Remembering and Forgetting in the Age of Technology: Teaching, Learning, and the Science of Memory in a Wired World

by Michelle D. Miller

What does memory mean for learning in an age of smartphones and search engines? Human minds are made of memories, and today those memories have competition. Biological memory capacities are being supplanted, or at least supplemented, by digital ones, as we rely on recording—phone cameras, digital video, speech-to-text—to capture information we’ll need in the future and then rely on those stored recordings to know what happened in the past. Search engines have taken over not only traditional reference materials but also the knowledge base that used to be encoded in our own brains. Google remembers, so we don’t have to. And when we don’t have to, we no longer can. Or can we? Remembering and Forgetting in the Age of Technology offers concise, nontechnical explanations of major principles of memory and attention—concepts that all teachers should know and that can inform how technology is used in their classes. Teachers will come away with a new appreciation of the importance of memory for learning, useful ideas for handling and discussing technology with their students, and an understanding of how memory is changing in our technology-saturated world.

Genres: Teaching, Education, Nonfiction

280 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2022

Reviews

[Lisa Stallbaumer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Challenges us to question assumptions that we make about how technology may effect recall and learning. Written for layperson, Miller shares recent research on memory, the limits of this research, and how faculty might adopt teaching strategies given current findings.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly accessible and well-written. I learned a lot and have great content to share with students. I was left wishing for more information re: concrete applications in the classroom. 4.25⭐

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great digestion of research, with concrete ideas for teaching.

[Lauren Boulanger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was applicable, easy to read, and relevant for anyone who wants to be a better learner—or even anyone who wants to hold onto their memories. I also reference it constantly in my work as a high school teacher.

[Wiebke Kuhn · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this is your first time reading about memory, forgetting, learning, this will be a good book to read. If you have been reading a lot about these topics, this is a good refresher. I found most valuable the deeper dive into some of the research that, in pop-culture, tends to be condensed into a simplistic sound bite. For example, handwritten notes are better than laptop-typed notes - turns out that is not what the original study said. And I did like the discussion about moral panic and how it shapes our reaction to certain pop-science statements.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as part of a discussion in a book group at work. I thought the author brought up some good points for discussion, but spent too much time being noncommittal to really make this useful or engaging.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice and accessible overview of the ways that technology impacts memory from a cognitive psychologist who knows a thing or two about such work. I especially appreciated the clear advice for college teachers sprinkled throughout the book.