Can Multitasking be Learned in a Multimedia Classroom Environment?
Abstract: This study will examine if students can learn to multitask in a multimedia classroom environment. The following research questions will be investigated: 1) Can people truly multitask in a multimedia learning environment? 2) Does exposure to multiple technologies improve people’s abilities to multitask? 3) Can people learn to multitask better through repeated exercises in multitasking? Two groups of college students, 30 in each group, will participate in the study. One group serves as a control group (without multitasking) and another as an experimental group (being immersed in multitasking and multimedia activities). Both quantitative and qualitative methods will be used. It is hypothesized that over a period of time and through repeated exercises, the students in the experimental group will learn to multitask better. The findings of the study will help lead to a series of research in multitasking and multimedia learning environments.
Presider: Martin Horejsi, The University of Montana