Teacher Talk Tuesday: The Tech Battle

Hello and happy Tuesday!

One thing that really has changed in my twenty-four years as an educator is how technology affects student learning.

Today, I’m sharing a bit about some of the procedures I’m using this year to ensure students are giving me their full attention. haha!

Kentucky has a new law, House Bill 208, that requires school districts to create policies that ban student cell phone use during instructional time.

In recent years, cell phones have been a constant battle. I will say that middle schools have always been somewhat strict about phones, so teaching ninth graders, they come into high school with the expectations that phones should be put away. So, as a teacher, if I’m strict with my expectations, they know that they shouldn’t be on them. It really hasn’t been a huge issue for me through the years, but I’ve had to be strict about it.

I appreciate that now there’s a law and a school wide policy. Last year, one of Hayden’s teachers started using pencil boxes at her tables for students to put their phones in during instruction. That way, the phones are nearby in case they need them, but they are put away. This year, my school gave every teacher an over the door calculator pouch, but I started using bins that I got at the Dollar Tree to start the school year.

Honestly, these have worked fine. I have one for every two rows, and students place them in there before the bellringer to start class. Again, I have freshman four of my six classes, so they are used to limited phone use thanks to middle school.

With my two English 2 (sophomore) classes, I told them that I will treat them with more trust and responsibility, and their phones shouldn’t be out. Truly, I figured there would be a honeymoon period and then I’d have to have them use the bins. Well, we’re in week 10 of school, and it’s truly been the easiest start to the year in terms of not having to fight with students about technology. As a teacher, I’m good about sticking to my expectations, and I think they know that by now.

My previous district was smaller, and students were 1:1 with technology my last few years there. My current district is much bigger, so I never thought we’d be 1:1 with students and computers. Well, of course, Covid changed all that. Chromebooks are so beneficial in regards to learning. I post everything on Canvas, so students know what we are working on. I still do some assignments on paper, but I actually prefer grading online. I’d say 75% of what students submit is on Canvas and the other 25% is on paper.

We have Go Guardian that we set up at the start of the year, and it blocks what students have access to during class. On my end, I can see what is on their screens at all times, and the sessions are recorded. So, for example, if I think a student cheated, I can go back and view the session to see what screens they were on during that time. It really has eliminated students being on random websites when they should be learning.

Technology is a blessing and a curse, that’s for sure! I tell the students we’re trying to teach them how to use technology responsibly since it will always be a part of their lives.