Technology and Mutlitasking, Does Education Need an Upgrade?

At work and at home we are conditioned and taught to multitask.  You have to be able to send an e-mail while chatting to your co-workers while typing up a press release while answering client questions.  Now, more often then not a lot of people are simultaneously on twitter, gtalk, aim, outlook, facebook, youtube and other social networks.  When I say simultaneously I don’t mean subscribe to or are a part of, I mean these applications are physically open on an individuals computer and this individual is interacting with all of them.  The multi tasking age has been and is now pervasive, if you can’t multi task you can’t get things done (for the most part) and if you can’t get things done then you don’t have a job.  Look at a lot of the job descriptions on craigslist or any other job site, you will never find a single item that a person is responsible for.  Instead you will find large bulleted lists of what the applicant will need to know how to do.

If you’re applying for a marketing position it’s expected that you now understand SEO, PPC, and social media.  If you’re applying to be a developer it’s expected that you know Java, Ruby, C++, and HTML.  You can’t really just know one thing anymore.  I think technology (or it can be argued the internet, society, etc.) has made us ADD, it’s so hard to pay attention now.

So what’s the big deal?  Well I had a conversation with my good friend Brian, who is currently studying for the LSAT (law school).  We chatted about the test for a while and agreed that the long standardized tests contradict the multitasking we are programmed to learn.  At home and at work Brian (and millions of others) are constantly working on multiple things, now all of a sudden Brian has to sit in a room for 3 hours staring at a sheet of paper and bubbling in little circles…wtf?  These seem completely contradictory don’t they?  I’ve spoken with several folks who say that they suffer on long standardized tests such as the lsat because it’s not something they are taught to do.  These are some smart folks we’re talking about who just can’t narrow down their focus on something, because they were taught not to!

A disconnect exists, perhaps it’s just up to the education system to adapt.  It makes sense doesn’t it?  Why would anybody be good at a 3 hour + test with a paper and pencil?  In fact, I can’t even remember the last time I have had to bubble in little circles on a sheet of paper, can you?

In a nutshell I’m trying to figure out why we are conditioned and taught to multi task and are then expected to perform well on tests such as the LSAT?  Now, the education system isn’t perfect and to use a cliche I think we need to move from education 1.0 to education 2.0.  Would it kill us if we taught a technology class in schools that included social media and relationship building?  Something that taught us how we could use twitter or linkedin to get a job?  Something that showed us how to build an online presence?

I think we need an upgrade, what do you think?  What could a possible solution be?  What are your ideas?

thanks for reading!