Grammar Gazette- Issue 1, 2012

attention spans due to technology causing the user to react rather than think. What does this mean for higher order thinking skills in young people? The impact of reactionary practice by young people can inhibit their ability to challenge themselves in the development of their learning skills. With the fast-paced nature of modern society, has there been a ‘thinking shift’ that puts an emphasis on output rather than input? For students, one result of this is that their reliance upon information sourced using Google or Wikipedia, for example, is a shortcut that can hinder key learning processes. Founder of the Cognitive Research Trust in the United Kingdom, Dr Edward De Bono, cautions that in consideration of modern technology, the creative mind— or the beautiful mind—is in jeopardy (2011). Too often students can be concerned only with what is assessable and required for an upcoming exam or simply to identify the answer, thus skipping the vital learning stages of trial and error and exploring possibilities. Professor Erica McWilliam (2011) calls this the theory of ‘the pleasure of the rigor of the work’ whereby students come to enjoy the hard work that is done in the journey to achieve the end goal. Young people need to have explicit emphasis placed on the input and the learning process as more important than just getting the right answer. At Brisbane Girls Grammar School students are taught to value and become experts in all stages of the learning process. A social impact that technology is having on young people is how they engage and establish relationships. The phenomenon of Facebook, MySpace and Tumblr has resulted in teenagers spending a significant amount of time socialising via social media and forming relationships through a computer. As digital natives, teenagers view this as normal and natural, however, it is becoming evident that some young people are not developing the

traditional social skills that are required to engage with others meaningfully. It is important to acknowledge that the technology in this context is neutral and that the problem is how it is being used by teenagers who are not yet skilled in navigating relationships. Greenfield (2011) and De Bono (2011) assert that technology can be seen to be stunting the ability of young people to read body language and social cues, causing anxiety as they try to engage with others in a real world environment. There perhaps needs to be a greater emphasis placed on the importance of engaging with others face-to-face, in-person, to aid the development of traditional social skills previous generations have inherently learnt. At Brisbane Girls Grammar School, students are taught to critically and thoughtfully assess their use of technology in the modern world. Students learn the value of the internet and the democratisation of information that it has brought, but also to identify where and when its use is appropriate. Undoubtedly, technology has changed the twenty-first century for the better, but we must still be mindful of the dangers and the impact it brings.

Ms Sarah Boyle Head of O’Connor House

References

De Bono, E. (2011, November). How to have a beautiful mind. Paper presented at the Mind and its Potential Conference . Sydney, Australia.

De Bono,E., Greenfield, S., & McWilliam, E. (2011, November). Is 21st century technology affecting the way we think?. Paper presented at the Mind and its Potential Conference . Sydney, Australia.

Greenfield, S. (2011, November). Outside the box: the neuroscience of creativity. Paper presented at the Mind and its Potential Conference . Sydney, Australia.

McWilliam, E. (2011, November). The rewards of mental effort—exercising your imagination and creativity. Paper presented at the Mind and its Potential Conference . Sydney, Australia.

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