As I rushed from a lecture in Building 12 which finished 5 minutes before the Media 1 Lectorial started, I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I entered the Lectorial room. All week I had been wondering: What exactly do we do in a ‘Lectorial’? Anyways, I would soon find out…
Once we were introduced to this ‘hybrid’ format of teaching, I could see that our ‘Lectorial’ sessions would be interesting, different and most importantly, engaging. I think the flexibility and interactivity that the format offers is key to teaching in the area of media, allowing for learning to occur in a range of different ways (wow, that’s actually really relevant to the topic we covered in the first session…).
In Lectorial 1, we were given an essay titled ‘Hyper and Deep Attention: The Generational Divide in Cognitive Modes’ (written by N. Katherine Hayles) to read. The piece discusses the idea that a shift in ‘Cognitive Styles’ is occurring in younger generations and examines what this shift means for us as ‘learners’ as well as for ALL educational institutions (primary, secondary, university, etc.).
It’s certainly true that we are more connected and immersed in media and the digital world than ever before – iPads and laptops are now used to educate even those in primary school, and we’ve all seen those kids in restaurants playing on their parents iPhones. While the closest thing to an iPad I had in Primary School was one of these things, my exposure to digital technology and media in recent years has certainly rendered me as someone who prefers ‘Hyper Attention’ over ‘Deep Attention’. I often attend to multiple stimuli at once and I’m certainly one who has become accustomed to studying with music playing (listening to The Beatles as I write this). I do however, recognise the benefits of ‘Deep Attention’ and certainly make use of this ‘Cognitive Style’ when it is needed.
However, (and I think this is suggested in the essay), it may be possible that those born today may completely lack the ability to utilise both ‘styles’ of attention. By exposing infants and toddlers to different forms of media and technology, we may be ‘training’ this generation to use only ‘Hyper Attention’. We will certainly need to adjust how we educate in the future, however I think the use of Deep Attention should still be taught to some degree as it clearly has its benefits.
That’s it for now, BUT – while I’m on the topic of education strategies, here’s a video which examines how ‘Tangential Learning’ could be utilised to encourage self-education in media consumers of ALL ages. While the video focuses on the video game medium, the ideas presented can easily be applied to film, tv and many other media formats. Tangential Learning is a really interesting area and the video is presented in a humorous and entertaining way. Definitely worth a watch: