I found this topic of transactive memory absolutely fascinating! These are two short videos from Learning 2011 of Betsy Sparrow, Assistant Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Psychology at Columbia University. Betsy is the co-author of “Google Effects on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at Our Fingertips,” which appeared in Science magazine in July 2011.

Here are the highlights for me:

If people believe information is accessible they don’t bother to remember it
The Internet allows us to access the memories of other people
Transactive memory allows us to devote more cognitive resources to learning