%0 Journal Article
%T Digital Distraction: Shedding Light on the 21st
%A Lynn S. Aaron
%A Talia Lipton
%J Journal of Educational Technology Systems
%@ 1541-3810
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/0047239517736876
%X It is not uncommon to walk into a college classroom and find all heads bowed down to a flashing screen and the room . . . silent. While digital devices can certainly support learning, what about when they are a distraction? This study explored this 21st-century phenomenon from two perspectives: Does the use of a device for nonacademic purposes during a learning activity interfere with learning? Does the classroom policy about digital device use play a role? A total of 351 college students from 20 classes participated in this study. Short-term retention was checked: A video on educationally relevant material was shown followed by a brief quiz on that material. The results are informative for both factors¡ªmultitasking and policy effectiveness
%K digital distraction
%K multitasking
%K learning
%K higher education
%K retention
%K smartphone
%K mobile device
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0047239517736876