Daily Magazine

An unbiassed assessment of the effects on humans of digital technology is hardly 'scaremongering’

Via Sigalon

Multitasking is an essential skill in the era of email, text messages, Facebook and Twitter. But, argues neuroscientist Daniel J Levitin, it’s actually making us less efficient

Via Dr. Susan Bainbridge

How do you want to be remembered? As Simon Parkin discovers, we may eventually be able to preserve our entire minds for generations to come – would you?

Via Pierre Tran

'Why is visual communication so powerful? It isn’t just because of the pretty pictures; it’s straight-up science. The brain absorbs and synthesizes visual information faster than any other stimuli, making visual content an incredibly effective medium. Check out this infographic, and download A Business Guide to Visual Communication to learn more about creating effective visual communication.'

Via Lauren Moss, malek

Have you lost your house keys recently? If so, you probably applied a spot of logical thinking. You looked first in the most obvious places – bags and pockets – and then mentally retraced your steps to the point when you last used them.

Researchers looking at child development often use search-and-find tasks to look at the ways in which children apply what they are learning about the physical world. Tests carried out on toddlers reveal that something quite remarkable happens in child development between the ages of two and five – a stage identified by both educationalists and neuroscientists as critical to the capacity for learning.

Dr Sara Baker is a researcher into early childhood at the Faculty of Education. She is interested in the role of the brain’s prefrontal lobe in how young children learn to adapt their understanding to an ever-shifting environment. Many of her studies chart changes in children’s ways of thinking about the world. She uses longitudinal designs to examine the shape of individual children’s learning curves month by month.

Research by Baker and colleagues is contributing to an understanding of the acquisition of skills essential to learning. She explains: “The brain’s frontal lobe is one of the four major divisions of the cerebral cortex. It regulates decision-making, problem-solving and behaviour. We call these functions executive skills – they are at the root of the cognitive differences between humans and other animals. My executive functions enable me to resist a slice of cake when I know I’m soon having dinner.”

Via iPamba

An appropriate metaphor that often helps students and educators alike understand the role of executive functioning in thinking and behavior is to imagine an orchestra conductor. The conductor chooses what work the orchestra will perform, decides how to interpret that work, sets the tempo for the performance, and directs each section of musicians to contribute at the appropriate time. In the same way, executive functioning allows us to:

Activate awareness
Self-regulate by cueing, directing, and coordinating the various cognitive skills necessary for moment-to-moment functioning
Establish goals and make long-term plans
Maintain a self-image of being in charge of our learning and actions.
Students can and should be taught to develop their executive functioning as a path to self-directed learning and self-determined living.

Via Gust MEES, Jane Shamcey

When you're learning new material, it can be overwhelming when you think about how much time you need to truly understand it all. This studying technique can help you stay focused and take on more information with shorter study sessions.

Via John Evans

Tips for Memorizing a Speech Infographic presents effective ways of speech memorizing.

Via Tom D'Amico (@TDOttawa) , Brian Yanish - MarketingHits.com

The persistence of social media is certainly changing how things are done. In a matter of minutes, you can wish an old friend happy birthday on Facebook, find a recipe for dinner on Pinterest, watch a how-to project on YouTube, and get up to the minute updates on events from Twitter. But social media isn’t just changing how we act; it’s actually changing our brains as well.

Via Dr. Susan Bainbridge, Nevermore Sithole, Jocelyn Stoller, malek