Classroom Management & Technology

There are five elements of classroom management practice identified in the first article, briefly describe how would you plan to incorporate these elements in your lessons? The second article hopefully made you think about the potential of computers for classroom behaviour management. Are there ways you could incorporate the lessons learned in your own lessons?

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Classroom management focuses on creating a positive classroom culture where students can learn. A number of factors play into this such as discipline, building trust, routine, learning spaces, and transitions. Classroom management can make the different between a good teacher and a great teacher.

There are 5 elements of classroom management as outlined in Chai, Lim, & Pek (2005). that teachers need to consider when integrating technology into lessons.

1. Supporting activities for ICT tools
Learning technology tools to complete an activity adds another level of complexity to the learning for students even when technology is a great way to engage students. When I am teaching a class where I am introducing students to a new technology, I model how to go about doing it and then allow them the opportunity to try. This is aligned with Hudson & Notman's paper (2001) that suggests teachers should model a few technology skills to begin the lesson. Often I also give students time to explore a tool first and allow them to inquire into what the technology tool can do. Then we share what we've learnt and ask questions about things we still can not figure out.

2. Role of the teacher
Teachers are no longer the only source of information with ICT and a class of students. Thus, teachers become the facilitators of learning(Chan, Lim & Pek, 2005, p.410). I always make sure I can see the students' screens easily and walking around to monitor students' online behaviours. Visual timers and sound cues help to cut down on transition times in order to make the learning the focus and not the time getting ready for learning. I also ensure my materials are ready prior to the start of the lesson in order to have a lesson that can flow from one part to the next.

3. Role of student helpers
In my class, I have always had student helpers. The students in my class generate the jobs at the beginning of the year that we feel are needed to help the class run. Each week I would move the helping hands so that everyone had each job at some point in the year to make it fair. The students take their roles very seriously which helps students get on with the learning.

4. Technical support for teachers
The best technical support in my classroom always came from my students. Each week I had two students designated as the techsperts. There role was to help other students and myself solve any technical issues they were having. This meant the students would go to the techsperts before coming to me for support, creating a culture of collaboration and community of support.

If necessary, we could also call on the tech department for support.

5. Establishment of rules and procedures
It is important to set the tone of the classroom from the beginning of the year. Each year, the students create their essential agreements together and sign them stating they will abide by them. Having students come up with the essential agreements mean they have more ownership over the class and more responsibility to follow them.

For ICT, we have our acceptable use policy that we also use and abide by. Students read it with their parents and return it to school signed. Online safety is important and students understand that if they are unable to follow the agreement, they may not be able to use technology in their learning experiences. These agreements are reviewed and reflected on regularly throughout the year.

References 

Chai, C., Lim, C., & Pek, M. (2005). Classroom management issues in information and communication technology (ICT)-mediated learning environments: back to the basics. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 14(4), 391-414.

Hudson, R. & Notman, H. (2001). Challenges of ICT resourced classes and helpful routines: Lessons from teaching practice. Computer Education, 99, p. 24-26. 

Potential Problems

Post to your blog: From the five potential problems listed on pp 214-216 in Roblyer, which may have the most impact on your classroom and students and why? How will you ensure you address these concerns in your lesson planning in your assignment and in the future?

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Potential Problems:
1. Accessing Sites with Inappropriate Material 
2. Safety and Privacy Issues for students 
3. Fraud on the Internet
4. Computer viruses and hacking
5. Copyright and Plagiarism 

Image from: https://cdn.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/styles/article-inline-half/public/blogs/51514/2012/08/103406-100895.jpg?itok=-1_I230A

Out of the 5 potential problems, 3 of the hit home most for me. Digital citizenship is something that our school needs to address more explicitly and we are currently looking at a whole school approach and developing a curriculum to meet our community needs that we hope to roll out next academic school year. This is going to take a lot of conversations and perspectives before we get it the way we want.

There is so much content online that at some point students are likely to access sites with inappropriate material on them. As teachers, we should be directing our students towards sites we approve of through web quests or other online activities. It would be good as a class to generate some good sites for searching for information on instead of just typing into Google. Students also need to learn what sites have valid information and which ones should not be there starting point for research (ie. Wikipedia). Students also need to be taught how to search. This means how to use keywords and use advanced search functions to narrow their search to get the information they actually want to find.

The safety of students is always a high priority for any school. It is more difficult to keep students safe online in a digital world that is difficult to navigate at times. Students need to learn how to use the internet safely and keep their information private. Students should be taught what information is appropriate to give online, how to create and keep safe passwords, what environments are safe to communicate with other people online and what to do if cyberbullying takes place (Roblyer & Doering, 2014, p. 215). Again, education is important.

There are so many instances when students plagiarise others' work unknowingly. Students need to be taught from an early age that you can't just copy someone else' s work. This starts with learning how to take notes, how to reference others' work and also how to check that you haven't accidentally copied someone's work using sites that prevent plagiarism (Roblyer & Doering, 2014, p. 216).

I think with all three of the issues bolded, it is important to take a proactive approach and be open and honest with students by opening the lines of communication. Students need to be taught how to navigate their digital presence online in a safe manner. Teachers should also use teachable moments as they arrive. Therefore teachers should not just get mad and scold a student for finding something inappropriate online but rather, use it to show how the situation could have been avoided and what steps could be taken in the future.

References

Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2014). Integrating educational technology into teaching [Sixth Edition].

