Category: Blog (Page 2 of 2)

1.) Before: While doing multiple different activities, your focus is not on one single activity but instead on both at the same time.

After: While doing multiple different activities your focus isn’t on one activity, instead it’s on both.

2.) Before: Restak gives an example of this, talking about a scenario where someone on the talking to their friend on the phone is having trouble focusing on driving in deteriorating conditions as well.

After: Restak gives an example of this, a scenario where someone talking on the phone is also having trouble focusing on driving in deteriorating conditions.

3.) Before: Older generations didn’t have as much technology to distract them while they were still developing, so their brains could have a harder time getting used to this new abundance of information.

After: Older generations didn’t have as much technology distracting them while developing, so they may have trouble adjusting to this new abundance of information.

4.) Before: Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have both become very common in today’s world, with characteristics of the two disorders now being considered ordinary behavior in society.

After: Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have become very common today, with characteristics of the two now being considered ordinary behavior.

5.) Before: Before you know it, you are multiple websites away from where you started, and what you’re looking at has nothing to do with the original page you were looking at.

After: Before you know it, you are multiple websites away, and what you’re looking at has nothing to do with the original page.

I noticed a lot of connections between Restak’s “Attention Deficit: The Brain Stndrome of Our Era” and Sam Anderson’s “In Defense if Distraction”.  Both pieces discuss how technology today is currently changing our brains by constantly taking our focus and shifting it between many different ideas. This distraction can be beneficial however, since many ADHD/ADD behaviors can prove helpful in the work place. Anderson even referred to distraction as “following your attention”.

They both talk about how we think we’re good at multitasking, but in reality we can barely multitask at all. Instead our brains just constantly shift back and forth, focusing on one thing then the next. This constant shifting of attention is all over due to technology today as pointed out by Restak and Anderson. The constant shifting of our brains may be beneficial in developing our brains further, according to the two.

So far, I don’t see ePortfolio as being super helpful  to me honestly. To me, most online work for school or classes seems like just a more distracting way to do the same work that could be done on paper. It’s very easy for my mind to wander as it is, so doing work online makes it even more challenging. It’s hard to block out what else I could be doing online instead (and my phone notifications that pop up on the screen don’t help that). Mostly, I just rush work if it’s online, because it doesn’t feel as important to do it well.

While I have mostly pessimistic views of this learning space, I do think it could prove to be helpful in some ways. Unlike with paper assignments, you can receive feedback much easier and faster. Using these ePortfolios will allow us to see the work of our peers, which could be very useful. We can comment on stuff to help them out, as well as getting new ideas and perspectives to possibly incorporate into our own work. It also makes it less uncomfortable to be honest about flaws you find in a peer’s writing rather than saying it straight to them. Overall I don’t see this platform as being extremely helpful, but also I don’t see it as being totally a waste of time either.