Thursday, March 2, 2017

Students Staying On-Task During Chrome Book Use

I'm a K-5 ELL Teacher, and one issue I've had more than once with technology is keeping students on-task while doing independent activities. My ELL groups are high-need, especially my 3rd-5th grade groups, and this means that if we're working on composing memoirs using Google Docs, four or five of my nine students need help at any given time. I've had fewer hands up when doing research since we started using Google Read and Write, but ELL kids generally need a very high level of support. I have students write their names on the board and then I help them in that order. The problem is that I always have at least one student in a group who will open a new window and play games, surf the internet, and basically avoid academic tasks. Other than students tattling on one another, I really have a hard time figuring out when they're doing this. Often I'll find out later, when a student's work isn't completed and they'll admit why.

Since my students are learning English and often have translation needs and definitions, I am actually okay with them opening a new tab and looking up something or translating it. This increases independence and is what I want them to do when they need help. My policy thus far has been that if I catch a student doing something off-topic (but not inappropriate) online, they get a warning, and if it happens again they lose their computer privileges for a week or longer. Earlier this year, while working on individual Google Slides projects on Native American Tribes, I managed to catch one student playing math games more than once. He was really behind on his work. I took away his technology privileges for the remainder of the project, and I printed him the sites he needed and gave him loose leaf paper. His was on big sheets of paper instead of online.

My question is this: what methods or ideas do you have to keep students focused and on-task when working online? At least in my case, it's nearly impossible to constantly monitor every screen, but I need my students to be on-task. Of course, engaging and interesting lessons and activities really decrease this kind of work avoidance, but not every project and assignment will be thrilling to every student. I'd love some ideas about how to deal with this issue.