Second Guessing My Tech Policy . . .
Hi all,
I'm looking for some thoughts from you regarding your tech policy and student attention. I've talked about this a bit in class before, but I don't have a tech policy. I began my semester with my students explaining the reason for that--I want them to be responsible for themselves, and I don't want to spend time policing them. I think to some extent that they get what they put in out of a class.
This has worked okay for me so far. I know that students have laptops open and they're almost certainly looking at something not related to class while I'm talking. For some reason, this doesn't bother me quite as much as students who have their phones out and are clearly texting right on top of their desks, as I'm teaching the class. As I'm watching them do this, I'm just imagining the questions they're going to ask later about things I'm taking time to explain now. It's maddening. Today one of my most engaged students, who sits basically right in front of me, was plainly texting, and it was distracting for me. I went back and forth on whether to say something or not.
I'm pretty flexible with them in general. If we need to access something on Canvas or submit a discussion board post, for example, I definitely let them use phones if they don't have access to a laptop. But it stands out like a sore thumb when I'm up in front of the class teaching and they have no reason to be typing on their phones.
I also struggle with airpods. I know some students just leave them in all the time. But I don't really understand not taking them out during class, and I have no way of knowing if they're listening to something else while I'm giving them important information. This is an odd occurrence to me, just because I feel like I've never really seen my classmates do this.
I'm not sure what to do about this. Do I let it go, because I've set a precedent, and make an adjustment next semester when teaching a new class? I still believe in my initial reasoning, that they're adults who should be responsible for themselves, but, the level of disrespect that this portrays is a bit much for me. They aren't even trying to hid it a little.
I have asked students to put devices away in the past, in maybe two instances, because it was a problem for several students. But I hesitate a bit more when it's one or two students, especially because I've told them I don't have a tech policy. I guess I didn't expect that explaining this policy to them would lead them to believe that I don't care if they pay attention at all or not.
I don't know if I should change my policy in the future, though I still hold the same beliefs, just because it's distracting to me that students are on their phones, and I find it frustrating.
Anyone else having issues with tech? Please share.
I'm looking for some thoughts from you regarding your tech policy and student attention. I've talked about this a bit in class before, but I don't have a tech policy. I began my semester with my students explaining the reason for that--I want them to be responsible for themselves, and I don't want to spend time policing them. I think to some extent that they get what they put in out of a class.
This has worked okay for me so far. I know that students have laptops open and they're almost certainly looking at something not related to class while I'm talking. For some reason, this doesn't bother me quite as much as students who have their phones out and are clearly texting right on top of their desks, as I'm teaching the class. As I'm watching them do this, I'm just imagining the questions they're going to ask later about things I'm taking time to explain now. It's maddening. Today one of my most engaged students, who sits basically right in front of me, was plainly texting, and it was distracting for me. I went back and forth on whether to say something or not.
I'm pretty flexible with them in general. If we need to access something on Canvas or submit a discussion board post, for example, I definitely let them use phones if they don't have access to a laptop. But it stands out like a sore thumb when I'm up in front of the class teaching and they have no reason to be typing on their phones.
I also struggle with airpods. I know some students just leave them in all the time. But I don't really understand not taking them out during class, and I have no way of knowing if they're listening to something else while I'm giving them important information. This is an odd occurrence to me, just because I feel like I've never really seen my classmates do this.
I'm not sure what to do about this. Do I let it go, because I've set a precedent, and make an adjustment next semester when teaching a new class? I still believe in my initial reasoning, that they're adults who should be responsible for themselves, but, the level of disrespect that this portrays is a bit much for me. They aren't even trying to hid it a little.
I have asked students to put devices away in the past, in maybe two instances, because it was a problem for several students. But I hesitate a bit more when it's one or two students, especially because I've told them I don't have a tech policy. I guess I didn't expect that explaining this policy to them would lead them to believe that I don't care if they pay attention at all or not.
I don't know if I should change my policy in the future, though I still hold the same beliefs, just because it's distracting to me that students are on their phones, and I find it frustrating.
