Distracted learning a big problem, golden opportunity for educators, students

URBANA, Ill. — Scanning social media while listening to a lecture. Watching a favorite television series while studying. Today’s young people frequently juggle multiple streams of information and entertainment media while doing schoolwork, a trend that researchers call distracted learning.

And while numerous researchers found that simultaneous use of electronic devices has a significant detrimental impact on learning, many students shrug off warnings about the negative consequences because they consider themselves such good multitaskers, said food chemistry professor Shelly J. Schmidt of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Read more from Illinois News Bureau.