Digital Learning

I've read through the various articles on Nicholas Carrs book and have to say it sounds like it would make an interesting read. Are people panicking over nothing though?

The internet as we know it today is still relatively new and usage has surged to phenomenal levels over the last 15 years as can be seen from the graph below.

The shared resources, services available and social networking capabilities are also increasing all the time presenting users with a huge amount of information and stimulus that is constantly changing. Is it not just a case that we may need a bit more time to adapt to how to process all of this information effectively?

Carr seems to be saying that sitting down and reading is a more effective means of learning. His reasoning is that it forces us to focus the mind on the material in the book and therefore develop a deeper understanding of it and that while the internet may present the same information it also presents a myriad of other distractions at the same time which prohibits us from fully absorbing material in the same way.

I don't think this is necessarily evidence that it will ultimately make us 'dumber'. 15 years is an extermely short time in terms of human development, however the developments in terms of the web that have taken place in that time have been huge. People need time to come to terms with these changes and learn how to work effectively in a world that is constantly changing.

I do think it will be important for people and teaching practices to re-adapt their learning process  and theories in order to make the most effective use of the information the web now provides us with. The article by elearnspace.org discusses connectivism and how it will likely be the learning theory for the digital age. We no longer have the luxury of having the time to sit down with a book and learn all we need to know from it, nor will what we learn at school/college be enough to get us through our working lives but we do need to become more effective at sifting through the vast resources on the web to get to the information we really need.

Perhaps once all this discussion of how the internet is affecting our intelligence is done the focus will shift to how to train ourselves and new generations on how to deal effectively with information in the digital age!