October 22, 2014
®** ftortlanb (Observer
Page 7
Homework with Music, Text and Tweets
Portland teens find
some kids do fine
multitasking
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If you think teenagers always pay a pen
alty in performance when they juggle mul
tiple media devices, think again.
Two Portland students are just back from
the American Academy of Pediatrics meet
ing in San Diego where they presented their
amazing research project that shows that
some teenagers can be adept multitaskers.
O regon Episcopal School students
Alexandra Ulmer and Sarayu Caulfield found
that some youngsters do equally well on
photo by T om B erridge /O regon E piscopal S chool
tasks when moving between their laptops,
smartphones and other devices, compared Oregon Episcopal School students Sarayu Caulfield and Alexandra Ulmer discuss the
findings o f their research that shows that some teenagers can be adept multitaskers.
to less media-obsessed teens.
“Maybe practice really does make per who are multitasking at an exceedingly high focus on a single task, with and without
fect,” Ulmer, a senior at the school, said in an rate, and the reality is that they may have distractions.
American Academy of Pediatrics news re become really good at it.”
Those who scored high on the “media
lease.
The study included about 400 students multitasking index” averaged more than three
Added Caulfield, also a senior at the south of both sexes, aged 10 to 19. All were asked hours a day of multitasking, the study found.
west Portland high school, “In our current about their daily media habits and then tested They also managed to complete an average
multimedia environment, there are people on their ability to switch between tasks and of 3.5 hours of homework a day, all while
Hashtag for the Black Press
The National Newspaper Pub
lishers Association, also known as
the Black Press of which the Port
land Observer is a member, is cel
ebrating its 75th Anniversary with a
new hashtag, #OurVoice75.
#OurVoice75 will provide an op
portunity for the public to partici
pate in commemorating 75 years of
the Black Press and its 200 member
black newspapers delivering news,
information, sports and entertain
ment to the world from the black
perspective.
Show your love to The Portland
Observer and other black newspa- B enjam in F. Chavis
p e r by
sen d in g
a tw e et
@NNPABlackPress in response to
the following question: "What does
having a voice mean to you?"
“We have shown the nation the
struggle, sacrifice, progress and tri
umph of black Americans and of
America as a nation from the black
perspective,” said Dr. Benjamin F.
Chavis, Jr., president and chief ex
ecutive officer of the publishers
group. ‘T h e Black Press covers the
progress of black Americans and
provides interpretation of the events
involved in our progress. No other
print or digital media serves in this
role quite like the Black Press.”
#OurVoice75 is set to go on
through the end the year, but voices
are encouraged and welcomed at all
times.
African American Alliance for Homeownership
Presents the 16th Annual
H om eow nership Fair
S a tu r d a y
O c to b e r2 5 , 2 0 1 4
1Oam - 3 p m
Equity Focus in City Budget
Portland's director of Equity and
Human rights likes the focus on
equity in Mayor Charlie Hales' new
budget priorities.
Hales announced last week to
the city bureau directors that equity
will be one of three biggest priorities
in preparing next year's city’s bud
get.
“Tying equity to city bureaus’
budgets ensures that leaders are
considering the impacts of their pro-
g ram s and p o lic ie s on all
Portlanders,” said Dante James,
Office of Equity and Human Rights
director.
H ales laid out a plan for how he
wants to m easure better equity in
P o rtlan d , including b o lsterin g
econom ic and housing opportu
nity for all Portlanders, as well as
better service delivery to hard to
isolated areas o f the city. Hales
also expressed hopes to extend
Portland's livability to m ore areas
o f Portland, and to better equip
juggling multiple tasks for more than 50 per
cent o f this time.
S tu d e n ts w ho sc o re d low o n the
multitasking index averaged about 20 m in
utes a day o f multitasking, did 2.5 hours o f
homework a day, and multitasked 0.08 per
cent of this time, according to the study.
The “high multitaskers” were better at
filtering out distractions but less able to
focus on single tasks, while the opposite was
true for low multitaskers.
“We must emphasize that most people
performed best when focused on just one
task,” Caulfield said. “However, there was a
group that provided us with an exception to
that finding— the high media multitaskers.”
Ulmer said that so-called “digital natives”
— kids who grew up with exposure to many
forms of media — who also use multiple
media at high rates may have developed
special neurological skills over time.
These kids may have “an enhanced work
ing memory and perform better in distracting
environments than when focused on a single
task with no distractions,” she said. “This
could have a significant impact on teaching
styles and curriculum.”
Legacy Emanuel Hospital Atrium
501 N. Graham St., Portland
• Enter to Win $1,000 Grant
Enter to Win a $500 Gift Card and Other Prizes
• Visit Over 40 Housing Professionals
• Attend Free Workshops
• Home Retention Resources
(for current homeowners)
Dante James
the city with em ergency prepared
ness.
Portland's Office of Equity and
Human Rights provides education
and technical support to City of
Portland staff and elected officials,
and their goals specifically entail
recognition and removal of systemic
barriers to education and other re
sources, starting with issues of race
and disability.
• Free Lunch • Free Parking
• Pre-registration is NOT Required
LEGACY
F R E E & O P E N to t h e P u b lic
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HEALTH
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OPPORTI I M I Y
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