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5 Top Management Tips in the 1:1 Classroom

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5 Top Management Tips in the 1:1 Classroom

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With 1:1 technology access now the norm, classroom management around devices is another piece of the planning. We hope these top 5 tips will help you to maximize learning while minimizing distractions in your technology rich, student-centered classroom.

Focus on Relationships

The beginning of any classroom management plan should start with building positive relationships with students. Teachers who do this well create healthy and focused learning environments. All the classroom management strategies in the world won't be effective if students don't feel safe and respected. So greet students at the door, learn their names quickly, and focus on creating a culture of inclusiveness where all voices are valued and students feel safe. How will your students know relationships are your priority on day one?

Grab Students' Attention

When devices are being used effectively in the classroom, students are engaged in collaboration, creation, and communication. When the teacher needs to direct their class to the next task or provide large group instruction, it can be challenging to regain students' attention. In order to avoid frustration and wasting valuable learning time, you'll want to have both a signal for gaining student attention as well as clear expectations for what students should do when they hear the signal. What will be your "eyes on me" signal?

Make Expectations and Procedures Visible

Having clear classroom expectations and procedures helps students be successful. Problems arise when instructions are unclear or students don't know what to do. Display posters for common procedures, expectations, and mindsets. Consider making a visual reminder explaining to students how to proceed if they have a question, or what it looks like when a student is "ready to learn". How will you help students take responsibility for their learning through clear, visible expectations this year?
Need inspiration? Check out our free, downloadable posters at cmdigitalage.com/free-posters.
Get the Students Active

Say goodbye to being asked, "What are we doing today?" The beginning of the year is a great time to consider your "bell ringer", "warm up", or "activator". Starting your day with an agenda, objectives, and actions posted in the same predictable place gives students an anchor for launching their days right. Along with a list of what lies ahead, you might share a prompt for talking, writing, drawing, or doing. Regardless of what your activator asks students to engage in, sharing out learning objectives, daily plans, do-nows, inspiration, and relationship-builders without the need for the teacher to provide the direct instruction is more than just a time saving strategy. You'll get a few moments to connect individually, to take attendance, and to get the pulse of your students while they independently get oriented. Whether you choose to project a slide onto the screen for all to see or have each student access the activator in Google Classroom or another online learning space, this is a routine you'll want to solidify in the first weeks of school. What will activate your students' days?

Set the Students Free

But wait, isn't management all about control, and isn't that the exact opposite of freedom? Nope! Personalized and differentiated learning meets the needs of our students. When teachers establish strong structures, they create environments where students can then move in the directions they need. The powerful creative devices that students have access to, whether laptops, tablets or Chromebooks, make it possible for students to have deeper levels of ownership of the pace, the paths, and the products. When you have an effective classroom management plan (see items 1-4 above) you set the foundation for a truly differentiated classroom. We encourage you to consider ways that you might give students more ownership of their learning this year. How will you cultivate an environment for student directed learning?

About the Author: Patrick Green is the author of "50 Ways to Use YouTube in the Classroom"and co-author of "Classroom Management in the Digital Age." He is also Chief Adventure Officer at Raising a Maker. After two decades working with and learning from students, parents, teachers, and administrators in stateside and international schools, he is living location-independent in the pursuit of extraordinary personalized learning opportunities for himself and his family. A YouTube Star Teacher, Google Certified Innovator, and Apple Distinguished Educator, you can follow how work, school, parenting, and play blend for Patrick at @pgreensoup on Twitter and Instagram and can visit his YouTube channel for more tips and tutorials.
Student directed doesn't mean teacher absent. These five tips create a proactive scaffold from which your students can grow as learners and people in a technology-rich, relationship focused community. Wishing you a wonderful year ahead!

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5 Top Management Tips in the 1:1 Classroom - EdTechTeam

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With 1:1 technology access now the norm, classroom management around devices is another piece of the planning. We hope these top 5 tips will help you to maximize learning while minimizing distractions in your technology rich, student-centered classroom. The beginning of any classroom management plan should start with building positive relationships with students.

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Classroom Management in the Tech-Equipped Classroom

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Successful technology integration includes always having a non-tech Plan B, staying with what works instead of trend-hopping, and minimizing the elements beyond your control.

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How to Manage Cell Phones in the Classroom | Edutopia

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How to Manage Cell Phones in the Classroom | Edutopia

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When I ask the students why they are so attached to their devices with the small (some aren't so small) screens, I invariably get the response, "It's my life."

I just don't get it and probably never will, but here is my attempt at understanding. After careful observation, I have determined that the cell phones are analogous to what happened when the Walkman first appeared on the scene for the older generation. A Walkman was a portable cassette player that sometimes came with a radio.

