Is there a technical solution to technology-caused distractions?

Sander wrote in response to my e-mail/blog post on Friday. (I am reposting our conversation with his permission).  I am fascinated by conversations and topics like this. Please add your own ideas!

On Fri, Nov 9, 2012 at 6:52 AM, Sander A. Smith  wrote:

Hi Doug,

Thanks so much for answering so quickly and so fully. I took a little bit of time to digest all that you sent and get all of my thoughts together to give you an appropriate response.

BTW, we used to go to school on Sunday and would often use a hidden transistor radio with an earphone fished down the sleeve so we wouldn't have to miss the kickoff to the old Baltimore Colts football games. I guess that's about the biggest hi tech distration one could have back then.

As someone who works in tech, I'm often thinking about whether certain problems should have technological solutions or are better off solved in other ways. This is definitely one of those situations, and I'm feeling that you're also not convinced that the solution must be technical. However, I can imagine some sort of school-wide BYOD management system that would prevent (or detect and report) a student from doing something that he shouldn't be doing. Properly determining when to do this and know when the BYOD device is in "student mode" or "kid mode" is a complex problem. It would need to take into account factors such as time (you shouldn't stop a kid from playing games at lunch time) and location (what if he's home sick). It would have to be very easy to manage from the school's point of view, and configurable to mirror the school's policies. Loads of ideas for requirements, probably too soon to really think about, but all of the pieces seem to fit together and the whole things sounds doable.

There are enterprise BYOD management software solutions, but I think they won't work here. Those systems obsess over things like seperating an employee's personal/corporate credentials, and wiping the device clean of any corporate secrets in the case of loss. None of those things has any meaning in an educational setting.

So having said all of this, I'll ask a simple question: Am I onto a real issue, or am I just focussing on something that really should be dealt with simply with a policy and teacher vigilence? Entrepreneurs often focus on things they imagine are problems, but really aren't for their potential customers. The sooner someone says "This is a bad BAD idea" the better. So don't try to spare my feelings. OTOH, if you think that technology could be beneficial here, what do you think the most important goal is?

Thank you so much for your time and interest, it's much appreciated. I did take a look at the resources you shared, and I feel like I'm quickly learning a lot.

Sander A. Smith, President
Sericon Technology Inc.

Hi Sander,

Well, I may not be the right person to ask. My background is in library science where are taught to believe in intellectual freedom and self-censorship. 

The biggest problem I see with your solution of providing some sort of device control (ala Apple Remote Desktop or DeepFreeze used in labs) is that you are putting this on personal devices and the school becomes responsible for any conflicts or other problems such software might cause. And as a parent, I am not sure I want that on my kid's device anyway. Would monitoring a system that "reports" student classroom misuse of technology be less time consuming than actually walking around the room observing student use?

The other solution might be to filter using only white listing of acceptable Internet resources. This runs vastly counter to my intellectual freedom roots, but also presents some practical problems. What may be unacceptable by one teacher or a one time, maybe be perfectly acceptable by another teacher or at another time. (Your lunch room example.) Students accessing the Internet using 3G or 4G would not be impacted by filtering. And you also have plenty of "distractions" that do not require Internet access. I can play Angry Birds just fine without a connection.

I expect you would find plenty of takers for a technical solution to student distraction in the classroom were one offered. (Our filtering companies make a lot of money for a very imperfect and wrong-headed solution to a social problem.) 

Keep me posted on what you are thinking about. I find this a very interesting conversation. 

Would you mind if I continue to blog our emails? Would you like your name used or be kept anonymous if I could do so?

Thanks,

Doug

So, readers, is there a technical solution to the distraction problem caused by technology use in the classroom? What would such a system do? 

 

Or are we just opening a can of worms asking for a technical solution to an educational problem?

 

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Comments

[David Wees]

I agree with you Doug. I also see potential for abuse, although this would probably be rare. I remember reading about a technician who would snoop through the photos on the personal devices and collect some of them for "evidence."

