Managing distractive technologies 1 of 2
Sunday, July 18, 2010 at 05:00AM I've been asked to write an article on classroom management related to technology. The editor writes:
This topic is interesting because I hear so many teachers say they don’t want to use technology in the classroom because their “kids can’t handle it” or the “students would be uncontrollable.” I think it would be good to give some reluctant educators some tips so they feel more comfortable diving in.
Here's the deal. I have a pretty good general feeling for the topic, but I would love to gather some "front line" comments, advice, strategies and experiences from my readers, the real experts. I will fully credit your input. Remember the audience is the beginner and reluctant user!
I'll be doing this in two parts on the blog. Here's the first:
Managing distractive technologies in the classroom. Part One
I don’t have A.D.D. I’m just ignoring you. Student t-shirt
Christensen, Clayton and Horn in their 2008 book, Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns, suggest that technology has the potential to customize the educational process, make classrooms student-centered, and radically transform our current model of education. Technology will be the meteor and many of us educators are the unsuspecting dinosaurs. Scary stuff.
Yet many classroom teachers are less concerned about the disruptive technologies of an indefinite future than they are about today's “distractive” technologies.
The ability to distract has put the use of laptops, netbooks, cell phones, PDAs, iPod/mp3 players and portable game players on the banned list in many schools and classrooms. Students are more interested in online resources like Facebook, game sites, chat, and YouTube than classroom lectures and textbook chapters about the Crimean War, square roots or past participles.
"Those darn kids are just listening to the filthy lyrics of rap music on their iPods instead of my lecture," pretty much summarizes the argument. So, no device, no access, no distraction, reason these schools.
As I have learned from my experiences both as an instructor and as a student, technology can indeed be a distraction in the teaching/learning environment. I find it discouraging, to say the least, when a participant in one of my "enthralling" workshops starts texting or banging out something on the keyboard instead of hanging on each brilliant nugget of wisdom emanating from the front of the room. But then, I've found reading my RSS feeds more interesting than more than a few lectures myself.
How does the K-12 instructor compete with tablets, cell phones, netbooks, and text messaging? How do we manage the distractive qualities of technology in schools? And more over, how do we use these very technologies to actually improve teaching and learning?
Let me say right up front that there is no one-size-fits-all set of practices for managing or using student technologies. Different sources of technology (one-to-one laptop projects, laptop carts, student-owned technologies) will result in different amounts of access, various levels of uniformity of applications and functionality, and uncertain connections to online resources. Different teaching styles, different age levels and different learning outcomes will make some uses practical and others not so much.
However good teachers have never relied on a single method, a single approach or a single tool to teach - neither will good teachers always use a single technology is a single way. Today's effective teachers will use the technology available to them.
Some approaches to managing technology in the classroom:
1. Ban it. This has been the first and most common approach to dealing with distractive technologies - especailly student-owned devices. Simply create a policy or rule for the district, school or classroom that forbids their use.
Keeping technologies out of classrooms and libraries is a temporary strategy that is unsustainable in the long run. Information/communication devices are getting smaller, more affordable, and more powerful. They are increasingly an extension of everyone's brains - both adult and child. There is movement to unblock the YouTubes and Facebooks and game sites in our libraries, labs and districts where educators and students have learned the positive value of these resources. Where such devices are banned, student use often simply goes underground with students texting from within pockets, hiding earbuds under hair and hoods, or simply concealing devices behind books or in desks.
Parents see cellphones as tools for helping keep their children safe, insisting their children carry them in case of an emergency. Parents who have purchased laptops and tablets and smartphones want their children to be able to take educational advantage of these devices.
And since a growing number of educators see the educational value of such devices, a school or district-wide ban doesn't work.
2. Do business as usual, let distracted students become distracted, and let the chips fall where they may. It's tempting to simply rationalize that we should just let students tune out in the classroom, focus in on their Facebook pages or text messages, and let the natural consequences of such actions happen. Yet ethically we have always had a professional obligation to make sure all students are engaged in our classrooms. Besides, it's harmful to the ego when students who pay little attention in class do better on tests and assignments.
3. Limit the use of technologies. Clear expectations of when and how technology can be used in one's classroom or library should be a standard classroom management practice. Setting reasonable rules is a simple task. Your "technology use" rule might read:
Student-owned technologies such as cellphones and laptops may be used in the classroom when there is not a whole-group activity, when its use does not distract other students, and when the district's Acceptable Use Policy is followed.
Many teachers find that such rules and expectations are best developed at the very beginning of the school year in collaboration with the students themselves.
Image source: http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/iotw/20060522/200/1860
Reader Comments (10)
I'm guessing Part 2 is us--
"Limiting the use of [electronic] technologies" is like limiting the use of any tool:
Folks in the classroom keep confounding the tool with the pedagogy. (I may be misusing that word, but it makes me feel fancy.) Anything can be distracting in a classroom--goodness, the Crimean War? Past participles? Square roots? Not saying these lessons have no place in the classroom, but when presented as the lesson, well, I was one of those kids trying to commit suicide by pencil.
I've taken the plunge. I've made huge mistakes. Occasionally one of my kids doodles (on paper) while another plays Mario. Still, I had an unusual year. Not one kid quit on me before June. Not one.
So hurry up with part 2, will ya?!
Perhaps students need to be DOING something rather than sitting somewhere. Nobody complains about the kids being distracted by technology at cross country practice, or swim practice, while performing a play, or in studio art.
Students pull out their cell phones in a bad rehearsal/practice/class when the student and/or the teacher is not prepared. Be prepared and use the technology when needed.
Thanks for not conflating "disruptive" market innovations with "distractions" in the classroom!
I find that some technology is more distracting than others. I have been encouraging my students to listen to music in class when I'm not giving instructions or explaining something. I let them use whatever digital gadget they have. Students who use technology like the apple shuffle or older mp3 players that are dedicated to only listening to music seem less distracted and stay more on task than ones who use technology that enables them to play games or text message. Yes, in an ideal school world kids would be so engaged by curriculum and teaching methods that they would not look for distractions. They wouldn't even want to leave when the bell rings. But, we have to live in the classroom we are given with the curriculum we must teach. The curriculum does not always match the needs of the kids but there I am teaching it anyway. Heck, the curriculum I teach sometimes does not meet my needs either and I would love a distraction myself at times. I guess all I can do is make the best of a less than ideal situation.
So let me see if I have this right. We force (generally through attendance requirements and grading) groups of kids, many (if not most) of which have have limited (or no) interest in a topic to be presented in a lecture format - into classrooms - and then discover that they find technological (and other) ways to keep themselves and others entertained and/or otherwise distracted until released.
Wow - what an unusual and unexpected phenomena!
Who would/could have ever predicted?!
It does seem only natural that the purveyors of such a system might also try and resolve the inherent failings of such a phenomenally weak methodology by employing further forcible means (to 'ban' or 'limit' the use of technology)
It is just as unsurprising that some of those who monetarily benefit from the failed system (teachers, administrators, etc) elect to completely (and circumspectly) ignoring the failing (and the failed) - after all, it's not their problem and not their job to fix (and they wouldn't be thanked for fixing it anyway).
Collaboration (with further detail anticipated in Part 2) does sound like an option with greater potential, but so would just about anything.
Looking forward to finding out about the silver bullet here that will kill the problem without adversely affexting the host.
First of all, I wrote an article on this very subject four years ago, for an organisation called Futurelab. Reading your post prompted me to look at it again and I was surprised at how much remains relevant:
Or past http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/discussion_papers/One_tablet_or_two.pdf into your browser.
