Phones in the classroom...Friend or Foe?
I have found my new nemesis....the phone. Not just any phone, but the new iPhone, Droid, Google whatever that is currently in my student's hands as I try to teach class. I feel like I am a performer that is trying to audition for a show and no one is watching or listening. The saddest part is that I am actually quite funny, at least I used to think so. That is until the dreaded phone came waltzing into my classroom and has set up permanent residence among the students. It is no longer me vs phone. I am competing against every app, photo, tweet, article, Instagram pic, Facebook post, and text message that was every sent or created.
So here I stand annoyed and aggravated everyday that students care more about their screens than they care about the class. Okay, honestly I can't say I blame them at times.....school can be boring for some. But the constant need to stay connected and in the know is starting to ruin our kids. Seriously, students have complained about getting knocked over in our hallways because other students have their faces buried in their phones and don't bother to watch where they are walking and literally knock people over. It's getting out of hand.
Solution? Ugh. That's the problem. We can't expect to move forward and use this amazing tool for education without being burned by all of the other stuff they would rather be doing. It's not all kids, but it's like a bad flu that keeps going around. Once someone sees a peer on their phone, they they feel the dreaded FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). It;s a real thing spoken about by teens.
I have tried something that is getting mixed reviews from my students. I spent about $17 on a solution that looks similar to this:
The neat organizer has numbered pockets that coordinate to the attendance roster so I check each day at the start of class to see what pockets are empty. That way I am only needing to watch a few students as opposed to all 30+ students. Micromanaging? Yes. I'm okay with that. I have spent too much time trying to compete with the phones and now I reward those who get what I am trying to do (I offer extra credit if you put it in the pocket). This has helped significantly since I started this practice second semester. There are a handful of students in one class that aren't feeling it....the interesting part of that? These particular group of students are the ones with the lowest grades in the class, forget homework, and talk out of turn,and sit in the back row. Some might find that interesting...what do you think?
Shelby - this is so bold! I love that you have tried this. I have really felt the phone issues this semester myself. I don't know if it's because it's second semester seniors - but I do feel that the necessity to have that phone sitting on their desks just in case someone messages is unbelievable. I can go the entire period and not feel the need to check my phone - and I am a pretty important person (at least in my own mind) - and most teachers have children and other more adult responsibilities that could require them to be at full access, however, they understand the rules and don't have them out either. I completely applaud you for doing this. I really want to use it most when there is a test happening in my class - I really feel the ability to cheat with that phone is too easy - and I don't want to have to sit or stand and patrol them during the entire period while they are testing. How has behavior been during the class periods now that the phones are in their slots? Do they actually engage more - or do they become more disruptive? I really find it interesting that performance in class (aka grades) have been directly linked to phone access. Brilliant! This is perfect thing to use during a parent-teacher conference!
ReplyDeleteI am loving it so far! I use my gradebook (I created an different sheet for grades vs attendance and daily ongoings) to keep track of who utilizes the pocket vs who doesn't. This way I am only really looking at a handful of students in one class. I would 100% agree with them putting it up there on test days. My class in particular is about having conversations and making connections with other students which can not be done with their faces in their phones.
DeleteWhat in interesting way to fight the phone monster! I think we all fight it at times. It was probably one of the biggest classroom management issues I faced when I started teaching (3 years ago if you don't count subbing). I've thought a lot about this issue and tried several things: ignoring it doesn't work like it does for some problems! My daughter's high school doesn't let them in the room - period! If you get caught with your phone out during class, it's an automatic detention and visit to the dean. In my opinion that's very draconian. I've tried using the "if you can't beat 'em join 'em" method and it works most of the time. I try to have students use their phones several times each week, usually for some sort of formative assessment. When we're done, they have to put them away. For the rebels I use the three strikes and you're out policy: the third time I have to tell you to put your phone away, I get to keep it for the rest of the period. After that, it's a a phone call home and get's progressively more severe. I haven't had to call home yet (knock on wood.)
ReplyDeleteI think that I am admittedly way too controlling in nature...so the whole if you can't beat em join em is too tough for me to do. I did try to ignore it but it has gotten so bad in the past few years. I had to do something and this is so far working pretty well. It gives me a lot of feedback to give parents when they call or email about a concern about their grade....this is pretty black and white.
DeleteI think this issue is like so many others in teaching - find what works for YOU and go with it, keep exploring new and better ways and make little improvements when it make sense. I developed my "if you can't beat 'em join 'em" philosophy when I was subbing while working on my teaching certificate. It was such a huge problem in so many classrooms and different teachers had different rules about phones. I decided that when I had my own room that I would try to find a way to use them in class. I think in many ways the classes I teach and the fact that I already have a computer for every student makes this issue easier for me to manage than other teachers.
Deleteinteresting, i would like to try this out. sometimes we used phones to search for information too, thats why quite difficult to go through this. how about if they had any emergency call? do u set the limit?
ReplyDelete