Technology and the Mind

One of the key discussions this week was 'can technology truly change a persons mind?' Prensky (2001:1) argued that

"today's students think and process information fundamentally different from their predecessors"

When most of us think of technology changing the human brain, we immediately think of some cyborg-like creation of a person linked up to a computer and such. However, the reality is much less hardware orientated and much more innocuous than one may think.

One of the more extreme ways technology affects the mind was brought to my attention via this Ted Talk with Susan Greenfield.

Technology and the Human Mind | Susan Greenfield | TedxOxford

In it, she explains how technology can actually physically alters the brain. For example, the dopamine centre of the brain may grow larger in gamers and look similar to that of an addict or gambler.

However, it could be argued however, that this is not due to the technology per se, and just how people in general react to any stimulus. As mentioned in the comparison, drug addicts and gamblers show similar effects. It seems much more related to the human condition than it is to technology, but nonetheless, these peoples brains have changed due to interaction with technology and we must be respectful of this. In fact, it has been documented how many games are designed to be addictive intentionally. Dr. John Hopson, who is a games researcher at Mircosoft and holds a doctorate in behavioral and brain sciences, had this to say

"Each contingency is an arrangement of time, activity and reward, and there are an infinite number of ways these elements can be combined to produce the pattern of activity you want from your players."

However, what most intrigued me from our weekly readings was something entirely more subtle. The simplest things can often have the most drastic consequences. Simply the fact that information is not only stored outside of the Human brain but also that such data can be collected and harnessed easily has freed up the human mind from the more mundane fact checking and data collection and allows people to think more about the bigger question. No longer wondering 'what are the results?'  but 'what do these results mean?' It also allows access to huge amounts of data, allowing researchers to see the broader picture and a much greater scope to base their judgements on.

In am not simply talking about researchers conducting some science experiment in white lab coats. No, I am talking about normal human beings in their everyday life. Salesmen looking at a target demographic, stockbrokers  estimating potential market falls and rises. Even suggestions on what to view next on Netflix are based off an algorithm of what viewers of the same show were also interested in.

I myself have a keen interest in Fantasy Football, in particular fantasy.premierleague.com. I am a member of numerous groups and blogs devoted to fantasy football and some of the stats used by people to make their decisions are truly mind blowing - number of touches a player has in the opponents box, heat maps showing the average playing position of a player. No stone is left unturned. Freed from the tediousness of having to manipulate this data themselves for something so trivial as Fantasy Football, allows players of the game a much larger scope for them to adjust their teams.

Source: https://fpldiva.wordpress.com/

This is one of many stats made by FPLDiva and I have approached him on the subject of how he utilises these stats to make his deductions.  I am currently awaiting his reply on the topic.

Nonetheless, this seems to be a perfect example of of Prensky's (2009: 1) Digital Wisdom

"Digital wisdom is a twofold concept, referring both to wisdom arising from the use of digital technology to access cognitive power beyond our innate capacity and to wisdom in the prudent use of technology to enhance our capabilities"

So what does this mean for language learning?


Changes in the way people think naturally has a huge bearing on any field of education. However, we are not talking about an evolutionary trait where somehow the younger generation are more in tune with computers, but more how the world has changed due to technology and how these 'Digital Natives' perceive the world around them, and the information it holds.  If the youths of today really learn differently then it is our duty as teachers to accommodate their needs and do what is best for them. Many have grown up with Google translate and spell-checker fixing their mistakes, or creating more errors as the case may be. Who are we then to deny them access to such when on task in the classroom? Why are phones often banned entirely in the classroom? Often there is a great temptation there for the student to go off task but perhaps they are not entirely to blame. Are our lessons too long? Too monotonous or too lacking in stimulus for the modern student?

Bibliography:

1. Hopson, J. Behavioral Game Design [online]. USA: Gamasutra, 2001 [viewed 13th November 2015] Available from: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3085/behavioral_game_design.php?page=1
2. Prensky, M. (2001) Digital native, digital immigrants. On immigrants. On the Horizon 9, 5. MCB University Press 
3. Prensky, (2009) M. H.Sapiens Digital: From Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom. Innovate Online.