1. Introduction

The modern world is coming up with a plethora of new media which we all find ourselves faced with everyday. The notion of a change in modes of attention is a question that N. Katherine Hayles discussed in her essay “Hyper and Deep Attention: The Generational Divide in Cognitive Modes”, which was published in 2007. This paper aims to summarise Hayles’s points on deep and hyper attention as well as implications that the proposed shift in modes of attention has on educators. When looking at the findings it becomes evident that educators have to act. But what is the way forward here ? Changing students or changing teaching methods ? Some models to changing classrooms will be presented as well as the concepts of the online based encyclopaedia Wikipedia and the Internet phenomenon of  “blogging”. The advantages and dangers of modern media and their influence on the modes of attention will be pointed out.

2. Deep Attention and Hyper Attention

Katherine Hayles emphasises the growing influence of networked and programmable media and their equally growing influence on how we communicate with each other in her 2007 essay “Hyper and Deep Attention: The Generational Divide in Cognitive Modes”(cf. Hayles 2007: 187). She proposes the hypothesis that we are currently experiencing “a generational shift in cognitive styles that poses challenges to education at all levels”(Hayles 2007: 187). She divides attention into deep attention and hyper attention. Deep attention, according to Hayles, is required when concentrating on one object for a long period of time, while ignoring any other stimuli. Hyper attention is characterised by performing a sequence of tasks rapidly after one another. In a setting which requires hyper attention there are various information streams and a high level of stimulation (cf. Hayles 2007: 187).

Both cognitive modes come with advantages as well as limitations. While deep attention is highly advantageous for solving complex problems in one medium individuals using this technique are only minimally alert when it comes to their environment and they are often confined to respond in the same medium (cf. Hayles 2007: 188). Hyper attention on the other hand excels when the environment is changing rapidly, requiring a rapid adaptation to a new situation where different stimuli compete for attention, and reaches its limits when it comes to having to focus on one medium for an extensive period of time (cf. Hayles 2007: 188). Educational institutions have had their focus on fostering deep attention in the past and it has become a standard in the academic world which finds itself challenged by the generational shift in cognitive modes Hayles describes. Nowadays serious incompatibilities between the expectations of educators and their students have to be bridged. While teachers often are trained in deep attention, assuming it to be “the right thing” to do their students often cannot live up to their expectations. Hayles points out that “we would expect a crisis, which would necessitate a reevaluation of the relative merits of hyper versus deep attention, serious reflection about how a constructive synthesis of the two might be achieved, and a thoroughgoing revision of educational methods” (Hayles 2007: 188).

She furthermore relates to a study by Steve Johnson and a study commissioned by the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2005: Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8–18-Year-Olds. In their survey the Kaiser Family Foundation researched the use of media of 2032 young people (Kaiser Family Foundation 2005: 6) . 694 of the participants handed in seven day media-use diaries which were used for a more detailed study (Kaiser Family Foundation 2005: 6). Those diaries served to document which media young people have in their homes, which media they use for how long, where and with whom they use them, which media activities they prefer, and what rules govern their use of their media behaviour (cf. Kaiser Family Foundation 2005: 57). In their study the Kaiser Family Foundation found out that young people spent an average of 6.5 hours with media per day in 2005 (cf. Kaiser Family Foundation 2005: 39). Adding the times when various media sources are used simultaneously the average time spent with media rises to 8.5 hours every day (cf. Kaiser Family Foundation 2005: 39). The study reveals that they spent 3.51 hours with the TV or DVDs, MP3s, radio and CDs took up 1.44 hours, they used the computer for 1.02 hours, video games were used for 0.49 hours and reading came last with a mere 0.43 hours a day (cf. Kaiser Family Foundation 2005:38). They also found out that young people mostly do their homework while attending to other forms of media at the same time. Out of the 694 30% said the did so “most of the time” while another 31% said they attended to other forms of media during homework time “some of the time” (cf. Kaiser Family Foundation 2005: 95). This means that 61% of students some or most of the time alternate between doing their homework and listening to music (33%), using computers (33%), reading (28%) and watching TV (24%) (cf. Kaiser Family Foundation 2005: 95).

