You can easily substitute the word "modern" for "laptop" since these shifts are occurring among most youth in America.
"Shh, quiet, eyes up front and listen" might be the catch phrase of traditional classrooms. But watch what today's laptop-toting kids seem to do simultaneously. I have seen my own daughters reading a book with email pinging away, Instant Messaging popping up on their screen, music blaring from their laptops, and all the while they are taking notes on the reading.We don't get it and in fact we (adults) generally don't believe this is possible. It may not be. However, it is highly probable that our previous conceptions of our brain's ability to deal with multiple stimuli
will be expanded in the future. Our paradigm of brain development of the past held that we it was all downhill after adolescence. New research, however, is refuting these old ideas as evidence growth that we can strengthen and form new neurological connections given the nature of the stimulus. Studies in “neuroplasticity”— the ability of brain to physically change given the nature of the stimulus—calls into question previous assumptions about the brain and learning.
