Minds, Machines, Mom: October 2012

Manifesto: Making intelligent decisions about technology and media

As parents, should we let our little kids play video games? Watch TV? Spend time on the computer? Try the latest brain stretching software to cure their ADHD or dyslexia? Any activity for your child comes with an opportunity cost. But sometimes if your kid is occupied for a little while by a game on your phone, you can restore your sanity, and the kid can get a much-needed break from the tedium of, say, shopping for bathroom tile. Is it good for your child's developing mind to listen to a certain kind of music, or play a certain kind of game? The evidence is sparse. Is it bad for your child to play those games, or to watch TV? The evidence is also sparse. In this blog I give my informed opinions on topics of parenting, technology and media.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

There's an interesting study out on what fraction of teachers believe "neuromyths," defined as "misconceptions generated by a misunderstanding, a misreading, or a misquoting of facts scientifically established by brain research, to make a case for use of brain research in education and other contexts." In addition to the study itself, there's useful discussion about what are the neuromyths, and what is their basis in fact vs. what is the misconception.

You can view the full article online here: http://www.frontiersin.org/Educational_Psychology/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00429/full