Yes...on a Thursday, I assigned a webquest to my sophomores. They whined. They procrastinated. They bellyached. There was grumbling and gnashing of teeth. All because I said, "Use the links I provided to answer the questions."
Seriously.
You'd have thought I had peeled their fingernails back and pinned them to a clothesline! Who was I do make them do the work? Why couldn't I just show a PowerPoint and let them passively write down the words so they could keep SnapChatting, texting, and taking selfies?? And we were only substituting paper for pencil - not even creating anything.
This is not the first tech assignment I have given this class, but it seemed like the kids thought it was. Or, I don't know. Maybe they were just anticipating having Friday off. But something was amiss on Thursday. I've had students say similar things to me, and I guess it bothered me for real this time.
It's just that...why?
Why does active learning burn so much? Like, maybe they felt like I was asking them to exercise or promise to give me their first born child. Walking around the room, the stress was palpable. There was an odd quietness -- not the good kind where there was work and creation, but the bad kind. A calm before the storm.
I had students literally sigh as they answered each question. It was so disheartening, I almost told them nevermind. Almost.
My 4th period came in much later, and I thought, "Yes! A new group -- THEY will love this!" Nope. They spent their time emailing me funny messages and SnapChatting with some new filters. One kid sat right beside me, whispering to her friend to tell her what number 6 was! I WAS SITTING RIGHT THERE!!!
Something isn't right with the tech use and integration at my school. I feel like I'm the only teacher asking students to create with technology, rather than take a test. How can my kids say they don't like computers? THEY ARE ON THEIR PHONES 24/7! I can't take the things out of their hands. So, I try to incorporate them, but that's too hard, too.
It has to be their brains. Nick Carr, author of The Shallows: What the Internet Does to Our Brains, wrote an article in The Wall Street Journal about our over-reliance on cell phones. Carr (2017) described a study in which three groups had variations of cell phones during a test: group 1 had the cell phone on the table and scored the worst; group 2 had the phone with them, but in a bag, and scored in the middle; group 3 had to keep the cell phone in a locker outside the testing room and scored the best.
What does this tell me as a teacher? Well, that my students need to keep their cell phones in their lockers so they can concentrate. And to that, I say:
Why am I laughing so hard?? Because so many edu "thought" leaders have screamed that banning cell phones in the classroom is wrong. Because cell phones are basically another appendage. Because I'll have parents cussing me out if they can't text Lil' Jimmy or Julie some drama that's happening at home!
But the research, and my experiences for the last few years, is clear -- more cell phones in the classroom basically cripple students' critical thinking and ability to concentrate on anything.
They still have to do the webquest, but it will be painful.
So...anyone else have similar pains? How do you handle the I-hate-computers-cell-phone-using-students?
Reference
Carr, N. (2017, October 6). How smartphones hijack our minds. The Wall Street Journal
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