Students could conveniently take their music with them and also conveniently tune out any undesirable noise. Within this cocoon of music, students feel safe and protected. "I study better with my music" is a frequent response to "Please take the earbuds out." It doesn't matter how much research you share about the brain not being able to focus on more than one thing at a time, as soon as you turn your back, the earbuds will be back in.

They even have hoodies with built-in earbuds instead of drawstrings so that the students can wall themselves off with little chance of detection. They have thousands of songs on their playlist. It seems like an appendage to their bodies (as with many adults, as well).

The Texting Frenzy

Are you tired of seeing students text each other while sitting side by side? Lol. Or how about the sly student who is writing with pen at his desk while texting with the other hand under the desk? Are you frustrated by the text language and spelling that creeps into student assignments? Who are they texting? Is it other students that should be paying attention in class? I was shocked when I looked at my son's texting count -- over five thousand in one month! That's roughly one text for every three minutes he was awake. For some students that is a low number.

Accepting Reality

Phones at school are inevitable. Should we embrace the "bring your own technology" (BYOT) model or the extreme "you take it out and I take it away!" policy? How do you monitor and keep 30 phones busy doing productive work? What do you do with the few kids that do not have phones? On the other hand, is keeping a phoneless classroom worth the hassle and effort of being the phone ogre? Can you have both? No easy answer for this is found anywhere in blogosphere.

Whatever you decide, you cannot turn a blind eye to tackling this challenge -- school-wide and in the classroom. Perhaps the best thing you could do for yourself this summer is craft your classroom cell phone policy.

If you choose BYOT, students have to understand beforehand that using their phone has an educational purpose and what the consequences are for straying from that purpose. Then you have to enforce it, which means constant surveillance as you walk around, looking at every phone or tablet.

Deciding on a Cell Phone Policy

Establishing a no cell phone zone in your classroom requires a few things. First off, you need support from your administration, because you will possibly be sending repeat offenders to the office. You need also pervasive reminders of your policy on the classroom walls and in your lesson-framing pep talks. Perhaps the most important element is minimal downtime in your learning activities, because the temptation to sneak a look is just too strong.

While many schools still have strict phone policies, some schools ignore the policies in place and follow don't ask, don't tell. As long as a student is not causing problems, they can use their phones as much as they want outside of class, and each teacher has to determine how much phone use goes on in class. Cell phones in the classroom can be a significant discipline problem and classroom management struggle if clear and explicit guidelines are not established the first day. Every teacher's tolerance for phone usage varies.

But as an administrator, if I walk in and see earbuds and phones out during direct instruction, I see a problem that needs to be fixed. I am curious to hear your thoughts on cell phones in the classroom and the policies at your school. Please share in the comments section below.

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How to Manage Cell Phones in the Classroom

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When I ask the students why they are so attached to their devices with the small (some aren't so small) screens, I invariably get the response, "It's my life." I just don't get it and probably never will, but here is my attempt at understanding.

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10 Rules for a Successful One-to-One Classroom - WeAreTeachers

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10 Rules for a Successful One-to-One Classroom - WeAreTeachers

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10 One-to-One Classroom Tips

Each morning, when Laura Rahn's class of fourth grade students entered their classroom at Mountainview Elementary School in Loudoun County, VA, they got their laptops from the charging station, completed their daily math fluency practice, and checked EdModo for the day's instructions. The laptops "didn't replace me or become the full instruction for the day," says Rahn, "they were an additional learning tool."

If your school has yet to implement a laptop program like Rahn's, it may be on the horizon. More and more classrooms are going one-to-one, says Bob Berry, vice president of business development with Troxell Communications, as districts invest in web-based learning platforms and devices.

"Education is going through a huge transformation," agrees Verna Lalbeharie, Digital Learning Collaboration Co-lead with The Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, "with this huge move towards personalized learning." One-on-one teaching happens at the intersection of content, pedagogy, and technology, says Lalbeharie. You're planning what and how students will learn, and how you'll use the technology to help them get there. This year, whether you're just opening your first shipment of tablets or setting up laptops for the tenth time, here are 10 ways to maximize your one-to-one classroom.

Take Sandbox Time
When working with a new technology, says Nancy Frey, professor of literacy at San Diego State University and co-author of Teaching with Tablets, "you have to give teachers some 'sandbox time' to play, to experiment, to find out what works and what doesn't work." Once you're familiar with the technology, you'll be able to incorporate it into good teaching and learning.

Restructure Your Room
The key to a one-to-one classroom set-up is flexibility. Depending on the learning goal, you'll want students to be able to work independently, in small groups, or with you. Set up your room to facilitate small group-work or with a seating arrangement, such as a U-shape, which will allow you to monitor as many screens as possible.

