These are some ideas I’ve learned from experience that are, probably, dated by now. But some helpful ideas nonetheless
Classroom management seems to have always been challenging. I can remember my classroom experiences and some of the difficulty my teachers had with just keeping students on task well before the days of smartphones. However, technology can assist in this in a few ways.
Technology is helpful for keeping students focuses right from the get-go. In one of the videos shared, there was a technique presented where the teacher posts their “Bellringer “on Blackboard and teaches the students a daily routine of grabbing their pieces of technology, and any other materials, logging in and immediately viewing the Bellringer that shows the expectations for the day.
Technology allows us and our students to share easily with each other via cloud and airplay-type technology. Teachers can share their lessons directly from their computer over an airplay-type device to a big screen and likewise can have their students share what they’re working on with the entire classroom in the same way. Of course, this is not without its own new set of potential problems including the loss of connectivity, so it is always best to have a backup plan in the event the original plan does not work.
What’s more, technology a;sp allows us to be more mobile. In the presentation on classroom management, the speaker talks about the arc of technology. Before integrating technology into the classroom, teachers could easily move around. After the initial integration of computers, teachers were sort of glued to where the computer was plugged into the wall.
Now, with mobile technology the teacher can move about the classroom with technology in hand, ready to share, help, teach, and mentor their students right there on the spot. However, to make this effective the classroom must be set up in a way that facilitates this. This mobility also allows the teacher to keep students on task and quickly correct off-task and unacceptable behavior without necessarily disrupting the entire classroom.