Anyone else having issues with tech? Please share.
Hi, I'm definitely feeling this and it's definitely hurt my feelings a lot; it's hard spending so much time crafting an intentional, well-scaffolded lesson plan and realizing that they literally don't care at all. I don't have a tech policy either, but at the end of every month I give them an update on their participation portfolio grade; it's a combination of their participation, attendance, preparedness, etc. So, at the end of January I gave them their tentative scores and let them know where they could improve (a lot of this was related to airpods, phones, etc.) and since they got those updates, it's actually helped quite a bit. A lot of them, for some reason, think that we don't even notice (as if we can't see literally everything).
ReplyDeleteJJ,
DeleteThanks! I appreciate that suggestion. I don't have much in terms of participation points right now--just points for various in-class activities and assignments. I might consider trying something like that moving forward. It's definitely not working as it is, and I find myself getting irritated at them but still not wanting to say anything.
It's exactly like that--like I'm not looking directly at them texting!!
Hi Shelbi,
ReplyDeleteFirst, know that you are not alone in your struggle. The last few weeks my students have really gone downhill in terms of class participation, coming to class prepared and paying attention, and even just showing up at all. Monday we had a nice "get your act together" chat where I told them they need to start respecting my time as much as I respect theirs, as quite frankly it can be a long semester for all of us if that is not going to be the case. I am unsure as to how this will go moving forward, but you definitely are not alone in this. Part of me feels like it is just that time of the semester, but I also think to a degree they are getting comfortable enough with us to test our boundaries. Stand firm and know that you can always come by and chat if you need to vent, find a solution, or just have a sympathetic ear.
Abbie
Shelbi,
ReplyDeleteI definitely understand your struggle. I have a strict tech policy - no phones or laptops in class, or you're counted absent - and I still have problems with my students. I want them to learn in class, be an active participant, or at least be listening. Despite all of this, I know there are airpods under hats and hoods and phones under their desks - they aren't sneaky! I don't want to say there's no hope, but it's just a rough situation overall. We really can't control if they're going to listen to us or not, and yeah, it's on their dime if they miss out and do terribly.
I don't exactly have any strategies to recommend, but there are several things I do in class to hint that tech needs to disappear. At the start of class, I usually make a blanket statement: "Alright everybody, phones, laptops, airpods away. How are you today?" This usually at least gets them to remember that it's not okay for my class. Maybe saying this at the start of your class, even though there's no tech policy, could be effective. I try not to call out students individually, but every once in a while, I'll look at a couple of kids with their phones and say "I don't want to see phones, please." These aren't perfect answers, and honestly they're not that effective, but I think that reminding them that it's important to listen to you might be helpful. Or, honestly, just leveling with them might help - saying that you notice when people aren't paying attention and that it isn't working for your class. Good luck! It's an impossible situation.
Kristen
Shelbi,
ReplyDeleteI had a similar problem—I started the semester with a very lenient tech policy. I told them we would be using laptops/phones for certain in-class activities and they shouldn’t have them out otherwise, but that I’d probably only remind them once or twice and then I’d just subtract points from their participation grade if it kept being a problem. I do participation grades by unit, so once I submitted the grade for the first unit, I was hoping some of them would take the hint. But they didn’t and kept Snapchatting or texting like I wasn’t seeing everything they were doing. I don’t know any teacher who doesn’t find that extremely frustrating (or make them feel like they aren’t getting across the importance of the lesson to their students).
I also worried about not being able to change once I’d set a precedent, but I decided to go ahead and address the problem because it was keeping me from concentrating on more important things. So I actually did have a “be a responsible adult if you expect me to treat you like one” talk with them, where I basically told them they’d lost the right to that certain freedom – and that I reserved the right to count them absent if they were on their phones, because being mentally present is just as important as being physically present. It seemed to work really well for about two class periods, and then the phones started to creep back out again. I don’t know if there’s any way to solve the problem completely, and constantly reminding them is exhausting. Don’t take it too personally, because it’s definitely not just you who is experiencing this problem.
