1. HUNTING AND GATHERING WITH DIGITAL NATIVES
Are the natural and different multi-tasking capabilities of men and women being rapidly developed
and homogenised by information communications technologies and if so, what are the implications
for learning ?
As I am typing this article with my laptop at a crazy angle in the confined cabin space of an Air China
flight back from Beijing, I begin to question the wisdom of watching last night’s National
Geographic’s TV programme on Air Traffic Accident Investigation’s analysis of a plane crash caused
by the (male) pilot and co-pilot’s inability to multi-task in a crisis situation. Both men had been so
absorbed with the same instrument failure during a tropical storm that they failed to notice that the
automatic pilot had switched off and the plane was steadily banking to a point where it went into an
uncontrollable spin from which the aircrew could not recover. The investigation revealed that both
men should have been trained to focus on separate tasks in such circumstances but the stress of the
situation (and lack of training) caused them to panic and revert to natural instincts with fatal
consequences.
Having regularly cited the male of the human species instinct for focused attention as an explanation
for my lack of ability and/or willingness to engage in conversation with my girl friend whilst I am
working or concentrating, I am happy to accept that the female mind has a greater capacity for
multi-tasking than my own. It was never more clearly illustrated by our heated dialogue when I was
trying to assemble a new piece of garden furniture from Wilkinsons. I should have known when the
store assistant wished me luck as he helped me load the flat pack garden table and set of 6 chairs
into the back of the car that trouble lay ahead.
Not for the first time in the world of flat pack assembly were the enclosed instructions not only
unhelpful but physically impossible unless you had the fortune to be born with 4 pairs of hands, the
strength of Hercules and the precise dexterity of a brain surgeon. The first chair took over an hour to
assemble punctuated by my girl friend trying to make conversation with a sweating, despairing male
morphing with frustration into a wild raging animal. This contrasts with her actually wanting me to
talk to her whilst she simultaneously cheerfully cooks a complex meal, listens to iTunes and surfs the
web. Having decided for the sake of sanity and a happy home life to limit my chair construction to
one a night, I was eventually able, by trial and multiple errors and growing biceps and thighs, to
reduce the build time to 15 minutes (without interruptions).
This fundamental difference in multi-tasking capability between the sexes is actually borne out by
physical differences in the brains of men and women. These differences arguably stem from the
different primeval roles of hunting by men (requiring focused concentration) and gathering by
women (involving exploring, experimenting and social networking). These same physiological
differences in brain structure and development are now being observed in Digital Natives, the so-
called Generation Y who have been born into an age of embedded information communications
technology.

2. Digital Native Multi-Tasking
This rapidly developing ability to multi-task amongst the younger generations poses some
interesting new challenges for educators and trainers. Even baby boomers such as myself are not
immune from the Darwinian evolutionary effects of the Information Age. It is only a few years ago
that I used to be almost offended by the sight of conference delegates typing away on their laptops
and PDAs whilst the presenter desperately sought their undivided attention. I wondered how they
could do the presentation justice if their attention was so divided. Today I find myself doing exactly
the same thing - surfing the web and checking email whilst following the presentation. I feel as if I
have trained myself to be more multi-tasking whilst retaining the ability to pick out the key messages
from the presentation.
My newly evolving multi-tasking skills pale into insignificance beside what is happening to the brains
of infants exposed to a full plethora of communications technologies at an early age. Today’s Digital
Natives seem not only naturally able manage multiple sensory inputs with ease, but also to demand
them as an essential part of keeping their interest. They are also able (and expect) to access relevant
information instantly and on demand and appear not to value disciplined and structured learning
from subject matter experts.
The electronic games, virtual world and social network technologies researched and developed at
the Serious Games Institute may well provide useful pointers to the future of learning as a
personalised, persistent, exploratory, multi-disciplinary and self-directed experience. The question is
whether the youth of today will have the patience, focus and persistence to tackle the Wilkinsons
flat pack garden furniture assembly of tomorrow. Like the store assistant mentioned earlier, I wish
them luck !