Clearly, texting/posting offers new communication channels that are frequently used by young adults to stay in contact with others. This ability to stay connected with others has allowed today’s college students to remain constantly connected to other people, something that was not the case even a decade ago. As a practical
matter, instructors remain concerned that such connection to the social world disconnects students from learning, leading some to ban all electronic communica- tion devices from lectures (Steinfatt, 2009). Both theoretical and empirical evidence supports this concern, suggesting that students potentially split their attention in ways that cause them to miss important details presented during class, an outcome that could have potentially damaging effects on their achievement (Kraushaar & Novak, 2010; Wei et al., 2012).
Classroom Attention
Recent studies exploring the effects of texting/posting on student learning outcomes have relied on information processing theory (see Mayer, 1996) as a basis for arguing that texting can cause distractions that hamper student learning. Briefly, information processing identifies attention, working memory, short-term memory, long-term memory, and metacognition as key resources used by individuals when they learn new information. Because learning is a process, diminished capacity with any single resource can impact other resources. Thus, in the case of texting/posting, students’ attention can be divided, which can distract attention from on-task behavior. In turn, information processed in working/short-term memory may be incomplete or inaccurate, which could lead to inaccurate or insufficient storage of information in long-term memory.