or sit on exercise balls. I also periodically broke my conversation or delivery up with completely off topic comments such as "Hey, has anyone played the new Halo?" I'd allow 3 minutes of off topic conversation then bring it back to the class topic. Although this worked in the classroom, it spilled over at the end of the day and my constant topic switching drove my husband crazy !
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