Mindfulness and its application in the 1:1

classroomACCE2016

James WhittleHoD Elearning - Kenmore SHS

Overview• Potential benefits of technology in education• How distraction is making it hard to realise these

benefits• Various solutions to the distraction problem• Using mindfulness and awareness of the mind as an

effective solution• Questions and discussison

200,000 Years ago until now

1.8 Million years ago

1.5 Million years ago

200,000 Years ago until now

1.8 Million years ago

1.5 Million years ago

Image credit: dasjabbadas

Technology is an amplifier

“Professional activities

performed in a state of

distraction-free concentration

that push your cognitive

capabilities to their limit.

These efforts create new

value, improve your skill, and

are hard to replicate.”

“More than five million jobs, almost 40 per cent of Australian jobs that

exist today, have a moderate to high likelihood of disappearing in the

next 10 to 15 years due to technological advancements”

• http://www.ceda.com.au/2015/06/16/five-million-Aussie-jobs-gone-in-10-to-15-years

"There’s never been a better time to be a

worker with special skills or the right

education, because these people can use

technology to create and capture value.

There’s never been a worse time to be a

worker with ‘ordinary skills’ and abilities to

offer, because computers, robots and other

digital technologies are acquiring these skills

and abilities at an extraordinary rate."

Children and young people are preparing for a very different future from that of their parents... Students will need to become:• lifelong learners who are

knowledge creators, technology savvy, problem solvers, innovators and effective communicators who share ideas with others and respond positively to change• successful people who set goals,

are resilient, able to create opportunities and are confident in pursuing their passions

The Deep Work Hypothesis:The ability to perform deep work is becoming

increasingly rare at the exactly the same time it is

becoming increasingly valuable in our economy.

As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill,

and then make it the core of their working life,

will thrive.

Attention economics“[What information consumes

is] the attention of its recipients.

Hence a wealth of information

creates a poverty of attention.”

Herbert SimonNobel winner, Economics (1978)

“We are moving from a world

where computing power was

scarce to a place where it now is

almost limitless, and where the

true scarce commodity is

increasingly human attention”

Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft

“Continuous partial attention describes how many of us use our attention today.

It is an always-on, anywhere, anytime, any place behaviour that involves an artificial sense of constant crisis. We are always in high alert when we pay continuous partial attention.” Linda Stone

Generation MAverage time that 8-18 years

olds reported consuming

media per day:

a 44% increase over a decade

(Rideout, 2010)

1999 7 hr 29 min

2009 10 hr 45 min

Multitasking

Media-multitasking and the classroomLaptop use in university lectures reduces memory for lecture content (Hembrooke, 2003)

For both the multitasker and for students sitting close-by (Sanaet al, 2012)

This remains the case even when the laptop is only used for note taking (Mueller et al, 2014)

distraction

Multi-tasking

Shallow work

Confusion / frustration

helplessness

distraction

Multi-tasking

Shallow work

Confusion / frustration

helplessnessTechnology amplifier

Technology amplifier

technology = distraction = shallow work?

• Solution 1

“So many of those debates fail to even acknowledge or

realise that we can educate ourselves, even in the digital

era, to be more attentive… What’s crucial is education.”

David Levy

“calm down and pay attention”

Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to, and seeing clearly, whatever is happening in our lives. The attention paid is purposeful, in the moment,

and without judgment. Irene Au

• Scientist / yogi

• Graphs and MRI scans

…structural differences between the brains of experienced meditation practitioners and individuals with no history of meditation, observing thickening of the cerebral cortex in areas associated with attention and emotional integration. Sue McGreevey

Mindfulness in schools - examples• http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/nightly-news/meditation-curbs-viol

ence-at-san-francisco-schools-378464323951• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fq9Wid9ECU

Mindfulness in schools – suggested program

Mindup

• My experience

Technology and mindfulness updates on Twitter

@wjittle