Education 2.0: Just Google It

[Allegra Giorgia]

Engagement, social media, conversations, Web 2.0. In my work and through my classes I find myself swimming in the latest digital buzz words. Recently, I’ve been yearning for anything but these words, so when I get a chance to pick up a book or go to a museum – I’m re-reading In Cold Blood (awesome!) – I am ecstatic. I think my enthusiasm about reading my book is for several reasons: it's a break from the computer, blackberry screen, work, and it's a time to relax and absorb other factual information. It’s also because when I’m reading my book – and that is ALL I’m doing.

Today, we live in a world where we are immersed in multi-tasking – often through digital experiences. This causes us to have continuous partial attention. There are theories for whether continuous partial attention is good (it keeps as always connected to opportunities at any given moment) or bad (we start to operate in high alert mode that comprises an ability to think creatively and leads to over stimulation and a leading feeling that we are powerless).

I don’t know where I stand in this discussion, by my question is how will emerging digital technologies (Google, Twitter, Widgets) and partial attention affect education, teaching, learning, memory and ultimately how are brains are wired down the road?

There are two thoughts on this issue:
--One group believes that teaching styles should change – that it should move away from memorization, fact based information and towards more creative thinking.
--The other side thinks that factual information and memorization will always be a necessary foundation of teaching and learning.

I support the latter. Why? Because I am realizing that I now have a tendency to recall information in vague ways – and then rely on Google for the hard facts (dates when things occurred, names of key players). This is bad. If this continues, my brain will turn to mush. My neurons will adjust to assuming that Google will always be there for me, and I won’t put effort into thinking about when something really happened. This stunts creativity.

A recent book on this called iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind, notes that our continuous exposure to the net impacts the way our brains form neural pathways.

This is not all bad. Our brains will start to wire up to filter information, make instant decisions and take in the incoming digital debris…but where it gets dicey is making sure that we sustain the moments of sustained concentration and the value of the learning process. I see my mental patterns changing. And I don’t like it.

I am a proponent of bringing technologies into the classroom. I think teaching with interactive tools enhances the learning experience – but these tools should be less of a “check this Google out and you’ll find anything you need” and more of an enhancement to what already exists.

Example: Interactive features at Libraries and Museums, such as the Library of Congress that features touch screen kiosks and online exhibits. You can go the Library, check things out and continue the experience on line where you find more in depth information. THAT is valuable.

We need to encourage the development of skills to recall specific facts on demand and use the Internet as a supplement to teaching and learning.

Teaching and learning the process of memorization to establish those neural pathways is essential. Who will we become if we don’t have the ability to recall memories without a technology tool? I hope to make a commitment to guide myself through the understanding, comprehension phases of the learning process so that I can continue to discover, learn and memorize to effectively communicate with people.

I want to go back to my elementary days and try to move beyond the, “Google it” mentality. Will you take that challenge?

[Jackie Cannon]

It is very interesting that you wrote this post. Over Thanksgiving, I read an article in a somewhat recent edition of Glamour magazine. They discussed these mental blips you speak of and cite the rapid pace at which our lives move as well as how computers and the Internet in particular enable us to multitask at an unprecedented rate as reasons. While it makes sense to blame Google for making it too easy for us to research things, it more helps us cut through all of the clutter and get us information that would otherwise be inaccessible. So we can beat ourselves up for not remembering day of Kennedy’s assassination or we can just accept that we have an information threshold, which when exceeded sends us into overload and requires us to ask for a little help from Google.

[Kelly Mack]

Good point, Allegra. I think another problem with Googling is being able to judge information--what is quality and what is not? Only with experience, such as that provided with education in reading and dissecting information, can we gain the skills to determine what information has true value.