I recently read a post written by Colm O’Regan about Divided Attention Disorder. It was yet another one of those articles talking about how our brains are possibly changing as a result of our constant exposure to online information. We’ve heard similar arguments from Nicholas Carr, who wrote the article “Is Google making us stupid?” and has gone on to pen The Shallows. (It’s worth noting that Nicholas is making a pretty penny cashing in on this message.)
Colm’s description of the way he works from day to day sounds very much like me:
“My Internet browser has 24 tabs open. Among them are three separate attempts to reply to the same e-mail. My online banking session has timed out, and in the corner of my screen a Twitter feed is a never-ending scroll of news and links. Which I click. And click.”
People with whom I work (and the students I teach) are often incredulous at how many tabs I have open at any one time. It’s of no consequence to me; I know what’s there and why I have them open. This is how I live now, and I’m perfectly comfortable with it. I don’t think my brain is being affected in any way. In fact, if I look back over the years and reflect on my information-seeking history, it’s apparent to me that this is just part of my natural evolutionary process.
I’ve always been an information junkie. When I was a young child, reading was my passion. I consumed books from my school library, and if I could get my hands on a copy of the Reader’s Digest, I was in heaven. I loved anything, television media included, that provided me with knowledge – any detail that helped me piece together the workings of the world.
I would latch onto a topic and explore it as best I could, with whatever resources I had at hand. Very often I was limited by the constraints of the age I was living in. If you were obsessed with a subject in the late 1970′s (ghostly phenomena was one of mine), what you found on your local library shelves would just have to get you through.
I haven’t changed. I’m still an information junkie. What has changed is the world I’m living in and the information I have available at my fingertips 24/7, should I choose to use a computing device and pay for an internet connection. Do I read books as much as I used to? No, I don’t. Do I think I need to? Only if they’re worth reading and can provide me with more than what I can access for free from online sources.
Is my attention span different? Possibly. But once again, it’s the quality of the information that keeps me reading. If something is good, I’ll devote the time to read it through. If it contains a hyperlink that causes me to wonder, I may jump from the original source and investigate where it leads. For me, this has just natural daily routine. Yes, I function differently than I did five years ago, but I figure it’s part of the evolutionary path an information junkie follows in the connected age.
Today’s student information junkie
When I think of the students I teach, there are some who are clearly insatiable seekers of information and others who are content to be shown the way. That’s something else that hasn’t changed much, and as teachers, we need to differentiate instruction to respond to all kinds of learners.
Still, as a teacher librarian, what interests me most is this: How are we catering to the needs of the information junkies we have in our classrooms today? The inquisitive 10-year old who wants to know everything there is to know about whale sharks, or dark matter or bridge construction. The 15-year old who finds the four-week unit on the Vietnam War just a brush stroke on the full canvas she wants to paint of that era.
Are we doing enough in our schools to find ways for deep investigation of topics that students find fascinating? Should we make more room in our curriculum to foster independent research based on individual interests? Are we guiding students who feel driven to self-direct their own learning toward production tools like blogs that will allow them to demonstrate their knowledge base and potentially make meaningful connections with experts in their field of interest?
My experience tells me that the opportunities and support for students like these are few and far between in many schools that continue to deliver a content-heavy curriculum. If you’re a young information junkie, you’re probably going to have to explore what really interests you in your time away from school.
For those of us who began life with the pen-and-paper model of learning, but a naturally inquisitive nature, the internet has opened up vast possibilities. For others, it’s different. I had a conversation with a close friend about this very thing. She has no desire to spend hours looking at a computer screen. She’s happy with the old-school way she lives her life. I respect that. Do I think her life may change as more and more of how we access information transfers to the Web? Yes, I do. Will she be like me? I doubt it.
She’s not an information junkie, you see. We’re a class all our own. If you’re a teacher (junkie or not), try and recognize this breed within your herd. They need your encouragement — and plenty of space to roam and grow.
