Para1 Para 2 Para 3 Para 4 Para 5 Why Kids Won't Quit Technology ALEXANDRA OSSOLA Even though they admit their devices distract them from class. Now, some educators are incorporating the digital tools into their teaching. Smartphones, iPads, TVs, computers, videogames. Technology is omnipresent, especially for young students. They just can’t get enough; one 2013 study found that college students check their digital devices for non-class purposes 11 times per day on average, and 80 percent of them admitted that the technology was distracting them from class. This has some educators and scientists concerned: Are students distracted because their brains are hard-wired for it after a lifetime of screens? Is there a cultural or behavioral element to the fixation that has stimuli the classroom? As scientists work to answer these questions, educators are finding ways to adapt to students’ changes—whatever their cause—and use the technology to their advantage, especially in courses focused on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). When scientists talk about how technology affects the brain, it’s one particular network that they focus on most often. It’s called executive function—the series of mental processes at the root of people’s working memory, which involves tasks like remembering instructions, and abilities such as multitasking or paying attention. While the most rapid brain development occurs before the age of five, people don’t hit their peak executive-function until their late 20s. A number of studies have shown the connection between stimuli and executive function. One of the most famous was conducted in 2011 and is commonly known as the “Spongebob study.” The research revealed that four-year-olds experience impaired executive function after watching the cartoon for just 10 minutes. In a separate 2011 study, researchers found that teens who are addicted to the Internet have abnormal neural pathways, which are tied to executive function. While scientists have not yet looked at how this stress affects executive function in the long term, there’s reason to think it might. This has to do with our understanding of neuroplasticity, or how an individual’s brain changes over time depending on how that person uses it. During adolescence, each person’s brain weeds out the pathways that it uses less often in a process called neural pruning, said Gary Small, a psychiatry professor and director of the University of California, Los Angeles, Longevity Center at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. “It’s hard to imagine that the way you’re using your brain at a young age isn’t going to affect the pruning process,” he added. In other words, if you spent your youth in front of screens, it would make sense that your adult brain would be hard-wired to process information at a frenzied pace. Vocabulary You can remember this sentence, or to remember what you ate for breakfast, because you have neuroplasticity. The singer became an omnipresent icon of style and beauty. Liz has a fixation with food. At about this time, the new idea about “corporate management” had begun to infiltrate into local government. When working with certain chemicals, you need to make sure you know what stimuli to keep them away, and avoid bad outcomes. Finish the pruning of fruit trees before the middle of the month. She was frenzied by fear when she smelled the smoke. Match each word with its definition 1. ____ Neuroplasticity (e) 2. ____ Omnipresent (d) a. Process of removing or reducing the number of neurons that occurs in the brain b. Wildly excited, or enthusiastic 3. ____ Fixation (c) c. The state of being unable to stop thinking about someone or something, or an unnaturally strong interest in something or someone 4. ____ Infiltrate (f) d. Widely or constantly encountered widespread 5. ____ Stimuli (g) 6. ____ pruning (a) 7. ____ frenzied (b) e. The brain’s ability to store memories and ideas, using its connected parts, and make connections f. To secretly become a part of a group in order to get information or to influence the way that a group thinks or behaves g. Something causes regarding to a response True/False/NG Read the questions and mark true, false, or not given T F Students like to use technology in class (Para 1) Smartphones, iPads, TVs, computers, videogames are devices that some educators use in class (Para 1) NG T Some students believe that technology helps them in their (STEM) studies (Para 2) Scientists talked about how technology affects brains (Para 3) Some researchers found that Spongbob cartoon is educational for kids Scientists searched about how this stress affects executive function in the long term (Para 5) NG NG T NG F Gary Small is a director of the University of Florida (Para 5) F Comprehension Questions What did the 2013 study found? 2013 study found that college students check their digital devices for non-class purposes 11 times per day on average, and 80 percent of them admitted that the technology was distracting them from class How many percent of the students admitted that the technology was distracting them from class? 80% At what age does rapid brain development occur? Before the age of five What is the name of the most famous study that was conducted in 2011? “Spongbob Study” What did “Spongbob Study” revealed/exposed? The research revealed that four-year-olds experience impaired executive function after watching the cartoon for just 10 minutes Who is Gary Small? And what is his opinion regarding this issue? Psychiatry professor and director of the University of California, Los Angeles, Longevity Center at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior “It’s hard to imagine that the way you’re using your brain at a young age isn’t going to affect the pruning process,” Amna Arif Julfar Ohood Abdulkarim http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/12/why-kids-wontquit-tech/383575/