Another issue - restricted internet access

Another issue related to Internet use – particularly in schools – is the restricted nature of Internet access. We have seen why this would be considered necessary, but it also stifles the ability of both teachers and students to access the resources they need. What are you able to access at your school or institution – or not? Does this work? What does this mean for an educational institution where many students have internet capable smart phones? Does this mean restrictions should be relaxed and better supervision should be utilise

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Image from: http://rlhb.wp.lexblogs.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/111/2012/03/Social-media-banned-law-firms-490x2791.png 

We are able to access most websites that I would need as a teacher. However, social media sites are blocked including Twitter and FaceBook. While I don't mind FaceBook being blocked, I use Twitter quite a bit for educational purposes. I often am reading articles or sharing my own work with other educators. However, there is a way around it - mobile devices. If I have my iPhone on me and I don't connect to the school wifi, I can still access Twitter and use it on campus. This is not ideal because I would rather be able to read things from my laptop more easily with larger font but it is a work around.

Image from: http://www4.pcmag.com/media/images/332686-twitter-censored.jpg?thumb=y

This mimics what are students are doing too. With the rise of mobile devices and unlimited data, students don't need the school network to connect to the internet. Does this mean we should abandon it? I don't think so. For our younger students especially, it is important that we have firewalls,  security and safety measures in place until they understand the internet better and have more knowledge about being a digital citizenship. We don't allow cell phones in the classroom, so students shouldn't be viewing things from their mobile devices during the school day (specifically at the primary school). However, as students become older they are going to make their own choices and have more non-class time in their day that they can access social media sites from their mobile devices. The important thing is that we as educators have done our do diligence to educate students so they are prepared to make appropriate choices and act in a mature manner online.

Social Media in the Classroom

Social media allows individuals to have a platform to communicate and connect around the globe. I agree that the bullying can continue away from the educational institute, causing the student to ever have an escape from the bullying.

We do not use social media too often with our students, have an acceptable use policy and most social media sites (Twitter, Google+ , Snapchat, etc.) are blocked on the school network. Unfortunately, this does not eliminate what happens on cell phones and personal devices that are not connected through the school wifi. One of the ways I have worked with students in a closed and supportive social media network is through Edmodo. Edmodo mimics Facebook for students in a closed group that is created and monitored by their teacher. Students can communicate, share resources, etc. in small groups, through the discussion feed and learn how to navigate social media. When using Edmodo, we discuss a lot about digital citizenship, digital footprints or digital tattoos, online identity, creating profiles, how our 'brand' is seen by others, etc. It allows students exposure to social media without some of the challenges that are experienced through open social media tools.
I have personally not had to deal large scale issues of cyberbullying. However, social media also has the opportunity to take a turn for the worst allowing the 'trolls' to come out. I use Twitter to build my Personal Learning Network (PLN), gather ideas and resources, and share resources I have created. I find it to be a positive experience, though some of my colleagues have had very different experiences where people have 'trolled' them. Trolling is when someone posts negative or mean comments at another user. My colleague had others call him all kinds of things just because he had a different opinion to theirs. These are educators. If adults who are supposed to be role models for their students spend time trolling the internet, how can we expect our students not to? We as educators have to role model for our students safe and responsible use of social media.

It was nice to see when I read the article 'Why Twitter is Finally Taking a Stand Against Trolls' (Lapowsky, 2015) that the social media sites themselves understand the importance of not tolerating people who cyberbully others. Twitter is flagging inappropriate comments, indirect threats, violent threats, underage usage etc. This is essential for making the social media experience enjoyable for all users and it is positive to see resources put into identifying and eliminating those who do not wish to use social media in a positive manner.

References

Connect With Students and Parents in Your Paperless Classroom | Edmodo. Retrieved September 12, 2015, from http://www.edmodo.com/

Why Twitter Is Finally Taking a Stand Against Trolls. Retrieved September 20, 2015, from http://www.wired.com/2015/04/twitter-abuse/

Acceptable Use Policy

I work at an international, PYP school in Singapore and we indeed have an Acceptable Use Policy. In fact, in my new role this year as EdTech Coach, I actually had to rewrite the Acceptable Use Policy in conjunction with our Director of Education Technology.

The AUP is for all students in our school. In the primary level, students use the school's technology whether that's iPads/iMacs in Kindergarten - Year 2 or the 1-to-1 laptop programme in Years 3-6 or the BYOD (MacBooks) from Middle School onwards. There is also a teacher's AUP as well as now a parent AUP as the Middle/High school parents have school emails to access ManageBac.

One of the major challenges is finding wording that is suitable for all students, especially the younger year groups. This year we rewrote it to make it more positive and student friendly. Thus, instead of saying "Don't do this", it now reads "We will...". This provides a more community approach that we all are responsible for abiding by the rules and frames it in a way of what students should be doing.

Our Acceptable Use Policy is broken down into different sections:

1. Be polite and respectful

2. Be responsible

3. Care for the devices

4. Keep your information private

5. Access appropriate information

6. Reference your work

7. Discipline

8. Social Media

Each section is expanded on with a few key bullet points. The social media section was added this year to fill a much needed gap. While we do not use social media often at our school, it is important to have the policy in place for if/when we use social media for specific needs.

The other challenge with developing an Acceptable Use Policy is that technology is always changing and the policy needs to be created in a way that will allow for new technologies to be fit in to the existing AUP. Thus, not always so specific to a certain tool but rather more the overarching ideals.

When going into each of the classrooms to talk about the AUP, I had to have very different approaches for the younger and older students. Some classes were more of a discussion while others were hands on practice of how to hold, carry, use, etc. the devices. I am interested to review the document after a year in the role and see what I would change after experiencing the role and the challenges within it.