Multitasking learners? Opportunity, not threat

I was cruising through my netvibes tonight for the first time in too long and noticed that this month’s big question on the Learning Circuits blog is around a topic quite close to my heart. I am one of those “presenters” (I am a facilitator/moderator/community manager, not a sage on the stage presenter) and learners who is impacted quite deeply by what Clive Sheperd considers as a problem: multitasking.

I have a different take on it, I don’t consider it a problem, I just consider it the way the world is, and our responsibility in either of the below roles to deal with it in the way that’s most productive for us.

First: as a learner

I can remember a distant time when my attention was only ever on the presenter at hand. Before my iPhone and laptop my thoughts were, to be honest, usually centred on food: was I hungry, what could I eat now, what could I cook for dinner, did I have enough time to go find sushi. Now, even though I have more things to multitask with, I tend to make my multitasking more efficient, and less about food. If I am multitasking during a presentation, there is a greater liklihood that those other tasks actually pertain to what’s going on in the room than anything else. Those tools can consume me and make me appear to be doing little, but I may very well be back channelling, bookmarking, googling, or even writing notes in my blog a a draft. Chances are, I am not looking up recipes online, because I was only dreaming of food out of boredom.

To be honest, as a learner I think I’ve become accustomed to this environment, and it works for me. I like learning through dialogue. I enjoy the conversation around what that sage on the stage is talking about. My “multitasking” devices are a way to have that without being disruptive, so I’m not convinced they are a bad thing, just a reflective tool.

But I’m not an angel, noone is, no matter how well intentioned. If a presentation is not engaging me, I will multitask in a less presenter pleasing manner, and by that I mean I may do some admin, catch up on what’s been going on on Flickr or whatever. Really though, this has been going on since the dawn of time, devices just make it more obvious and potentially productive. If a presenter isn’t meeting my needs, and I’m there to learn something, well… there’s a bigger problem than me using my laptop. Rude? Yes. But so is dreaming of food. Both represent a bigger problem.

As a presenter

It can be hard to present and monitor a back channel. I have presented online without a moderator before, and after a reasonable amountof experience, still find it hard to listen and read a backchannel, or talk and read a backchannel. However, this doesn’t mean the back channel shouldn’t exist, it just means I need someone to moderate it and give me a poke in the ribs when something comes up. I see the backchannel as a really positive opportunity for people to either converse with each other about what’s happening is a place where others can join them, or a place where they can ask me questions, or give some feedback about what I’m saying or doing.

As a trainer, it can be scary to come face to face with some real time genuine feedback, and I find that people tend to be more honest when it’s an informal medium like this as compared to a “happy sheet” completed post course. That feedback can be invaluable, and if I remove my ego from the equation, it can make me better at my job.

I think that even the “bad” type of multitasking, the kind which sees people catching up on emails and playing on eBay can have some positives in it, despite that horrible sinking feeling you get as a presenter when you realise that noone is listening or cares. I’ve heard many trainers complain online that it’s disrespectful to them when people multitask. I counter that it’s disrespectful to learners to present something that does not meet their needs, not wonder why they are not paying attention, then get offended when they don’t listen. If people aren’t paying attention, or multitasking in a bad way, it shows you that something isn’t working, and if handled well, can perhaps highlight some areas for improvement, whether they be with you, the content, the venue etc. It may also highlight that sometimes life just takes over and it’s got nothing to do with you as a presenter.

In summation

I don’t find a backchannel rude. I don’t even find other multitasking rude, I find it symptomatic of needing what we learn to be relevant and engaging in an already too busy and distracting world.