There has been something of a debate going on around the term multitasking recently. Many contest that dividing attention among a number of tasks simply means that each task is receiving less attention. Others argue that in this modern world of interrelated information and constantly shifting priorities, multitasking is a natural human response.

As human beings, we are only able to process a certain amount of information at a time. Anything beyond this creates what is called “information overload.” Information overload means that it is impossible for the person to process the information at the rate that it is being presented, and thus, some information is lost.

Luckily, technology has grown and evolved along with the flow of information, and has helped create ways in which students, teachers, and employees can truly embrace multitasking.

One example of this is the somewhat recent development of the concept of “crowdsourcing.” This means developers and companies turning to amateur developers and programmers for assistance with a project. This is how much of the code for the Mozilla browser was written, for instance.

Another case is Apple’s practice of providing free Apple products to college faculty and students on the condition that they collaborate with Apple to help create new educational applications and uses for this cutting-edge technology. For instance, when the iPod was first developed, Apple provided them to many faculty and students at college campuses.

Many in the educational community scoffed at the idea, calling the iPod a toy that was designed to play music, and saying that it had no place in the arena of higher learning. Students quickly proved them wrong, though, discovering new ways of networking, sharing lecture notes, and creating podcasts for class projects.

Students and faculty went on to develop a number of applications that led to the development of iTunesU, which became available through Apple’s iTunes website for any student worldwide to download. Could this be the future of multitasking? Is crowdsourcing becoming the new model of collaboration? The future is bright, and only time will tell, but taking the best new ideas from the brightest young minds at colleges and universities sounds like a great beginning.