Secondly, here is how to measure the impact of technology/ lack of technology on learning in the classroom:
1. Ask everyone to bring their cell phone to school with them one day
2. Ask them to text their name and year to a single number (name and "staff" if a teacher)
3. Announce that at some point in the day, some of them may receive a text asking "What are you thinking about at this exact moment?" Anyone receiving such a text should respond briefly and honestly.
4. Cross reference the responses against the timetable to compare what people were actually thinking about compared to what they were supposed to be thinking about.
5. If most students (and teachers) spend most of their time thinking about the lesson, then the classroom format works and should be left as it is. However, if most students (and teachers) spend most of their time thinking about something else, then we may need to accept that the classroom format has itself become a cause of distraction from the task of learning.
Apparently, someone (I don't know who) tried this many years ago, handing out pagers at the school gate as people arrived. Typically, hardly anyone was thinking about the lesson - teachers were thinking about the weekly shop; students were looking out the window or listening to music in their head (banning iPods isn't enough - they still have their memories). Banning windows doesn't work either.
If anyone would like to replicate the experiment, please let me know.
In my point of view there should not be pressure on the student of study whatever they are having interest should allow them. What’s parents or teacher responsibility is only give them right suggestion show them the right path to move forward.
Our district is trying to put together some policies and regulations to allow students to use their own internet-connected devices in school. One of the driving forces behind the effort is the realization that we will never be able to afford enough computing power for every student in the system. So, students bringing their own devices could help us get to that fabled 1-1 nirvana.
But another primary motivation behind the policy push is a grudging acknowledgment on the part of our district administration that it's already happening and, once again, we are behind the curve. On any given day, our IT group can see tens of thousands of wireless devices (netbooks, ipods, etc.) on the network, many of them "unauthorized" but being used anyway, more than likely as distractions by kids (and probably a few adults as well :-). A few students at schools in wealthier communities are also bringing computers with cards that connect directly to the cell networks, bypassing our filtering system and raising a different set of concerns.
However, a much larger question that we don't seem to be addressing around here is, how will classrooms change as a result of students having all this connectivity? With limited access to computers now, many teachers treat technology as an afterthought, a reward, something to be grafted onto the lesson if time and resources allow. Which means their practice is still largely teacher-directed fact distribution and recall. That's not going to work if little Johnny has live access to Wikipedia in his pocket.
At this point all the toys are here and here to stay. We need to start teaching "there is a time and place for everything". It's not polite to text when you are saying your wedding vows (though I bet someone has) nor is it good manners to play cell phone games during a lecture. While you're driving to reception or when you've finished your work - then it's ok to pull out the cell phone.
Hi Michael,
I hope Pt 2 met your expectations.
I personally found doodling and reading novels conveniently tucked behind my text books my sanity saver as a student. Kids today have it easy ;-)
Doug
Hi Brandt,
You've hit the nail on the head - most engaging activities tend to be just that - active. The days of "passive" education should be over. Should be.
Doug
Tom,
I find Gas-X helps with my conflating problems.
Doug
Hi Elona,
Personally, I think yours is a very pragmatic and humane attitude. I'd want my grandsons in your class!
Doug
Hi Rick,
I'm afraid most of us looking for silver bullets will be disappointed. You are right - for many kids the current educational system is unfair and untenable.
Doug
Hi Sean,
Great example of a fascinating experience. I hope you get some takers for others who would like to try it.
I skimmed your paper and look forward to reading it in more detail. I agree, we are shoehorning new technologies into old mindsets and learning environments.
I visited a school many years ago in which the classroom seating was all at tables for 4-6 students and each table had a computer. I've long regarded that as a rather practical model for technology use.
Doug
Hi Tim,
My guess is that your district's experiences are pretty universal. Same thing we are seeing here.
I am guessing that classrooms will evolve as both teachers and student learn survival strategies surround ubiquitous information access rather than according to any district-plan. Was it Seneca who said, While men plan, the gods laugh?
Doug
Hi Guusje,
I would argue that using the cellphone while driving is not good timing either. Remember, it's my grandsons on the road too!
Doug