In the article by Mayer and Moreno (2003), they stress two things: 1) that multimedia instruction should be designed to minimize cognitive load; and 2) that it is important to understand how people learn. Even though it is presented in a different style (journalism rather than scholarly writing), the piece by Seligman (2006) examines similar issues. Seligman integrates the experiences of a number of parents, their children, and scholars into her discussion. What stands out is that the children alternate between tasks (multitask), which increases their cognitive load. Even though some of the children Seligman interviews recognize that they are able to complete tasks more quickly when they don't multitask, they claim that they get "bored."
Researchers, like David Meyer at the University of Michigan, have studied the multitasking phenomenon. As a result of his work, Meyer found that individuals who attempt to complete multiple tasks at the same time show "costs in performance." He states that in his studies these multitaskers took more time to complete tasks and made more mistakes in doing so. Also in this article, there are those who compare "zoning out" on a computer to drug use, and refer to today's technology savvy children not as the Net Generation (or other such variations) but rather as "guinea pigs." So, while multimedia instructors are attempting to create designs that minimize cognitive overload, many students are thwarting these efforts by purposely placing themselves in cognitively taxing environments. Are these young people doing this as a way to seek out cognitive challenges (e.g., Steinkuehler, 2005 and her discussion about cognition in MMOGs), or are parents right to be concerned about their children's "excessive" use of computers and technology?
Going back to the Mayer and Moreno piece for a moment, the model they present in Figure 1 (p. 44) reminds me of Broadbent's information processing diagram that is presented on page 92 of Howard Gardner's book, The Mind's New Science. Is there a connection between the two? Just curious.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
It is interesting that students continue to multitask even though they realize it may be more effective for them to complete one task at a time. Educational institutions can try to help students learn to focus on one project by requiring them to work on assignments in class where there may be less distracts. If students have to take 20 minutes to reflect in their journal in class, they may learn to focus on projects when necessary. Multitasking is a great skill to possess but it is important for students to realize that they may need to focus on one project someone times.
I'm not sure if students intentionally place themselves in cognitively taxing environments. They may be so used to being in these situations that they do not realize how taxing the environment really is as it is the norm for them. Situations that are less cognitively demanding are boring not necessarily because it is not interactive enough but because they are simply used to more interactive environments. With the many sound effects that can be done, an action movie can be cognitive overload but people that watch action movies have grown to expect this so movies with less action are deemed boring.
Post a Comment