Reblogging this here as the message of this paper – that “digital natives” and the ability to “multitask” are both myths, with potentially harmful consequences – is of wide importance, beyond education (or healthcare)
One common rhetorical device heard in technology circles – including eHealth circles – is the idea that those born after 1980, or maybe 1984, or maybe 1993, or maybe 2000, or maybe 2010 (you get the picture) are “digital natives” – everyone else is “digital immigrant” In the current edition of Teaching and Teacher Education, Kirscner and de Bruyckere have an excellent paper on this myth, and the related myth of multitasking.
The “highlights” of the paper (I am not sure if these are selected by the authors or by the editors are pretty to the point:
Highlights
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Information-savvy digital natives do not exist.
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Learners cannot multitask; they task switch which negatively impacts learning.
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Educational design assuming these myths hinders rather than helps learning.
The full article is via subscription/library online, and this recent post on the blog of Nature discusses this paper and others on this…
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Séamus Sweeney 