Students and technology: where do you draw the line?

February 3, 2009 at 10:11 pm 7 comments

This evening I had a very interesting class session on eluminate about “sharing” information on the internet. Our guest speaker for the session was Dean Shareski. I browsed through Shareski’s website and the “Podcast 44: Facebook, Filtering and all that” post got my attention. I would like to do the same here by posing the following question:

Where do you draw the line when it comes to student networking in the classroom/ computer room?

At our school, Bebo has been banned for student use. I let students use msn messenger before class starts and afterschool while I’m still in the classroom (we have 3 computers in the classroom the students can use). But what about when we have the computer room booked for assignments or researching? We only go into the computer lab once in a six day cycle and it is hard to see where everyone is at in there because there’s not much room to walk around. By the time I do get to a students’ computer, they’ve exited out of certain “windows” they probably don’t want me to see. Of course there are filters in our system and certain sites that are blocked for students, but they do have their ways of getting around these firewalls (I can’t even imagine how they do it). How do I know if my students are working on an assignment or simply chatting with other students (most of the time it’s the student right next to them)? What can I do about this situation?

A colleague of mine suggested standing right at the back of the classroom so you would know where all the students were at. Can you imagine yourself standing at the back of a computer room for almost an hour to watch what your students’ are doing? I couldn’t…

Computer Lab

Entry filed under: Personal Reflections.

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7 Comments Add your own

1. Penny | February 3, 2009 at 11:54 pm

I’ve wondered how teachers manage this as well. There is no easy answer but I think it helps to remember that this is not a new problem. When I was in school my friends and I used to write these massive letters to one another. How did that teacher know whether I was writing my essay or writing my friend? As soon as they started milling about the room we would just shuffle a few papers and make it look like we were on task. I wonder if teachers who were around for the shift from slates to paper had this same question?
The problem is not new — only the medium is.
2. Ian H. | February 4, 2009 at 12:21 am

There are two possible solutions. One is simply to install monitoring software so that from the teacher station, you can see what’s on every student station. There are a number of companies with products designed specifically for this. Some even give you control over student workstations to close programs that shouldn’t be open.

The second is to try and teach responsible internet use. If the students are on-task for most of the computer period and finish the assignment in the time allotted, is there any real problem with them chatting with the student next to them? It’s when it becomes a time-management issue that there’s a problem – if you can get the students to see that some of the things that they’re doing online are impacting their ability to complete the task, maybe you can get them to agree that the coursework needs to be the first priority.
3. Malik | February 4, 2009 at 12:23 am

Computers are slowly infiltrating our traditional classrooms. As educators that are “digital natives”, we must be able to communicate our expectations and train our student in becoming responsible digital citizens. I am sure that there is a lot on the topic of digital citizenship, however students must clearly know the consequences if…

I must agree, students always know how to get around web filters via proxy sites. There is a plethora of HOWTOs on the web.

I believe that you posed the question, where is the line drawn when it comes to student networking/collaboration? Unfortunately, in a majority of schools, network administrators dictate this factor where the teacher has no control. Unless for example the teacher has admin rights to a learning management resources such as Moodle or Blackboard.

-Mr. R
@mrich1911
4. Shawn P. Calhoun | February 4, 2009 at 12:51 am

Maybe distractions are related to the work that’s happening in the classroom? Lectures could lead to more goofing off while interactive group work could make FB’ing impossible? Also, I’m old enough to remember the days before computers in the classroom – we managed to find other things to do back then too :))
5. Bob Cotter | February 4, 2009 at 12:53 am

Wonderful enquiry. Starting at the end of your post, I can say that there is software (such as Apple Remote Desktop) and other screen sharing/viewing software that can be installed in a lab to assist with the monitoring. However, that wouldn’t be my choice for monitoring.

18 months ago our district created a pilot project for a senior history teacher to have a cart of laptops in his classroom for the whole day, one computer for each student in each class. I spoke with the class about how we were not filtering websites and that my opinion was that people do not work ‘heads down’ every moment of every class or, even in the post secondary work world. I gave examples of how I will take random walks myself to Facebook, or some other site as brain breaks.

The problem with that very brief discussion with students was that one day a week or so later, the principal was monitoring the class and found some students spending the majority of time in the backchannel … chatting and facebooking away. The student’s excuse, “Mr. Cotter said it was okay.” I revisited the class and we talked some more about their responsibility to their studies and to the teacher in the room.

The situation improved a for a while… I think the students thought they were being regularly watched, but the problem continues… for some students, not all.

To me, it is a matter of teacher responsibility to set the expectations for the class and to be active in walking around and talking to kids about the sites they are visiting… yes, I heard you say there is not much room in the class.

Students will minimize windows and find ways of avoiding your view into their world. Why not let the students know that you plan to review history files with some of them (at random) following the class. If they erase the history file, have a plan for that. Use your reviews with them as teachable moments.

Your expectations are important, and the students need to know where you stand on the issue, and where they stand if your expectations are not met.

Good luck!
6. Dave Hill | February 4, 2009 at 6:33 am

I imagine a lot depends on school division policy Does the division even allow social networking? Age of the students would be another factor. I am in an elementary school and we do not allow msn, Facebook, etc. We have our own email system that is monitored.The students know this. In our lab we have a program called In Sight that enables the teacher to monitor the student monitors from the teacher’s workstation. The students know this too. The biggest piece we work on is trust . We talk about the reasons we don’t want the students doing certain things on the Internet and it is only fair to let them know why. Hopefully this influences the choices they make on their home computer.
7. Jackie Durocher | February 5, 2009 at 4:37 pm

I agree that the more blocks we put on the computers, the better the students are at finding back doors to unblock them. I am ashamed to say that most of the high school students know more about computers than I do! But this class will help me overcome some of my technological difficulties! As educators we need to teach the students respect and responsibility with computers.