Control Over the Screen

"IMG_4646" by Tom Woodward (licensed CC BY-NC 2.0)

For years I have worked in a computer room that our head of IT services designed with classroom management in mind. There are two distinct design elements he used.

Firstly, where I sit behind all the students and we all face the projector. This may seem a bit weird, but it gives me a very important advantage, I can see all of their screens from my desk. The second designed element is that the computer room has two separate electrical circuits. One of those circuits is for the monitors and is fitted to the kill switch, so at a press of a button, all the monitors go blank.

While these two designs may not be possible in a normal classroom, but they do highlight a very important classroom management concept - having control over the screen. So how can this be applied to the normal classroom?

Viewing the screen

Ok, so talking to the back of your students' heads, or having them turn around to face you, may not be a practice, you wish to use. It is not a big issue for me, as most of my courses are designed with minimal 'face time' from me. 

In practice, viewing a student's screen isn't for when you are in front of the class. Viewing their screens is for when the students are engaged in their task. The time when a teacher traditionally moves around the class observing students' work. During this time it is really helpful to have students arranged so that you can easily see their screens. I even go as far as to state it explicitly "Please turn your laptop so I can see it.". 

How you arrange this will be dependent upon your room, it may be easier to mover yourself rather than all the students.

Remove temptation

There are times when you are addressing the class and the students do not need to use the laptop. During these times make it easier for them to focus by removing temptation. 

I remember my teachers saying "pens down", so why not use the digital equivalent? The most commonly used phrase is "Screens at 45 degrees". This means that students tilt their screens down enough that they can't see them, but not far enough to put the laptop to sleep. A colleague of mine has a different take, he tells the students to turn the laptops around to face him.

Conclusion 

Remember, focusing on work is one of the skills that we have to foster in students. Both of these methods will assist you in preventing the students from "digitally wandering off", but, in the end, especially with younger grades, some students will need assistance to focus on their work.