Hayles points out that this is to be called “alternating” as psychological studies have indicated that what we colloquially call “multitasking” actually refers to a “rapid alternation among different tasks”(Hayles 2007: 189; cf. Rubinstein, Meyer, and Evans 2001). The study of Rubinstein, Meyer and Evans indicated that “efficiency declines so significantly with multitasking that it is more time-efficient to do several tasks sequentially than attempt to do them simultaneously” (Hayles 2007: 189; cf. Rubinstein, Meyer and Evans 2001: 790). This notion of preferring alternating between different tasks to concentrating on one task only clearly hints at the tendency to hyper attention.

3. Hyper Attention and AD/HD

Seeking for various stimuli is also associated with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Attention deficit disorder (ADD) is an anachronistic term which has been replaced by the newer diagnostic terminology of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD is divided into three categories: predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive, and combined inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive. ADD is no longer regarded as a properly diagnostic term, but still is used widely.  For this reason AD/HD is now used to refer to both older and newer terms. (cf. Hayles 2007: 198)

Psychiatrist Les Linet believes that children, as well as adults, diagnosed with AD/HD have developed a “shield” in their nervous system “so that normal stimulation is felt as boredom and relatively high levels of stimulation are necessary for them to feel engaged and interested” (Hayles 2007: 190; cf. Linet 2011). Linet therefore suggests that AD/HD more appropriately should be called “search for stimulation” disorder (Hayles 2007: 190; cf. Linet 2011: 5:30). Considering this proposal Hayles comes up with linking AD/HD with the hypothesis of the rise of hyper attention which she connects with the use of many different forms of media and technologies amongst young people. She backs up her hypothesis by pointing out that “the number of people diagnosed with AD/HD is rising in most industrialised countries” (Hayles 2007: 190-191). Though it is often claimed that the percentage of people officially diagnosed with AD/HD stays constant over time and that an increase in the number of people diagnosed with it can be a product of increased awareness there is also “evidence that AD/HD has genetic causes related to dopamine transporters and perhaps to the brain’s inability to produce dopamine” (Hayles 2007: 191). But there are still the environmental factors that play a role in how genetic predispositions express themselves. Therefore it is unclear how much exactly the rise of media consumption and hyper attention correlate with the rise of AD/HD (cf. Hayles 207: 191).

Furthermore there are developments which hint at an increased appetite for high levels of visual stimulation not only amongst young people: “while in the 1960s it was common wisdom in the movie industry that an audience needed something like twenty seconds to recognise an image; today that figure is more like two or three seconds” (Halyles 2007: 191). But how does this change come about ? Hayles points out that in recently developed societies the brain’s synapses are “coevolving with an environment in which media consumption is a dominant factor” (Hayles 2007: 192). We can therefore assume that children growing up in a media dominated environment “have brains wired differently from those of people who did not come to maturity under that condition” (Hayles 2007: 192).

3.1 Computer Games and Executive Attention

Executive attention is “the ability to tune out distractions and pay attention only to relevant information or […] the ability to develop deep attention” (Hayles 2007: 193). In a study on 49 4-year-olds and 24 6-year-olds  Rudeda et al. measured the effects of video games on their “executive attention” (Rudeda, Rothbart, McCandliss, Saccamanno, and Posner 2005: 14931). They adapted computer exercises which were used to prepare macaque monkeys for space travel and modified the programmes to make them easily accessible and fun for the young children they were working with. Their findings were astonishing:

Strong improvement in executive attention and intelligence was found from ages 4 to 6 years. Both 4- and 6-year-olds showed more mature performance after the training than did the control groups. This finding applies to behavioural scores of the executive attention network as measured by the attention network test, event-related potentials recorded from the scalp during attention network test performance, and intelligence test scores.

