Stop Multitasking! It's Distracting Me (And You)

I came across an interesting article yesterday called Stop Multitasking! It's Distracting Me (And You) about students in lecture theaters using their laptops, tablets and smartphones. As a lecturer myself I'm quite used to seeing many students in the class with their laptops open or more recently tablets. Of course I assume they're looking at my lecture notes, paying close attention to my fascinating lecture and making notes themselves. In reality I know many are on Facebook, Googling, tweeting, looking at YouTube and doing a myriad of other activities. This article cites studies that show that these students are not only reducing what they learn about the topic of the lecture, but they are also reducing the learning of those behind them who are distracted by the ever changing content on their screens. It makes perfect sense if you think about it. So if you want to "multitask" in a lecture please sit on the back row so as to not reduce the GPA of the rest of the class.