Allie Norman Source 5

Allie Norman Source 5

Citation: Sana, Faria, Tina Weston, and Nicholas J. Cepeda. "Laptop Multitasking Hinders Classroom Learning For Both Users And Nearby Peers." Computers & Education 62.(2013): 24-31. ScienceDirect. Web. 14 Oct. 2016.

Question: What role does student usage of technology, such as laptops in the classroom, play in shaping the academic experiences and success of college students?

Initial thoughts: The title, “Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers,” caught my attention when looking for source five, because it made me stop for a second and wonder how exactly laptop users can impair not only their ability to learn the content, but also other students around them. It made me ask the question; do exam scores decrease for laptop users alone, or for students with a direct line of vision to the laptop? Is it really that much harder to pay attention in class when you have a laptop a couple rows in front of you? How much are test scores decreasing because of this, if at all?

Part 2;

Paragraph 1; Summarize:

This article discusses the fact that multitasking is a growing concern of the success of higher education students. Multitasking decreases the processing and storing of the information given to students. This study examines the effects of multitasking and the viewing of multitasking with regards to exam scores and how they perform on certain types of questions; whether students that are exposed to laptop multitasking in any way perform better or worse on factual questions or critical thinking questions. This study shows the effects that when laptops are used for educational purposes, it increases motivation, satisfaction, and engagement among students, but when used for multitasking it decreases the motivation and engagement of laptop users and the classmates around them. Multitasking is directly correlated with decreased overall performance.

Paragraph 2; Think:

While reading this article I have realized that laptops in the classroom do in fact decrease the overall performance of learning in the classroom. The user, and everyone around them in direct sight of the laptop, are stripped of learning what others who are solely focused on the lecture are learning. Students in direct line of sight of the laptops don’t know that their learning is taking a hit, but it is. Our eyes are automatically drawn to fast movements (the shifting from task to task) and adjustments in the lighting of the computer screens. Just the other day, one of my instructors turned the lights down to focus our attention to a video on screen, a couple people had laptops open… I can’t tell you the content of the video we were supposed to be focusing on, but I can tell you that one of the girls in front of me was shifting through photos on twitter; there was a picture of her and her dog, her and her two friends, and her and another girl on Halloween. Why, since I had pencil and paper, was I distracted? Why couldn’t I recall the content of the video? This leads me to believe that even if you, the student, are trying to pay attention in class, others that are off-task can impair your ability to learn the information presented to you.

Paragraph 3; Synthesize:

This article was a fantastic concluding source. Throughout my research, I have come across many great points; whether learning with laptops was impaired due to the effectiveness of the implementation from teachers, or whether there was a difference in the type of multitasking that was taking place, or now, whether or not the impairment is due to multitasking altogether. These different questions and views on whether laptops in the classroom setting impair the ability of overall learning has lead me to my answer. This source, more than my other sources have brought to light that it may not be what type of multitasking or how they’re multitasking, but the sole fact that they are multitasking. This source puts up an argument to all my other sources, but incorporates all all of the facts, it sums up the research that I have done throughout this exploratory process, and it’s giving me a clear idea on the use of laptops in the classroom.

Paragraph 4; Question and plan:

From here, I need to go back through all of my sources and make sure they all have thoroughly helped me in my exploratory process. I think I need to put all of my sources into a single page and figure out how each and every one of them communicates with one another and how they connect to form a single and coherent thought. My articles gave me a path that has made me ask myself different questions along the way, questions that have finally lead me to a single, more refined question with what I hope is a well-constructed answer. After going through my sources again, I will then construct my annotated works cited page with quotations from each source that I will use in my final exploratory paper.