The iBrain

This was a great read.  I could not help but think of my poor mother, who has been technologically left behind.  How frustrating it is for her.  My step-father, after 35 years, has decided to go back to school and secure his degree in embalming.  Creepy, I know.  He has elected to take online courses, and it has been a pain trying to bring them up to speed enough to actually get true functionality out of their computer, much less, bring them to the world of online learning.

In relation to the chapter, I am totally an ibrainer.  I am so stimulated by digital visualization that I cannot get enough.  I am NOT a multi-tasker.  Technology allows me to be, somewhat.  I am hyperactive, and in retrospect to the views of the Chapter (Stone),  I am think that over-exposure to visual data is a good thing.  I am drawn to a video we watched in class that stated the average child spends 6 hours per day in front of a screen.  How impressive!  I think that we are seeing words like hyperactivity and anxiety and stress more, because students are likely to become bored without visual stimulation.  Let's face it, the days of inventing a game to play outside in between lemonade breaks are virtually over.

Instead, we crave information.  We beg for exposure to visual data that is either personally stimulating, professionally stimulating, or educationally stimulating.  I believe these words are derived form those who could simply bored by the lack of visual stimulation.  This Chapter is right down my ally as it deals with the research I have been conducting dealing with kids and lack of communication skills being developed because of all of the digital communication that is being conducted to date.  I keep reminiscing about a photo I saw of one of my Freshman students while in elementary school playing with his iPhone 3 in class!  That doesn't seem so long ago.  We are 1-3 years away from students being totally exposed to this information at an early age.

The concern being brought up dealing with the effect of screen time on babies and youngsters was quite interesting.  My son is better at angry birds than me and he is four.  His verbal skills CRUSH mine at his age, and he is using bigger words.  I am a stay at home dad with a travelling wife, and do feel that too much TV can cause overstimulation.  I try to limit my child, but with interactive games, and other medias, I feel that exposure is good.  Most games my son plays deal with problem solving.  Where's my water? , Angry Birds and other similar games are great in helping children develop problem solving skills.

The iBrain will continue to develop, as it should with technology.  It is OUR generation that will need to pick up the slack in the gap.  We MUST stay ahead of our children, or at least keep pace as best as we can.  I cannot wait to see what developments lie on the horizon.