[Colet]

Hi Doug:

I don't see this as a technology problem. This isderfinitely an instructional problem that requires the expertise of skilled teachers who can model and teach information literacy skills. I think there are many great technology based solutions that can help teachers manage their work, assessment data and the overall cognitive load that teaching and learning require. It seems to me that by seeking technology solutions to control student behavior we've surrendered the chief responsibility of school: to help students learn how to be effective users and producers of information and ideas. The gap that needs to be filled for all teachers is information literacy pedagogy and assessment. Policies and standards, in and of themselves, don't help students learn the skills they need to be successful -- experience, practice and purposeful activity are what help students learn. Teachers are the ultimate complex technology solution to this problem.

Thanks for asking this question. Colet

[Ryan Cox]

Could the solution be not in a decrease of technology with learning, but more. Are students engaged in "virtual doodling" like we did in class when we were bored? If students are expected to use technology to answer questions, state ideas, create responses, etc... in class would they be less inclined to check out and check-in on Facebook? It's a challenge and won't be easy, but it could reduce some of the distractions.

BTW - same goes for staff development and staff meetings. Teachers aren't much different...

[Jennifer Rocca]

I agree with Ryan. Teachers, and adults in general, are not much different. I'm more excited about teaching a group of students who are learning about managing distraction now rather than when they are in college or career situations. Engaging lessons certainly help a great deal, but even when life is not engaging these kids can learn to focus on the task at hand. They'll need the time to practice that and practice means that sometimes they fail. That's a classroom management issue.

So sometimes technology is distracting. That's the teachable moment.

[Dean Shareski]

I struggle with the control and dehumanizing use of technology. I know some companies are using biometrics to track employee time. These solutions suggest a lack of trust. It's a fine line of using technology to make our lives better but this abdicates the responsibility of the teacher and relies on technology to teach and explore the very important and life skill of attention and distraction. If, as I user I decide to use a tool like this, that's one thing. But to impose it on others and ignore the real issues is irresponsible and lazy

[Doug Johnson]

Hi David,

You bring up a good point about BYOD and personal privacy. Using district equipment, board policy says that all users, student and staff, have a "limited right to privacy." I have no idea if a school would have any rights to looking at a personal device. I guess we inspect personally owned backpacks if there is probably cause of misbehavior, but I wonder if this extends? Oh, brave new world!

Doug

Hi Colet,

Good to hear from you.

I suspect a constructivist approach, coupled with a dedication to relevance, may be key in increasing engagement and decreasing distraction. And have a more positive long-term impact than a mechanical means of controlling behaviors.

Doug

Hi Ryan,

To me the challenge will be to present any activity, virtual or analog, that is more compelling than the slacking alternative. Is this feasible? We may need to find ways to make it possible.

Doug

Hi Jennifer,

I like your point of view. Learning how to focus even when other options present themselves does seem like a whole-life disposition. Or at least learning to differentiate when the matter at hand is important or can be blown off. I know when topics in staff meeting don't apply to me, I like remaining productive in other ways.

Doug

Hi Dean,

The control issue is still a legacy of Taylorism in education - people need to be controlled or they won't perform to their maximum capacity. I there there are better models now. Hmmmm, I feel a blog post coming on!

Good to hear from you!

Doug

[Chris]

For me this whole debate begs the question: Who is responsible for learning? In many schools and colleges teachers have made themselves responsible for learning, but in reality no matter how much we try to change it, learners are responsible for their learning. They choose who their teachers are by giving permission to someone to teach them. Even those learners that are attentive to a teacher might not be giving permission to that teacher to teach them. i.e. I may be listening intently to what you say but rejecting it completely internally. Therefore I wonder if some of our learners are simply choosing someone else, or something else to be their teacher?

Just a thought...

c.

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Chris,

I've often thought the same thing - the primary responsibility for learning rests with the learner him/herself. And then we as teachers can sort of take a "let the chips fall where they may" approach to our teaching practices and classroom climate.

But we also have to recognize that we are working with children and adolescents and have a custodial/guidance role with them. To leave it up to a five-year-old to decide whether she will learn to read or not does not seem ethical.

It's complicated.

Doug

[Davey Hiltz]

I know that not everyone is good at this, but make the material interactive. I had a professor once that had us organize a battle against each other in class using online software. Since then I've never forgotten about the battle of Gettysburg.