The Devices and Behavior Management Piece

    I just wrote out a cheat sheet for a school I am working worth, and I believe its worth sharing. The school is very concerned about behavior management as they add more devices, and I am hoping this helps their admin team formulate a clear message. I think its also a great reminder to teachers that device management is really about the pedagogy. So here it is....

Pedagogy Tips and Tricks

Device Management in the Classroom is Not About the Tech. It’s about good Pedagogy and Practice.

1. Do Not Be Afraid! Take Risk!- Students can sense fear when teachers are using technology in the classroom. They are more likely to do something inappropriate if they feel that fear and realize the teacher isn’t sure of themselves. If you are fearful, have support in your classroom when trying an activity for the first time. Between the admin staff, the METI, and the technology coach there are plenty of people available.
   
   
2. Have engaging, personalized student driven activities- The best way to end behavior management issues is to have activities that students are interested in and not bored with. Be open to changing an activity to peek student interest. For instance if you are asking a student to tell a story and they are a comic book fan, be open to letting them tell the story through a comic book even if it was not originally a choice.
   
   
3. BE MOBILE!- If you're afraid of what little Johnny is doing in the back of the classroom on a device, get away from your stuff and go look. Devices in the classroom take a change in mindset. You need to be willing to move away from your desk. There all tools that can aid in this which we will discuss below. Being involved with students is always the most sure fire way to limit issues.
   
   
4. Have Time Limits- Personalized learning is not free for all learning. There are plenty of timers available online to keep kids on track and restrict how deep they can go into a tool. Just Google Search Them!
   
   
5. Have a Typical Activity Setup- Again personalized learning does not have to be free for all learning. Technology Usage is evaluated on the Tims in Fulton County, and it outlines a typical assignment set up. It ask that you have Goal Setting, Planning, Monitoring Progress, and Evaluation Steps. By using those as your typical set up students can become trained in those steps and can be more focused on their assignments.
   
   
6. Don’t try to Learn Every Tool, and Make the Ones you do Know Clear to Students- When you have students create, you should know at least one or two tools that you can really help students with. You can give them the option to use others, but then you make it clear to them that they will have to problem solve on their own. If they get stuck, they can always use the tools you do know.
   
   
7. Vet, Vet, Vet - Just like anything, you need to get anything you use to make sure its appropriate for your students. Be sure to keep in mind that many tools don’t allow students under 13 to use them without parent permission. A good rule of thumb is to only use things that don’t require a sign in for students under 13.
   
   
8. Use Things you Can Moderate and Keep Privacy of- If you are going to use tools that allow students to collaborate and publish their work, make sure you have things that you can moderate (delete inappropriate content) and keep private. There are plenty out there so just ask you METI or Tech Coach if this is an issue.
   
   
9. Have an Idea What Common Time Wasters Look Like- It’s always a good idea for a teacher to know what all of the common social media platforms, Youtube, and Games look like on a Screen. You don’t have to know what they do, just know what they look like in order to redirect students when you see them.
   
   
10. Have Incentives- It takes teacher trust and motivated students to let students go and create. Come up with some sort of incentive system that you can motivate students with. There are several tools that can aid with this.
    
    

Tools to Aid Teacher Mobility

1. Nearpod- Direct instruction is still a very viable form of instruction. It’s just not something that should be done all of the time. Nearpod adds to a teachers mobility by moving the direct instruction from the front of the room to the device in front of the student. The teacher can control this presentation from their own Ipad which makes them more Mobile. It’s also a great starting place for teacher to move into the Device age
   
   
2. Air Server- Air Server is a software that allows the teacher to display their Ipad on their overhead projector. It’s something that is available throughout Fulton, and it gives the Teacher that mobility they need. A teacher could move any type of direct instruction to their device using this. They could use something like EduCreations if they are in need of a Whiteboard. They will also have access to Keynote and Powerpoint through their Ipad which means they can run those presentations from their Ipad
   
   
3. Some Type of Remote Desktop- If you must have your full computer, there are plenty of Ipad Remote Desktop applications that would allow you to do this mobily.
   
   

Incentives (Tools to Help a Teacher Track)

1. Irewards Chart App (Easiest Set Up)- This app basically lets you set up a digital version of the Gold Star Chart. The teacher could use this on their Ipad as they move around the room to award points. They could then tie some sort of incentive system to it
   
   
2. Class Dojo (Average Set Up)- This tools allow teachers to set up classes and reward points for positive behaviors and take away points for negative behaviors. It gives you a total score which would be very easy to use as an incentive. The best part about Dojo though is that it allows you to give parents a code to create an account, and they can then see their child’s behavior in real time. Be careful of a common misuse though… Many teachers put their screen up for everyone to see. This should not be done for any reason.
   
   
3. Class Craft (Difficult to Set Up): Class Craft takes the concept of Class Dojo and smashes it together with World of Warcraft. It really turns your class into a game. Could be great if used in the right way by someone who has an idea of what they are doing