Assessing What We Haven’t Taught: Cell Phone Expectations in the Classroom

Cell phones in the classroom.

Even from behind the screen, I could sense the hair bristling on the back of the neck of every teacher who just read those words.

They are a constant source of frustration for every teacher, and we constantly bemoan the fact that students don't know how to keep their phones away. We rant and rave over the amount of time we could save if our students would just learn to stay off their phones.

It's frustrating.

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But, I also think that most of the time we don't actually do anything to remedy this problem.

Imagine if we did the same thing about some sort of content or skill we expected students to be able to demonstrate. We would sit there and rant and rave about how they couldn't do something, and then someone would probably ask some of the following questions:

1. "Well, did you teach it to them?"
2. "Do they understand why it's important?"
3. "Are they seeing progress or growth towards a target?"

If we answered no to all three yet still expected students to demonstrate some academic skill, we probably shouldn't have a teaching job.

Teaching cell phone use versus our expectations.
Source: http://connect.citizen.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2015/10/funny-teacher-college-meme.jpg?x71574

Yet, with behavioral expectations, especially when it comes to technology, we don't see the necessity of teaching certain skills the same way we teach content. While I wouldn't say teaching the behavioral skills is more important, I do think that it is just as important to teach behavior as it is to teach content. 

Before I jump into the different ways we could teach appropriate technology use in the classroom, I want to clarify something.

Being a digital native doesn't automatically make you a good digital citizen. - Click to Tweet

I think sometimes this perception floats around in schools that because students now are raised with technology all around them, they know how to use it well. Oh, they know how to use it, but knowing how to use it and knowing how to use it well are two very different things. 

We can't expect students to come into the classrooms with the skills they need to be successful in a digital environment. We need to teach them.

So, what can we do?

First off, the rules we set will never produce a behavioral change long-term. Yes, it is important to have those clear expectations in place, but we will continue to fight the same battles over and over in our classrooms if we think the rule will be the be-all and end-all when it comes to, well, really anything in our classrooms. 

Like any other rule, students have to understand the reasoning behind the rule. Here are a few ways I try to do that in my classroom.

1. Myth-bust Multi-tasking

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Most students don't even think about the consequences of multi-tasking because it is the natural state of how they live their lives. Their phone is constantly buzzing, advertisements are popping up all over, they have to Snapchat another selfie just like the one they took two seconds ago, etc. 

Multi-tasking is the norm, and when something is the norm, you don't see the consequences of it. As such, students probably think multi-tasking is perfectly fine.

My goal is to shatter that belief. 

My favorite way to do it is through an activity involving numbers and letters. I'm honestly not sure where I picked this up, but what I do is I pull aside a student who I notice has a really hard time staying off their phone. I sit them down with a paper and pencil and tell them that they are first going to write out the alphabet, and then when they finish that, they are going to write the numbers one through twenty-six. I let them know that I'm going to time them, and then they do their best to write the alphabet first and then the numbers on the page. When they finish, I record their time.

Next, I have them do the same activity with just a small change. Instead of writing out the alphabet first and then the numbers, they have to alternate between the two (eg. - A 1 B 2 C 3...). I don't tell them why at all thus far. I just ask them to trust me. We do the activity and I time them.

While I don't keep specific stats on how much longer it takes, it ALWAYS takes students a decent amount longer to finish the second activity. I never have to tell them why we did the activity either. I can just ask them, and they get it.

Multi-tasking wastes additional time and energy. They have to see and understand that personally before they will be willing to put their phones away or stay off Facebook on their computers.

2. Focus on Feelings

I think one of the most harmful aspects of unrestrained technology use is the way that it impacts the user, and for most users, they don't even realize the effects of it. 

I have so many students who confess to me that they think their life is boring, or they feel like nobody wants to hang out with them. They feel socially isolated. 

And then they spend the rest of their time in my room during lunch scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, their Snap story, etc. instead of actually talking to anyone. 

Source: http://nicholasrossis.me/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/fb-social-life.jpg

They don't make the connection between their feelings and their actions. That absolutely extends beyond technology use, but I think the biggest disconnect for most students is with technology. 

I do a couple of things to address this.

The first is that I will assign readings for students who are frequently on social media during class. These readings cover the psychological effects of social media addiction. I truly believe knowledge is power, and I let my students know that when I assign them the reading. I also let them know that I am worried about them. Framing it that way, instead of just taking away their phone, makes it seem like a problem for them, not a problem for me.

I also make sure to have a discussion with students when I ask them to either put away their phone or give it to me. I ask them how they're going to feel when they don't have their work done because they were on their phone. I make sure they recognize that the future feeling of defeat or disappointment begins in that moment. 

3. Train and Teach Instead of Just Taking

One of my favorite things to do is to assign a neighboring student to record the number of times their partner attempts to check their phone. I keep a running log of this for certain students. (So far, the record is 73 times...IN a 65-MINUTE CLASS). The goal is to attempt to check your phone less today than you did yesterday. I will assign this to certain students for two weeks. Awareness is key here. A lot of our students who are always on their phone don't even realize how often they are checking it. When their neighbor lets them know that they checked their phone once every couple minutes, they recognize the problem much more than me just telling them once to put away their phone. 

If we want students to change the way they use their phones, we have to show them that there's a problem, and without data, no one is going to listen to you.

Another idea is to use an activity tracker app like Moment or something similar. Though I haven't done it with a student, I do this for myself. I was using my phone more than I wanted to, so I started tracking it. In the same way that seeing how often you check your phone can be a nice wakeup call, finding out you spent two hours of your day checking social media is also a good wakeup call. I am waiting to find a student who's willing to do this, but I want students to be aware of the way technology affects their life outside of the classroom just as much as I want them to control it in the classroom.

If we want our students to be willing to get better at a skill in our content area, we need to help them see growth. Proper technology use is no different. Students need to see data to tell them where they are at and to have a way of tracking their progress so they see improvement. 

Are cell phones still an issue in my classroom? Absolutely. I don't think I can ever fully eliminate that. However, my students are more thoughtful about their technology use than they were when they started in my class. Not all of them, obviously, (I'm picturing specific students right now), but I frequently have students who will just give me their phones at the beginning of class because they have learned to recognize the importance of removing it as a distraction. 

I think that really should be the goal, that students are learning to regulate their own technology use. It doesn't happen automatically, though, and it definitely takes more time in the moment than just taking student phones away.

In the long run, not only am I convinced that a thoughtful approach to technology management will end up saving time, but it helps students become more reflective about the way they interact with technology in their day-to-day lives, which produces results far beyond our own classroom. 

What have you found works well when it comes to helping students manage their technology in the classroom?