The topic of how increased digital technology is changing the way kids brains learns is a topic that researchers and neurologists don't even have a solid answer to yet. Why? Well, new media keeps changing faster than we can study the results! I know that children are changing and evolving as they are exposed to new ways of learning, especially iPads, games on computers, u-tube, etc. Yet, when I met a literature professor at a cafe, she told me that she requires her college students at UC Berkeley to read literature the old fashioned way, with a hard copy book. She told me that the brain processes literature differently from kindles and iPads versus from an old fashioned book. She told me it has to do with the multi sensory effect of the old fashioned book, where a student has to touch it, see it, feel the texture of the pages, and then turn the pages. I found that talk so interesting! Teachers see a difference in children in the classroom, especially those teachers that have been teaching longer than 10-15 years. Even teachers are different than they were ten years ago. I found an interesting class offered at Columbia University about New Media and Development Communication, that has an educational website discussing the question, "How is digital technology changing the way kids brains learn?" I will be exploring this topic further in upcoming blog posts as I learn more information.
Resources:
New Media and Development Communication Course
Columbia University
http://www.Columbia.edu/itc/sipa/nelson/newmediadev08/home.html
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