Learning and the E–Generation

Jean D. M. Underwood is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Nottingham Trent University, UK. She has published extensively on the effects of technology identifying the cognitive and social factors that facilitate and inhibit effective learning with and through digital technologies. She is the co-editor of several books, including Learning Through Digital Technologies (2007) and Integrated Learning Systems: Potential into Practice (1997). Lee Farrington-Flint is Lecturer in Developmental Psychology at the Centre for Research in Education & Educational Technology at The Open University, UK.  He has published on the topic of early language and literacy skills and early arithmetic development, and the role of digital technology on children?s communication and learning.    His work has appeared in the Journal of Research in Reading, British Journal of Developmental Psychology, and Educational Psychology, among other top journals.

Foreword ix
1 Learning in a Digital World 1


Starting points 1


Hopes, dreams and nightmares 4


Why Is the Supportive Evidence so Hard to Find? 5


How does psychological Theory Illuminate the Educational Debate?
11


How Can We Bridge the Home School Digital Divide? 15


Risks, skills and opportunities 16


Conclusions 16


2 How do People Learn? 18


Introduction 18


What is learning? 19


Beyond General Theories of learning 22


What About the Quality of Learning? 23


Active Versus Passive Learning 24


Preferred Learning Styles 26


What About the Learner? 28


Risks, Skills and opportunities 30


Conclusions 30


3 Social Interactions and Written Communication 32


Introduction 32


Communicating Online 33


Changes in Written Language 36


Abbreviations Mediated Through Technology 39


The Effects of Text Abbreviations on Literacy Skills 41


Risks, skills and opportunities 44


Conclusions 44


4 E-Books, E-Readers and Tablets, Are they the Way Forward?
46


Introduction 46


E-books: Are they Effective Teaching Tools or an adjunct to Real
Reading Activities? 47


Promoting Collaboration and Peer-group interactions 51


Adult instruction is Still Important 53


The benefits of Kindles and iPads 55


Mobile technology and Second Language Learning 58


What About Those at Risk of Reading Difficulties? 59


A Multisensory Experience 61


Risks, skills and opportunities 64


Conclusions 64


5 Becoming Digitally Literate 66


Introduction 66


Engaging with New Forms of literacy 67


So Which Literacy Skills are required to become a Digital
Native? 68


The Multimodal Landscape 70


Visual Literacy and Visual Representations 71


How Can Visual Representations Support Learning? 73


Risks, skills and opportunities 76


Conclusions 77


6 Social Networking as an Educational Tool 78


Introduction 78


Facebook as a Popular Networking Tool 79


Social Capital 80


Social Networking in Educational Contexts 82


So why is the Educational use of an SNS different from Using a
Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)? 86


Where Does This Leave Us? 87


The Need to Establish Rules of the Game: Netiquette 88


Risks, Skills and Opportunities 89


Conclusions 90


7 Absorbed by Technology 92


Introduction 92


Addiction and Wellbeing 93


Time Wasting 96


Driven by the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) 97


The Interplay of Cognition and Internet Activity 98


Are Multitaskers Always at a Disadvantage? 102


Going with the Flow 103


So what are Young People Learning? 104


Risks, Skills and Opportunities 105


Conclusions 105


8 Games, Learning and Education 107


Introduction 107


The Nature of Games 108


Simply Addicted to Games? 109


Games and Learning 112


Is Gaming a Panacea for Educational Ills? 116


The Future of Games for Learning 120


Risks, Skills and Opportunities 122


Conclusions 122


9 Misbehaviour or Merely Misunderstanding? 124


Introduction 124


What is Academic Dishonesty? 125


Prevalence rates of Academic Malpractice 126


Why do Students Take the Risk? 128


Do they Know what they are Doing? 130


And the Solution is? 132


Risks, Skills and Opportunities 134


Conclusions 134


10 Being Emotionally Intelligent and Risk Resilient
136


Introduction 136


Shades of Light and Dark 137


Overcoming Risks and Building Resilience 139


Self-disclosure and Social Networking 142


So are Emotional Intelligence and Resilience the Key to Reducing
Risk? 144


How do We Cultivate a State of Emotional Intelligence and Risk
Resilience? 147


Risks, Skills and Opportunities 149


Conclusions 150


11 The Future of Learning 151


Introduction 151


The Skills of the Net Generation 152


Bridging the Home?School Divide 156


Can Psychological Theory Inform Educational Practice? 158


Promoting Educational Change 160


Learner, Teacher and School Level Characteristics 161


Many Possibilities but No Certainties 165


References 167


Author Index 202


Subject Index 214