ABSTRACT
The digital age has provided both opportunities and challenges to learning. Concepts that were once represented in text or static pictures now also can be shown in dynamic visuals or interactive animations. The advent of new technologies, such as social media as well as virtual and augmented realities, has allowed people to discover a myriad of perspectives on issues and ideas. Theoretical and empirical work has shown that use of these multiple representations and perspectives should and can benefit learning. However, there is also ample evidence that these benefits are infrequently achieved. Scholars have identified reasons why people might struggle to learn with multiple inputs, but there still are gaps in the literature. In this chapter, we suggest that critical thinking frameworks can enrich an understanding of learning from multiple inputs and identify some of the difficulties that learners face. We specifically address how critical thinking models might contribute to an understanding of how learners identify key features and credible evidence, which critical thinking dispositions might contribute to better use of multiple inputs, and how cognitive biases interfere with learning.
