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EDL 820 - Unit 3 - A Tale of Tech in the Classroom

1/28/2019

 
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The following is a fictional situation based on my experience in a high school classroom over the last 5 or so years:

     Mrs. Rotary shows up early to school to organize her days lesson, check her email (personal and work), responding to one teacher, two parents and reading through two other emails with important school information and then finally do a little photocopying.  She texts her husband and turns off her ringer on her phone. Then Mrs. Rotary remembers, as she is on her way upstairs to the classroom she teaches senior Math in, that she forgot to punch in a class set of marks while she was in her office from the exams she marked last night.  She opens the classroom a few minutes early to get her lesson set-up and the projector ready to show some important graphs for the lesson. She would like to use the Smartboard, but someone has taken all the Smart pens and her computer cannot be updated with the necessary update without administrative access, so she will just have to use the whiteboard accordingly until these technical issues are dealt with later this week, month, or semester.  

  The bell goes and the students mostly all arrive on time (except for the usual two who come 10 minutes late and 30 minutes late, this one with a Tim Horton's coffee in hand, everyday).  One student is away for unknown reasons, so Mrs. Rotary will have to make sure she is caught up upon her return, with notes, understanding and assignment.  She greets the class, asks about how yesterday’s assignment went and provides a witty math joke to get the students engaged. 
     One student asks “Can we watch videos on the projector today?”  
     “Not today, lots to learn, please put away your phones.” Mrs.  Rotary responds.
     The days lesson goes well, with a fine balance of beautiful whiteboard notes, well-thought out examples, strategic questioning and her beautifully displaying the effects of specific variables on polynomial functions using a graphing website and the projector.  The students have been very attentive up to this point as they are busy writing and attempting to understand the advanced material being presented. The one who shows at this point takes a picture of the board and sits down to sip on his double-double.
    With 29 minutes left in class, Mrs. Rotary provides the daily assignment and tells the students “to work diligently and let me know if you have any questions.”  She then posts the assignment on her website for those away to refer to, does her daily attendance and circulates about the classroom to be sure students are working and understanding how to perform the assigned problems.  About 5 minutes later, as Mrs. Rotary starts to look at tomorrow’s lesson, the students start taking out their phones. It starts with one checking a text, not a big deal. Another is using their phone as a calculator, although the provided phone calculator is not very useful compared to a store bought scientific calculator, especially at this level of math.  Many are listening to music on their headphones. Mrs. Rotary is happy to see that a few students are using the app related to the graphing website she was using on the projector and she tells them so. 
     Now with 10 minutes left in class, most students are sending Snaps, scrolling through Facebook, looking at Instagram, watching YouTube videos and playing online games.  Only two are still working on the assignment, although no one has completed the assigned questions She kindly reminds them that they should be doing their work, not sitting on their phones.  She is trying to be respectful and teach them responsibility but it is a losing battle as most respond “Meh, I’ll do it for homework.” Some will, most will not. 
     She tried years ago, to have no phones in the classroom, but then sometimes they are very useful for graphing, online textbooks or handouts, instant feedback and assessments or even YouTube lessons in math. She tried some of the solutions presented on wearetheteachers.com but they involved so much policing it was beyond frustrating.  Also, many students would cause a large fight over their phones, leading to parent phone calls, emails, students sent to the office and a myriad of head-aches surrounding the technology. Parents were not supportive, and administration mostly seemed to support her but in the end the war was generally hers to wage and deal with.
     Mrs.  Rotary wonders what inappropriate content these students access at home, what is the effect of taking thousands of selfies on young adolescents self confidence, how bad will this issue be in 5, 10 or 15 years from now?  But she has resigned herself to the fact that almost all high school students (and adults) have them, and only a few will use them appropriately. Some will waste a little time but others will even fail courses based on their addictive behaviour with online games, or scrolling social media endlessly.  It’s so hard to fight about it day after day, or separate responsible use from those totally wasting their time. Mrs. Rotary thinks to herself, welcome to the modern classroom, which looks similar to attending a teacher conference, where many of those present are on their phones doing just what we expect the children not to do, learning very little to nothing, staring at a smartphone.  If only there was some way to help these students (and adults) understand being digitally responsible looks like in schools, at home, and in the community ...
stephen wihak
2/5/2019 02:04:38 pm

Dylan, you have brought the challenging realities of modern teaching dramatically to life in this scenario. I imagine that many of the details described come from your own experience.

I particularly like the way you used Mrs. Rotary's ... as in phones, right?.....;-) musings to highlight the smart phone educational issues that must be addressed.

- Steve

Dylan
2/7/2019 06:08:33 am

Yes Steve, the name Mrs. Rotary was used on purpose in reference to the traditional rotary phone. The idea came from this funny video I watched a couple weeks ago. (https://interestingengineering.com/video/watch-two-teenagers-try-to-dial-a-number-on-an-ancient-rotary-phone)


Dylan

stephen wihak
2/12/2019 01:31:04 pm

Haha! Yes! i have seen that video too! it's hilarious!

Adam Williams link
2/6/2019 09:20:45 am

Great post Dylan,
I find this has even become a problem in middle years. I built a cell hotel for my class that the students have to put their phones in, I lock it, and when we need them for class, at lunch or the end of the day it is unlocked and they get their devices back. I have noticed a greater level of engagement without the distractions of phones in class. I have not received any negative feedback yet, but I am sure it is coming. I am curios to know if any high schools have anything like this within their buildings? I also am aware that some parents are resistant to this type of practice as well, wanting to have a connection with their child at any time. How can educators garner the support they need in these situations from parents?

Jen Resch
2/8/2019 03:36:25 am

This was a very entertaining post Dylan. Though you wrote of fictitious events, I believe all of what you said it very believable. Students are addicted to their personal devices and many find it very hard to fight the temptation to check their various social media accounts, or waste precious classroom time on their phones.
I cannot help but laugh to myself when I read your closing comparing students to fellow teachers at conferences. I have often thought the exact same thing! I cannot believe how dependent we, as a society, have become to our phones, and not necessarily because we are using them to actually phone someone! How can we take all of this and teach our students to not be addicted to these devices? I know in elementary education we spend a lot of time teaching students to be safe on their devices. I think we need to possibly put more emphasis on resisting the urge to use these devices when we do not need them!
Your "story" definitely gave me a chance to reflect. Thank you!

Scott Gardiner link
2/9/2019 12:36:29 pm

Awesome post, Dylan. I particularly enjoyed the style of writing in this one (Mrs. Rotary, well played).

The situation you describe is all-too-familiar. Like most, I’ve been grappling with the cellphone issue for the bulk of my teaching career. Heck, my first master’s paper a few years back was a 20-page research paper on the effects of cellphone usage on a high school teacher’s practice. Even with years of experience and research under my belt, I’m still no closer to being able to answer the cellphone conundrum. Are they good/bad? What strategies should I use if I allow them?

Currently, I try to preach “time and place”. When I’m talking at the front of the room, cellphones are flipped on desks (so I can see them). When I’m not doing direct instruction then they’re free to use them as long as they’re being productive (researching or even listening to music). In addition, cell phones can be beneficial in these days of declining budgets and tech shortages in schools. Now, does the story that you described play out in my class? Probably more often than I’d be willing to admit. Do schools do a good enough job of teaching digital citizenship and responsible usage? They most certainly do not.

I look forward to reading about your project and findings as the semester goes on!


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