(Rudeda et al. 2005: 14931)

Therefore we can tell that the brain structure actually changes when playing computer games at young ages. Rudeda et al. further suggested that the usage of computer games could have a positive effect on developing a “synergistic combination of hyper and deep attention” (Hayles 2007: 193; cf. Rudeda et al. 2005: 14936).

3.2 AD/HD as a Disorder ?

Looking at the findings Hayles presented in her essay, how can we continue to call AD/HD a “disorder” ? In fact, it seems to be the normal condition of young people in our society who are constantly engaged with these media of hyper attention. While the prevalence of AD/HD is said to be 3 to 5 % of the population in Germany there are many more children showing some of the symptoms (cf. Lauth and Schlottke 2002: 21). Should we not work with the information we got from the various studies and try to make use of the changed modes of attention. Certainly hyper attention is the evolutionary older mode of the two. While deep attention requires a safe environment, where a person can concentrate on only one thing, hyper attention is a state of constant alertness, which can be beneficial in many fields. If young people learn to channel their attention in school and their future workplace they can benefit from the energy that “the disorder” comes with.

4. Implications for Educators

Educators across the globe find themselves faced with the mind-boggling task to have to work with students who require a very different education then the educators themselves have received. There are an abundance of behavioural  and cognitive studies by psychologists, which focus on the observable  behaviour of children, as well as brain research in the neuroscientific field(cf. Hayles 2007: 192). John Bruer argues that while educators can draw conclusions from cognitive science for education, trying to infer educational strategies from mere brain research is a bit too far fetched and would require “establishing correlations between microscopic neural patterns and such macroscopic behaviour as students fidgeting in their seats” (Hayles 2007: 192). At the present state “we simply do not know enough about how the brain works to draw educational implications from changes in synaptic morphology” (Bruer 1997: 10).

However, research is moving fast and brain imaging studies now allow correlations between observable actions and neuronal processes in the brain (Hayles 2007: 193). Fact is that students at all levels of education are increasingly showing a tendency towards hyper attention educators have to deal with. While Bernd Stiegler argues that the shift in attention modes which Hayles describes threatens all forms and levels of education (cf. Stiegler 2008: 113), it can also be argued, that the awareness for the change presents educators with a chance to reform, to update, anachronistic teaching methods. If students are in constant search of stimulation because their media dominated environment works this way, it might well be seen as a responsibility of teachers to adapt to their needs. In fact, it can be argued that educators could help their students to use their full potential. During the stages of development of the central nervous system the function of active neuronal connections (synapses) are enhanced when stimulated in a so-called “pruning process” (cf. Stiegler 2008: 115). Offering various stimuli therefore could be highly beneficial. As changing the students‘ behaviour in a prescriptive approach does not only take a lot of time and energy, and ultimately might have only little or no effect at all, educators might as well try to embrace the preferred form of their learners. We have to bear in mind that “it may be appropriate to change the young people, but surely the environment needs to change as well” (Hayles 2007:195). But how do we do it ?

4.1 Combining Hyper and Deep Attention

Knowing about the generational shift in modes of attention we are facing is a first step. Educators now have to explore ideas of how to combine hyper and  deep attention in classroom situations. Hayles mentions her own techniques  and comes up with the idea of reading literature and have her students come up with Facebook profiles and entries of the protagonists(The Education of Henry Adams), relating to computer games (William Faulkner’s novel Absalom, Absalom! and the computer game Riven), and using interactive fiction to understand novels(Richard Power’s novel Galatea 2.2 and Emily Short’s interactive fiction Galatea) (cf. Hayles 2007: 196-197).

