Activity 5.4: Information Processing in Context

I found The Shallows to be interesting because I can see Carr's points about technology, memory and attention playing out in my own life.  The dual memory model of the information processing theory says that information goes through a process in order to be coded into long-term memory.  The first thing the information must connect to is our sensory register, which includes attention.  If we have trouble attending to the material, it will not be processed and sent on through the dual memory process. As Carr says, technology is deeply affecting our ability to attend to information, because it allows you to access information so rapidly and move from link to link in a matter of seconds.  Thus, it is also affecting the way that information moves through into short- and long-term memory.  Carr's argument reminded me of the article we read last week, "Do Learners Really Know Best? Legends in Education," by Kirschner & Merrienboer.  The first legend has to do with learners as "highly information-competent digital natives," and how students are "able to effectively multitask with various technologies" (Kirschner & Merrienboer, 2013, p.170).  The authors refute this myth by saying that students are only using limited technology, but more importantly, are not effective multi-taskers, but are becoming more efficient at switching quickly between different tasks, thus training their attentions to want to do so, and not actually retaining as much information as thought.  This goes along with what Carr is saying about how technology is changing the way we learn.

Carr's digression made me smile a bit, as I too have fallen into the need to constantly check my email, Twitter feed, Facebook feed, Instagram feed, Buzzfeed app, text messages, etc., which greatly affect my productivity at work.  Sometimes I forget to open my email on my computer, and I find that I get so much more work done if it is not constantly refreshing.  This is also true of receiving text messages; every time I hear that little "ding!" I must check it right away, thus tearing my attention away from my work, and making me forget my train of thought.