Photo: Some rights reserved by SparkCBC
Jenny Luca
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I am not alone!! I had to look up and see exactly how many tabs I had open as I was reading… hmmm. Only 8 – a light day. 🙂 Facebook, 2 email accounts, my Google reader, Twitter, Diigo, and a couple of links from my reader I had opened – one being this post!
I have a hard time understanding how folks can watch TV all night when there is so much more available! Maybe it just satisfies my ADD (DAD?) tendencies… 🙂 I agree with you though – I don’t think it creates attention deficit – I think it appeals to those who already like the stimulation, and does not appeal to those who don’t want to be barraged with information.
I started having “Free to Learn Fridays” with my 3rd graders this year http://pgrays.edublogs.org/2011/01/19/free2learn-fridays/ to let them explore all those wonderful, insatiable curiosities. As a result, it looks like I’ll have 1:1 netbooks in my room next year as opposed to having to lug the laptop cart across the building every Friday! 🙂
It’s always great to connect with another VFLR blogger – Adding your blog to my reader tonight, and finding you on Twitter! Here’s to one more tab! Thanks for a great post, Jenny.
Thanks for your comment Patti. It’s nice to know there is another like me out there! I love your idea of ‘Free to learn Fridays’! Good on you for recognising the need and and providing opportunities for your students. That’s the beauty of working in what we in Australia call Primary School. I would love to have a bit of flexibility that our Secondary education system does not allow. We have people closely tied to subject matter and in some cases, they are pushing their own barrows to ensure job security. I think we have to think bigger than that, and value what matters to the development of the person rather than what matters to us.
Jenny : )
I can identify! In fact, I currently have two different browsers open and a whole lot of tabs in each. And I love to read!
I work in an IB PYP school, where inquiry underpins teaching and learning. Our students are encouraged to be curious and have plenty of opportunities to inquire, explore and investigate through trans-disciplinary units of inquiry. And yet… not all teachers are inquirers themselves. I’m sure this limits the learning and inquiry in those classes.
Thanks for your reply Edna. You make a very good point about some teachers not being inquirers. I see this too. We need to foster our young people and encourage some who have the insatiable desire to learn. Maybe there’s a need to fit information junkie teachers with their younger counterparts?
I too can identify! Its no longer what you do know but where you can go to find the information!
You have described what a life-long learner is all about … a person marveling at the complexity of life and enjoying every turn on the road! Its the turns and the unexpected twists where pure learning takes place!
Thanks Sister Geralyn for taking the time to reply. I agree with your description. Every day I feel like I am sipping from this incredible pool of learning that seems to never deplete. I love every moment of it!
Yes, were you describing my life? I have ten tabs and tweetdeck open. Thanks for letting me know I’m not alone!
Nice to know I’m in company with like minds!
You don’t want to know what this info junkie has open at the moment… Love your post. Besides my interest in anything with the potential to hook learners and sustain learning, your blog appeals as it illustrates how the discussion about connectivity and personalization for all is ongoing, and has multiple perspectives embedded in the posts. This is important for me as I bring new resources and testimonials of the benefits (connectivity)and challenges (junkie factor) of participating to teachers and peers, who have yet to engage.
I love this post it is just what I needed to read and I too can identify. The image of the fire hydrant captures my life over the last 12 months. Thanks for sharing.
I like your questions and think they are very important: “Are we doing enough in our schools to find ways for deep investigation of topics that students find fascinating? Should we make more room in our curriculum to foster independent research based on individual interests?” Yesterday 7 of my students participated in an oral exam as the final exam for our international English class. They presented a topic based on a curriculum goal and were able to choose their own thesis question. It was a joy to hear their presentations and I learned a lot! It was so obvious that they had enjoyed doing the research and enjoyed sharing their findings! We are lucky in Norway both when it comes to the use of technology and how our curriculum goals are compatible to the new way of learning!
Norway sounds very progressive Ann. Hopefully one day I’ll get the opportunity to visit the Nordic countries who seem to understand what education should be about. Lucky you, to have the opportunity to see learning happening like this first hand.