Furthermore there are projects like the interactive classroom at the University of Southern California, where Scott Fisher established an interactive setting, where he and his students experiment with new pedagogical models to provide more stimulation than an ordinary classroom setting (cf Hayles 2007: 197; Fisher). Screens cover the walls of his classroom and students have access to computers and  the internet at all times. One of the new computer based methods Fisher and his students are testing is “Google jockeying”, where one student gives a presentation while the rest of the class searches the internet for appropriate material to display on the screens (cf. Hayles 2007: 196). Another new mode of teaching is “backchanneling”, “in which participants type in comments as  the speaker talks, providing running commentary on the material being presented” (Hayles 2007: 196). From Fisher’s experiments we can tell that it  is a challenge to find a mode of working in such an environment, which is dominated by learner autonomy and student input. As “the participants struggled to find appropriate configurations that will enhance rather than undermine the educational mission” (Hayles 2007: 196) we have to be aware that adapting to new modes is challenging for teachers and learners and therefore will take some time. To achieve this working with new media in the search for information could be a first step.

5. Information Search and Modern Media

Modern media has changed how we acquire knowledge and information. While printed encyclopaedias and a plethora of newspapers, books and magazines , as well as the spoken word, catered our informational needs in the past the online based encyclopaedia Wikipedia along with the popular search engine Google seem to supply us with all the information we could ever want or need. What is wrong with my car? How can I make quiche? Which are the newest publications on quantum physics? What is going on in the world today ? It is only several clicks to obtain answers to all those questions. The word GOOGLE even got its own entry in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). It is listed as a verb (definition: search for information about (someone or something) on the Internet using the search engine Google) with an object (on Sunday she googled an ex-boyfriend) and without an object (I googled for a cheap hotel/flight deal). Furthermore the online version of the OED lists the adjective googleable as a derivate of (to) google. But google has not only wiggled its way into linguistics. Google, as well as Wikipedia, have become an essential and convenient part of present day information search on all levels of life. Especially with the changed web culture, the so-called Web 2.0, which puts the users and their need for a hyper-attention orientated environment in the centre . Web 2.0 “is characterised by frequently updated sites, publicly constructed and shared information, and easy-to-use online applications, most of them free” (Rozema 2007: 31).

5.1 Wikipedia

Gathering information and knowledge has been an aim of mankind for centuries. During the course of history there always was controversy about the  written word. Historiography, Philosophy, Science — finding absolute truths in the academic field has played an important a role in the past as it does today. Still, the online Encyclopaedia Wikipedia, founded in 2001, offers a wide array of articles in various languages, and allows anyone to edit its  entries (cf. Cravitz and Smoot 2009: 91). While some celebrate it as “Web 2.0‘s most heralded achievement” (Rozema 2007: 31) for others “the site seems to represent the worst of how the Internet has dumbed down the research process, with its easily accessible but unsubstantiated (if not downright false) information on almost every topic” (Cravitz and Smoot 2009: 91). Du to this Wikipedia “has educators fed up with students using the site as a primary resource and citing its content in their essays” (Cravitz and Smoot 2009: 91). In offering new ways of accessing information it makes vast field of information and ongoing academic research available for everyone. Will Richardson, writer and educator, formulated the goal of Wikipedia as nothing less than “collecting the sum of human knowledge” (Richardson 2006: 60).  Allowing everyone in the world to edit its entries does seem to make reaching their ambitious goal a fraction more likely. Already running in 285 languages, amongst which Esperanto, Low Saxon and Zulu, Wikipedia provides us all with information world-wide (cf. Wikipedia: “List of Wikipedias”).

So what is it that many people perceive as a threat with Wikipedia ? If used as the singular source of information it can be misleading. At the same time it can teach its users important lessons about how entries on the site change and how the changes are debated openly, offering insight into the world of scholarship(cf. Cravitz and Smoot: 96).

Wikipedia provides a unique opportunity to get students involved in ongoing conversations  about writing for a real audience, meeting genre expectations, establishing credibility, revising for clarity and purpose, and entering public discussions about the nature of truth, accuracy, and neutrality.

(Cravitz and Smoot 2009: 91)

The argument of Wikipedia being full of errors and at the same time a highly biased site can be diffused by what Peter Burke calls “intellectual health warnings” (Burke 2012,:274). Clearly marked Wikipedia issues warnings like “the neutrality of this article is disputed” or “this article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed” (cf. Burke 2012: 274). This very self-reflexive element emphasises “the increase in the ability of society to act upon itself” (Burke 2012: 274) and constantly revises its practices.

5.1.1 Wikipedia in Teaching

Are there ways, however, to utilise Wikipedia in a way that does embrace the new phenomenon ? Teacher can, instead of rejecting it all together, make themselves and their students familiar with Wikipedia. If they can learn how the processes of editing work they can get important insights and also realise that a printed encyclopaedia might as well contain errors or might not be up to date — clearly one of the advantages of Wikipedia.

Students can see that opinions and facts aren’t always easily differentiated and that uncontested facts can be used to support opposing conclusions. And they can learn that no piece of knowledge can be understood separate from its connections to other topics in a multifaceted web that, on Wikipedia, is accessible at the click of a mouse.

(Cravitz and Smoot 2009: 96)

Teachers and students alike can benefit from giving Wikipedia a chance. Many of the articles contain extensive footnotes, from which topics can be verified and researched further. Cravitz and Smoot furthermore suggest that working with an article together with students and possibly improving it can be extremely rewarding and beneficial for the learning process (cf. Cravitz and Smoot 2009: 94-95). With its many hyperlinks to different articles it would also cater for the students needs in respect to hyper attention giving them an opportunity to broaden their knowledge of a topic as they please.

5.2 Blogs

Blogs, “online personal journals with reflections, comments and links provided by the writer” (Johnson 2010: 172) have been on the rise for more than a decade now. The important difference between blogs and more traditional media is their networked nature. Links between blogs come in two forms. Firstly many bloggers have a ‘blogroll’ on their own site. This refers to a list of blogs that they  themselves frequently read or especially admire, with clickable links to the general websites other blogs. Secondly the bloggers have the option to write posts containing hyperlinks to designated articles on other sites, which is more specific than the ‘blogroll’ (cf. Farrell and Drezner 2008: 17).

5.2.1 Blogs in Teaching

Weblogs are already used by teachers and students as a means of education. They are easily created and updated and publishing their content on the internet is not only free, but also motivate students as they are assuming to be writing for an audience which exceeds the limits of their class or school. Furthermore the interactive element, where students, together with their teachers can have conversation and discussions outside the realms of the classroom, which can be fruitful (cf. Richardson 2006: 8). “Nothing else so richly combines the invitation to speak your ming with the opportunity to mix it up with other minds” (Rosenberg 2009: 336). The connectedness of Blogs and the possibility to load them with a lot of information in many different forms (music, photography, videos, text) also contains elements of hyper attention.

5.3 Podcasts

A podcast “is audio delivered over the web in serialised episodes. You might think of a podcast as a blog in audio form: like the blogger the podcaster publishes content to the Web on a regular basis, only the content is recorded rather than written” ( Rozema 2007: 31). Podcasts can come in a variety of forms and are available on almost any subject. There are podcasts which are informational, the New York Times ,for instance, offers a podcast which summarises the major headlines of the day (cf. Rozema 2007: 31).

5.3.1 Podcasts in Teaching

Teacher- and student-produced podcasts are becoming more and more popular at every instructional level, as educators explore the medium as a new way of teaching and learning.

(Rozema 2007: 32)

Podcasts offer a great opportunity to work with the spoken instead of the written word, which tends to dominate in conventional educational contexts.  Specialist podcasts across the curriculum can serve as an opportunity of hearing   someone else describe the field the class is studying, voice a different opinion  or just approach a subject from a new and different angle. Robert Rozema describes the great opportunities for using podcasts for teaching literature in his 2007 article “The Book Report, Version 2.0: Podcasting on Young Adult Novels”. Furthermore podcasts offer an excellent opportunity of providing an opportunity for students of listening to a native speaker Especially in the field of foreign language teaching. However, not only the consumption of podcasts can be a great way of enriching teaching, but also can students and teachers write and produce their own podcasts. Students can write scripts and “craft their podcasts with care, paying special attention to mood, form,selection of key quotes, perspective and audience” (Rozema 2007: 32). Incorporating various skills working on and with podcasts seems to be a good opportunity for teaching Generation M (cf. Kaiser Family Foundation 2005).