-Jessie
Hi Shelbi,
ReplyDeleteWhile reading your post, I thought about how this issue shows up sometimes in my classes. Even when I have a policy, some of them just seem to have forgotten about it. At the beginning of the semester, some students told me that they had issues with their laptops, then, they would probably be using their cellphones instead. I accepted that since I believed that after we talked about the policy, that would be enough for them not to use their cellphones inappropriately. As I like going around the classroom when they are working on something, I sometimes approach them to see how they are doing with the task and those using their cellphones are usually working on what they are supposed to. However, I have noticed sometimes that they are out of topic and doing something else. To be honest, I don't want to feel like a police about this issue. I consider that a way for them to grow and really become adults is by facing the consequences of their actions. I think that is something they need to learn how to control in every class they have. If using their devices in class had an impact on their grades or so, I could tell them that I feel that was due to their lack of attention, specially when using their devices inappropriately. I don't think they will learn just because we tell them to save their cellphones or because that is written in a policy. I think they would "obey" instead of learning.
Regarding your policy for the next semester, that sounds like a good idea. However, every semester you will have different types of students. Maybe your new students will respect you in that even if it is not part of a policy or they won't even having a set punishment. I would recommend you to do it though to see what the result of having it are. After that, you can make your own conclusions.
Shelbi,
ReplyDeleteI've also started having problems with tech in my class. Recently, I had a student who always has his airpods in complete 3 different types of primary research when I only required one because he literally didn't hear me explain the project or bother to check Canvas. He wanted me to acknowledge his "extra" work and was frustrated when he emailed me about the issue. I had a really hard time having any sympathy for him because I knew it was because he doesn't listen.
I approach tech in the same way I pretty much approach everything else in my class: our students are adults and if they don't want to listen, then that's their choice and the consequences are completely their fault. I'm not a babysitter and I refuse to fall into that role for my students.
If I find their tech distracting, I usually call them out because my students trust me enough to be able to tell them when something is wrong, just like how they tell me. I've even said to students before "Wow, that's a nice Snapchat" when I've seem them using the app in class and it usually gets them to stop, as well as turns it into a joke so they feel a little less like they are being punished. It's more of a "Hey, I'm aware you aren't paying attention and it's your decision from this moment to focus back or to continue with the distraction." They know I'm flexible and easy-going with them so most of the time issues don't arise, but it's frustrating when they take advantage of that.
Shelby,
ReplyDeleteI totally understand your tech concerns. I have reflected on technology in the classroom since taking [pedagogy] methods courses in undergrad. Do you allow everything? Absolutely nothing? Something in between? What does that look like? We spend so much of our time lesson planning, unit planning, activity planning, objective seeking, etc. It almost seems ridiculous that we allow our thoughts to surround a technology policy in addition to our stream-lined list; however, we must remember, technology has the power to advance and encourage learning just as much as it has the power to impede and distract learning. Technology contributes to climate. It is both a disadvantageous and advantageous learning tool.
My policy allows for any and all technology in the classroom. I am horrified at the thought of a student missing out on pertinent information because of a strict policy for which only I am responsible. This has not yet happened to me, but it does happen.
Furthermore, the way I see it, we must begin introducing students to the following terms and phrases and be deliberate in doing so: 1) self-directed learning 2) resourcefulness. Students must recognize that their education is their education and they must begin forming habits that will best advance their intellectual development (this is their responsibility, not ours!). Students should too, recognize that technology can be used for academic purposes (purposes that move beyond Chromebooks and multimodality for multimodality-sake) and learn to use these creative tools strategically.
In short, my policy allows for students to be students. The only time where I interject is if technology is distracting another student in the room—I’m sure most will agree that to distract another is unfair. You may consider phrasing your policy as a “contract” and sticking to that terminology because “contract” implies that addendums can be discussed and added. If you feel as though you are losing control and suddenly every student is there but not necessarily present, you can speak to the class and propose solutions for moving forward. In most cases, I think the confrontation is appreciated and well-received (but certainly not always!). I wish you the best of luck... especially with the air pods. Haha Great post!
-Kelli