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.
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4 comments:
Hi Melissa,
I'm not sure what the setup of your room is like and I understand you need to conference one on one with students and cannot be constantly walking around looking at monitors. I wonder if you are able to sit behind kids when working one on one with a student. Can you have a desk in the rear of the room in order to have space for you and the student to conference while being able to glance up periodically and scan computer screens?
~Megan
Hi Melissa,
By middle school age, there are definitely times when we need to be able to allow students to work independently & trust that they're using their technology appropriately, not playing games or visiting other sites or chatting with friends. Unfortunately, of course this happens more frequently than we'd like! Not being a teacher, I don't have a good recommendation for this concern... other than to try to use those situations as teachable moments, considering that this is really a life skill we're talking about. Moving forward students will always, as we do, have technology at their fingertips; whether it's having dinner with their family or sitting in a meeting with their boss or attending a college class. I guess this goes back to teaching them to make responsible decisions/etc, however I acknowledge that's a different situation at the elementary level!
Hi Melissa, this is a question that I too have. While subbing, I often times find students having multiple windows open and playing games. I usually address this problem by standing at the back of the class from where I am able to see most of the screens. This though only works in classes where all the seats face the same direction.
Megan,
My classroom is a half-classroom with an accordion wall--it's very narrow and long with curved tables. I'd have to rethink my whole setup (and how many kids can fit in my room) to make it so I could see their screens. I see what you mean, though. If I could glance up and look at the screens, I'd be more likely to see what they were doing. Hmmm. Food for thought.
Rebecca,
I completely agree with you about teachable moments and trust. I generally do trust my students and let them do things like sit around the room (on yoga balls, teacher chairs, and even on the floor) while they write. But when that trust breaks down, I think I do need to make it into less of a consequence and more of a teachable moment. I suppose I was afraid of cluing in all of the students to the fact that opening more than one tab at a time was possible or desirable. ;) I guess some of my kids are pretty naive.
Sudha,
You and Megan are both right about having desks face the same direction. That's really the only way to truly see what they're doing. I feel like it'd mess up the setup of my classroom, which is already small, to use desks, and fitting ten desks in my room would be very difficult.
I suppose I should think of this problem as similar to a kid doodling in their notebook or daydreaming. Thanks for all the great suggestions!
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