Your Brain on Hypertext
https://magic.piktochart.com/output/9644766-brain-on-hypertext
Well, here it is! I wanted to change things up a bit and do a more modern presentation of the material so I chose to create an interactive infographic. I used Piktochart, which was pretty intuitive and simple to use. I enjoyed discovering and playing with the affordances available. Piktochart was totally new to me and I appreciate the opportunity to do something new and different.
I was concerned about building it and saving it entirely online, but everything went swimmingly.
The topic is of particular interest to me, and as I perused the research I found so much correlation with our readings, activities, discussions and experiences. It really helped me to internalize the content and to transform it into deeper meaning and knowledge I can use as I develop materials for my learners.
Infographics, like the internet, take material and chunk it up into smaller bits of information to digest quickly. I’m not judging whether that is good or bad, it is just so. It is also very visual in nature, much like a newspaper. Links are included that take you on related journeys which may or may not detract from the message. Hopefully not, but who knows. We certainly all become victim to the interruptions on the net, but need to continue to harness our attention for the sake of productivity and personal achievement. We will prevail!
J@net
Multimedia Assignment – References.
Hey Janet,
Cool project! I really liked the interactive element of the Picktochart, the concentration/focus tests were fun. I found this quote you included, noteworthy:
“Furthermore, the more you get used to technology and information, you may lose the ability to discern what is important to focus on (Carr, 2010).”
Having the ability to be present enough in your senses/mind to make a choice about what to give your attention to is a practice, it isn’t something that comes naturally in adulthood. With so much constant stimulus in our surroundings, it is necessary to ‘check-in’ with what we choose to be the most important thing to focus on at any given moment. When we do make a conscious choice on where to direct our attention and focus, the ‘distractors’ lose their power, and most often we are able to remain attentive to our task. Helder Babcock (2008) examines this effect in her dissertation on internet distractions in the form of ads:
“results may suggest that distinctive perceptual features on distractor ads are unlikely to automatically capture attention when individuals are involved in cognitively demanding tasks.” (11)
This would suggest that once we are devoted to a task, we become less likely to have our attention broken. This is the ‘training’ or learning element of information bombardment. Preparing our minds and exercising them in ways to strengthen the ability to focus on a task is connected with learning how to learn and metacognition.
The studies you mentioned which suggest our attention is compromised are very valuable in highlighting the importance of practicing cognitive exercises which strengthen our concentration skills and capabilities. Thanks for such an intriguing project and topic!
Helder Babcock, Elizabeth Ann. (2008). ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. Retrieved from:
http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/docview/304581305?pq-origsite=summon