Return-Path: <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id e6P7KuT24829; Tue, 25 Jul 2000 03:20:56 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 03:20:56 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <20000725071555.23115.qmail@web2206.mail.yahoo.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: Gerry Lassche <baccachew98@yahoo.com> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-ESL:4713] Re: [jalttalk 18643] Cyber addiction 2 X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Status: O Content-Length: 3786 Lines: 104 July 25 Before, I asked three questions: "First, when an addict gets hooked on a drug, he/she requires increasingly more potent doses in > order to get a "high". What is that process called?" Eileen Traynor informed me it is "building a tolerance". "Second, when children receive "edu-tainment", they feel less motivated to read books, which don't have the same degree of stimulation provided by the TV or computer-mediated education materials. Does this process have a name?" Just thought of it myself. It's called "habituation". >From child psychology, it refers to a process where a child becomes familiar with a previously attention-grabbing stimulus due to repeated exposure. "Third, is there any psycho-biological connection between these two phenomena? These questions emerged from some research I am reviewing now, on the effect of cyber-education on children. Children who are taught through an increasingly computer-mediated environment, and motivated by visual imagery and sound effects, may require increased "dosages" of stimulation before acquiring information." My sister, a nurse, gave me some insight from a case she is familiar with (names changed to preserve privacy): *************************************************** John had a pyscho-educational assessment done a couple of months ago as his parents noticed that his grades were going down from A's to C's. The results (which was done by a registered pyschologist) suggested that John has a processing problem. This means that his brain is only capable of handling so much auditory information and then it shuts down to absorb and then "turns on again" as it were, for more auditiory information. This means that in a classroom where a teacher talks for 30 minutes, John might only pick up 70 percent of the material. It is classified as a learning disability, only in that, government education is geared to one kind of learning style. (Apparently there are 4 different types. The one that is generally used in the school system is generally considered the most cost effective!) This problem tends to show up in the highschool years where there is less visual and more auditory learning. John also has a lower focus ability as a result. This could mean that he is more inclined to lean to those things that give instant gratification like computer games which could easily become habit forming. He is considered bright and can do well in the academically focused schools if he is given the written material from which the teacher teaches from or has a selected scribe to take the notes. ***************************************************** I think the connection lies in the phrase gratification. Substance abuse is also about inability to delay gratification, which is what cyber education, with its captivating visual imagery, could be co-opting. So, now a fourth question: Is it possible that the motivation gains reported tech-boosters as resulting from technology enhancement in the classroom, "take advantage" of the prevalence of this learning disability? That is, as American children more and more often display attention deficits, the answer will be to provide shorter delays in gratification via visual/sound/virtual experience/effects, "instant solutions", so to speak, through computer mediation? Now that is a brave new world, and our children are the rats. Yours, ===== Gerry Lassche O: 0562 221 5085 F: 0562 221 5030 ************************************ Globalization Education Team POSCO Education & Training Center PO Box 36, 74-3 Gigok-dong, Nam-ku Pohang City, Kyungbok KOREA 790-390 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get Yahoo! Mail – Free email you can access from anywhere! http://mail.yahoo.com/
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