Abstract
Laptops are commonplace in university classrooms. In light of cognitive psychology theory on costs associated with multitasking, we examined the effects of in-class laptop use on student learning in a simulated classroom. We found that participants who multitasked on a laptop during a lecture scored lower on a test compared to those who did not multitask, and participants who were in direct view of a multitasking peer scored lower on a test compared to those who were not. The results demonstrate that multitasking on a laptop poses a significant distraction to both users and fellow students and can be detrimental to comprehension of lecture content.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 24-31 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Computers and Education |
Volume | 62 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2013 |
Keywords
- Attentional control
- Laptops
- Multitasking
- Pedagogy