5.4 YouTube

YouTube is a “video sharing website that allows viewers to upload video content ranging from cute dog tricks to rare rock videos” (Desmet 2009: 65). Ever since its commercial launch in December 2005 it has become “the go-to website for finding topical and obscure streaming video clips” (Hilderbrand 2007: 48). It has become a very important site of reference for the younger generation with various different channels addressing different topics to which registered users can subscribe (cf. Desmet 2009: 48).

YouTube functions both as a portal of cultural memory and as a concept, but it does not operate as an archive in the proper sense of the word. Perceptions of its popularity have had a snowball effect on YouTube’s prevalence for both up- loads and streaming, thus making it the de facto repository for video clips—at least until they are deactivated. YouTube is only the most famous of a proliferation of web video sites, but as the best-known, it has become a centralized repository and probably the first place users search for content.

(Hilderbrand 2007: 54)

5.4.1 YouTube in Teaching

Videos available on YouTube also include a lot of materials which can be used in educational contexts. Combining audio- and visual input the video platform seems to be a good opportunity for teaching Generation M. Videos are available for a wide array of subjects. Foreign language teaching can benefit from easy access to authentic material and the sciences can gain access to videos of experiments easily.  In her 2009 article “Teaching Shakespeare with YouTube” Christy Desmet points out great opportunities for teaching Shakespearean literature to various ages with putting an emphasis on the Folger Library YouTube channel (cf. Desmet 2009: 68).

YouTube’s motto is “Broadcast Yourself.” Coupled with the invitation to self-display is a concomitant imperative to share videos with friends, colleagues and family. Perhaps this combination of motives provides the best reason yet to use YouTube in the Shakespeare classroom. Participating in a virtual network of Shakespearean artists, both as producers and critics, gives students a real stake in the shaping of Shakespeare for our time.

(Desmet 2009:  69)

5.5 TED

TED is a nonprofit organisation founded in 1984 which has the aim to spread ideas and knowledge. It started out especially fostering to bring together people from the worlds of technology, entertainment  and design, but has evolved to cater a broader field. Two annual conferences, one in New York in the spring and one in Edinburgh in autumn, provide opportunities for speakers from all fields to voice their opinions. But there is more. On their website TED.com the organisation offers “the best talks and performances from TED and partners available online, for free” with more than 1400 talks online which can be freely shared and reposted.

5.5.1 TED in Teaching

TED offers great opportunities in teaching. Not only does the site offer great talks on recent topics, but also can the idea of TED be transported into the classroom. Ideas here could be organising TED-like talks for a year group, or even the whole school, inviting guest lecturers or even giving responsibilities for talks to students.

6. Conclusion

Obviously the trend towards hyper attention is likely to increase in the years coming—and probably already has already accelerated remarkably since N. Katherine Hayles published her article in 2007. Students and young professionals alike are moving on from educational contexts into their working lives and with them do the modes of hyper attention. Hyper attention can come as the extreme of AD/HD challenging educators and employers. On the other hand it can come as an improvement of executive attention, which can be beneficial in various job scenarios. In teaching new media like Wikipedia, Blogs and Podcasts, YouTube and TED can present a great opportunity to incorporate the students’s search for stimulation into the classroom. Still we have to find ways of doing it efficiently, much rather then working with media because it is expected. It is clear that the usage of modern media amongst children and young adults must be viewed critically, but it can have positive as well as negative effects, which all users of modern technologies should be aware of.  Therefore I would always opt for granting children and young adults access to modern media in a guided way, pointing out their dangers as well as advantages along the way instead of demonising modern media based innovations —like it happens, in my opinion, too often, with Wikipedia— which can in fact be enhancing the learning process and their personal development.

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