From Digital Distraction to Digital Motivation: Utopia or Reality

Abstract

The presence of technology on college campuses has increased rapidly in recent years. Students come to the classroom with a variety of technological devices including smart phones, tablets, or laptops and use them during academic activity. For this reason, there are many researchers who, in recent times, have been interested in the problems derived from digital distraction in higher education. In many cases, researchers have conducted studies and surveys to obtain first-hand information from the protagonists, that is, from university professors and students. Despite the efforts, there are many questions that still remain unanswered. The authors are aware of the enormous challenge that the use of technology poses in the university classrooms and want to delve into the causes and consequences of student digital distraction and the strategies that can be used by instructors to curb student digital distraction without deteriorating student-instructor rapport in the context of higher education.

Key Terms in this Chapter

Time Thieves: It refers to something or someone that consumes a large amount of time, especially without achieving anything productive. Digital distracters are time thieves.

Digital Literacy: It refers to an individual's ability to find, evaluate, and clearly communicate information through technological devices and applications.

Gamification: It refers to the use of game design elements and procedures within non-game contexts to engage users and to facilitate them the solving of problems in a fun way.

Multitasking: It refers to the performance of more than one task at the same time.

Net Generation: It refers to the generation of children that have grown up using technological devices. They are also known as millennials or digital natives.