Source Four: Your iBrain. How Technology changes the way we think
Gary Small, Gigi Vorgan. (October 2008). Your iBrain: How technology changes the way we Think. In Scientific American. Retrieved 10th April 2011, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=your-ibrain.
Doidge N, (2007), The brain that changes itself: Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science, Viking Penguin: United States
Doidge N, (2010), Norman Doidge MD: The Brain That changes itself, Official Website, Retrieved April 10th 2011, from http://www.normandoidge.com/normandoidge/MAIN.html
Source Four is an article written by Gary Small and Gigi Vorgan. It take a neuro-scientific approach to the possible impact that ‘high technology’ is having on the evolution of our brains. The humorous opening paragraph in which Smalls prints, “Hey Lady! Wake up and smell the computer age!” sets the standard for the colloquial and baseless foundation for this article. That is not to say that it doesn’t offer many valid and rhetoric scientific questions. In fact, in conjunction with other neuroscience readings, it proved to be quite a provocative and stimulating paper.
The article is built around the theory that exposure to high technology stimulates brain cell alteration. In brief, “digital technology is not only changing the way we live...it is profoundly altering our brains.” New methods of thinking, engaging and digital literacy results in our brain strengthening new neural pathways and weakening old ones. This concept of Neuroplasticity that Small and Vorgan are alluding in their argument, has become something of a buzz term recently. Thus in order to substantiate the ideas surfacing in this paper, I cross referenced these ideas with more credited publications.
The Brain that changes itself (Doidge, 2007) also explores this new scientific phenomena of Neuroplasticity, and, “it’s implications for all human beings...not to mention human culture and human learning.” (Doidge, 2010). Doidge and Small both refer to the brains behavior of, “re-mapping, retooling and evolving,” (Small, 2008) in order to process the limitless information and communicative dimensions available. Small comments, “They’re not superhuman. They’re our 20-something co-workers, your children and your competition. Are you keeping up?” This statement reiterates that technological ‘presence’ appears to be altering the very nature of the environment in which we work and consequently how we adapt in this context.
The article was concise and comical, however it lacked scientific reinforcement, which lead me to conclude that it was more of an opinion piece of writing. Through further investigation I found the information in the article to be accurate, but this only came after I outsourced scientific accreditation myself. The informal style of writing however, enticed me to ponder bigger questions. For example, what are the professional, social and political impacts of this new brain evolution? And what is the price of adapting? Whilst Small and Vorgan pose a lot of questions like this, they fail to answer them. Perhaps this is the purpose of the article, to make us think. And so I did.
How much of this digital environment do I really understand? How much will my students understand? By integrating technology in the classroom, will I be giving my students what they want and need? Are they learning, or possibly even evolving their brains less efficiently if I choose not to incorporate digital media in my classroom? In true Small and Vorgan style, I leave this questions lingering.
