Great points. I happen to have a perfect opportunity to do a little research here. I'm teaching two sections of the same class. In one section, I'm lecturing in a computer lab and in the other in a traditional classroom. I do not discourage my students in the lab environment from using the computers while I lecture. (Those that want to yell at me for this should start a new thread.) Assuming that my lectures are the major factor in student learning, tests are meaningful, and that use of computers is a distracter, I'm going to compare the test results at the end of this semester. Charlie http://charlie.balch.org -----Original Message----- From: air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Deanya Lattimore Sent: Sunday, October 15, 2006 7:16 AM To: air-l@listserv.aoir.org Subject: Re: [Air-l] multitasking The term "multitasking" is still being used in all of these discussions to signify too many conflated variables to reach any significant conclusions from these data. My point earlier was about processing differences. Auditory and visual processing are different things to me, and so I assume to some others as well -- probably dozens of different things. Measuring someone's ability to switch back and forth between windows to accomplish multiple tasks -- something that I can do with lightning speed -- says nothing about one's ability to listen in class and gloss over words on a screen at the same time, something that I would NOT be able to do with any measure of "success." The windows task seems to be something visual for me -- I have no trouble processing many visual cues at one time. The paying attention to words task seems to be auditory for me: two different "noises" no matter whether I am reading them or hearing them. We'll have to accept that we have different kinds of processing abilities that transcend distinctions between a "multitasking" and "non-multitasking" dichotomy before we'll figure out how to design studies that can really teach us something. Has anyone done anything to establish baseline processing differences before the "multitasking" tasks were recorded? Deanya _______________________________________________ The air-l@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/