Create a Class Website
Alice Keeler, technology integration specialist at ACEL Charter School in Fresno, CA, swears by her classroom website. When her students enter the room, they immediately log on to the class website for the day's instructions and assignments. "The [class] website is your universe," she says, "every single thing goes one it, websites, notes, directions, videos." As an added measure of safety, and to reduce distractions, all the websites her students access are linked through the class website.

Start With Blogging Procedures
Rahn started the year in her one-to-one classroom with a discussion about responsibility and then introduced blogging through KidBlog. The blog "jumpstarted the responsibility piece," says Rahn. "The students realized that they had to understand, to be mature and appropriate, and demonstrate that they could use the devices." The students used KidBlog throughout the curriculum. They posted and responded to language arts questions, wrote and solved each other's math questions, and responded to history books. In addition to establishing expectations for blogging and communication, make sure to create procedures for charging and storing devices, as well as policies on when and how to use email, chat, and other social tools during class.

Be the Facilitator
Tom Riddell, humanities teacher at Kent Technology Academy in Kent, WA, has found that teaching in a one-to-one classroom environment requires a philosophical shift. "A lot of time," says Riddell, "the lesson will go in a completely different direction." Riddell often finds himself putting aside the lesson plan in order to follow a student question or interest. "That shift is one of the most challenging for teachers to make," says Lalbeharie, "the move from being the bearer of knowledge to the facilitator of student knowledge." As you're planning lessons, review the materials, websites, and online content with your students in mind. Then, plan to facilitate student discovery of information, rather than guide them through the content.

Plan for Student Interactions
There's no substitute for good planning, and that holds true in one-to-one classrooms. "Some people think a device is a magic bullet," says Keeler, "but if you don't plan you'll amplify the problems that you do have." Keeler plans everything down to the interactions that her students will have during the lesson. "I realized that I have to be pre-thinking the interactions of the students," says Keeler. "I can't just assign something, I need to predict how they'll interact with the material." To do this, Keeler creates a spreadsheet with the students in her class and keeps track of how they'll interact during the lesson and react to the material.

Content Creation is King
The internet provides your students with access to up-to-date, high-quality content, but students should be creating their own content as well. Todd LaVogue, teacher and Microsoft Partners in Learning Innovative Educator Expert at Roosevelt Middle School in West Palm Beach, FL, encourages his students to be content creators. "Students need to switch from being content consumers and start becoming content creators," says LaVogue. His students have used tablets to create videos demonstrating eighth grade math standards and rap songs about Mesopotamian History. To get your students creating content, talk to them about their favorite content to consume (videos, articles, slideshows) and start from there.

Differentiate Everything
One-to-one provides an opportunity to differentiate everything, from ways of accessing content (e.g., video or online article) to ways of presenting information (e.g., Prezi, blog or digital poster). It also allows for various types of organization. Some students may use a calendar to organize their assignments, while others use sticky notes. "This aspect," says Alice Barr, instructional technology integrator at Yarmouth High School in Yarmouth, ME, "puts students in charge of their learning." Have your students work within and outside of their comfort zones and then reflect on how they're using their devices to keep organized, manage their work, communicate and collaborate, and be creative.

Manage Content
Opening your classroom to everything online learning has to offer is exciting, and overwhelming. Districts used to block a lot of content, which kicked out some quality content along with the inappropriate content. Now, it's about managing the online content that students can access. It's all a balance of safety and learning, according to Lightspeed Systems, "letting good content, resources, and connections in, while blocking the bad."

Flip Your Lessons
Going one-to-one allows you to flip the classroom experience for students, says Berry, and change how students spend their time at home and at school. For example, you can record a math lesson or think-aloud that students watch for homework while they spend class time practicing problems until you're sure they understand.

Ultimately, one-to-one classrooms provide the opportunity to expand your reach as a teacher. "The device gives you the ability to do something different," says Keeler, "and reach kids you couldn't reach before."

See Troxell's 1:1 Learning Suite for solutions related to mobile devices, device management, learning management systems, wireless infrastructure, content filtering, peripherals and more.

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10 Rules for a Successful One-to-One Classroom - WeAreTeachers

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10 One-to-One Classroom Tips By Samantha Cleaver Each morning, when Laura Rahn's class of fourth grade students entered their classroom at Mountainview Elementary School in Loudoun County, VA, they got their laptops from the charging station, completed their daily math ...

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5 Tips for Classroom Management with Mobile Devices | Indiana Jen

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5 Tips for Classroom Management with Mobile Devices | Indiana Jen

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Classroom Management in the Tech-Equipped Classroom | Edutopia

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Classroom Management in the Tech-Equipped Classroom | Edutopia

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Classroom Management in the Tech-Equipped Classroom

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Successful technology integration includes always having a non-tech Plan B, staying with what works instead of trend-hopping, and minimizing the elements beyond your control.