Students Distracted by Technology in School

[SandhillshuskerW]

I'm not going to say that our curriculum is extremely exciting, but once again it would be another excuse that we can make for our students trying to be on their phones and iPods and iPads constantly rather than doing their job in the classroom. The real world isn't always exciting, but you still have to do your job. I'm not picking on you personally, but I get tired of people making all of the excuses for kids rather than just trying to help them tow the line and do their job.

I also get that doing the homework doesn't automatically lead to learning, but I'm a math teacher and they can't learn if they don't do the homework and practice what they need to do.

1) You're a high school math teacher, so you're obviously not teaching basic computational knowledge. What do you teach?

2) What about math do you find exciting?

3) We're on the same page: effective practice leads to effective performance

1) I teach Geometry and Algebra. I am teaching my Geometry classes to Juniors and Seniors and I gear it towards the state assessment and getting them prepared for that. I try to tie it to real world applications as much as possible. I also teach Algebra to students that are repeating the class for the 2nd or 3rd time. I would also say that I teach more computational knowledge than you would think.

2) I find math exciting because, whether you want to admit it or not, math is all around us and we use it every day. I love teaching because I love to see the look on a kids face when they finally understand it. I just love to teach and math always just came easy to me.

 

[huKSer]

SandhillshuskerW

I'm not talking about incorporating it, I do that already. I'm talking about students that are addicted to their cell phones and using their iPads for social media nonstop. I know that technology isn't going away, but parents need to do a better job of educating their kids the appropriate time to text their friends.

Who do you think are the biggest texters of my students? PARENTS!

Also a student got a text in the middle of class FROM HIS BASEBALL COACH (AND A TEACHER) ABOUT PRACTICE THAT NIGHT

 

[SandhillshuskerW]

SandhillshuskerW

I'm not talking about incorporating it, I do that already. I'm talking about students that are addicted to their cell phones and using their iPads for social media nonstop. I know that technology isn't going away, but parents need to do a better job of educating their kids the appropriate time to text their friends.

Who do you think are the biggest texters of my students? PARENTS!

Also a student got a text in the middle of class FROM HIS BASEBALL COACH (AND A TEACHER) ABOUT PRACTICE THAT NIGHT

I think I would have had a nice talk with that coach/teacher about that one. If it continued to happen, I would probably bring in an administrator.

 

[NUinID]

There are many distractions. They are using their own phones and iPods and the school issued iPads. The powers that be have decided that iPads are the greatest thing in the world and a great educational tool. I have come to believe that the iPad is a gaming device that can be used for social media. The school has blocked a lot of things like Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter but the kids have all found a way around a block. I spend most of my day asking students to put away their phones, or to take their earbuds out or to stop chatting with people on their iPads.

Technology is a wonderful thing, but it's not being used the way it should be used and the administration doesn't want to hear it. They like to be able to tell the media that we are one to one iPads and they dont' seem to care that they students are just distracted by them. I teach high school and yes it is leading to poor grades on everything. They don't want to complete homework because they would rather be on thier technology. If you don't do the homework, you don't learn the material and you get poor test grades. We are always in contact with people from the community and there are many employers that have stopped hiring students from our school because they know that they are easily distracted and won't put in much effort in their job.

It's becoming a real issue with the youth in our country today and if we just ignore it, it will only get worse. We need parents help in this. Parents need to educate their kids on how to use technology and when they should be using it. They should also have consequences for their kids that help to reinforce the rules they put in to place. It's a problem that has only gotten worse in the last few years and is getting worse all the time.

Amen, I just got out of teaching 3 years ago. Did for 21 years, taught science mostly 8th grade. Too many administrators think technology solves all the problems and it also is a great PR thing to be able to tell the local news every student has an IPAD to use.

It can definitely be a distraction. I used computers and the internet as much as I could when I taught. The funny thing about using it was that most kids really had no idea how to do any type of research on the internet or find any meaningful information about a subject. They know how to look at YouTube videos and get on Facebook but that's about it.

As far as curriculum being boring, that is a copout. Curriculum is the template that tells you what to do, it doesn't tell you how it has to be done. Most teachers, Sandhills I am sure you are one of them, are pretty creative in how you present things.

Kids IMO these days are bombarded with information and graphics at such a fast pace that many of them think everything that is taught in school is boring. We have done a disservice to kids by making them think learning is always going to be fun.

Now I am going to sound like a crotchety old man, but no one ever said everything was always going to be fun. Now get off my lawn.

 

[STL Husker]

There are many distractions. They are using their own phones and iPods and the school issued iPads. The powers that be have decided that iPads are the greatest thing in the world and a great educational tool. I have come to believe that the iPad is a gaming device that can be used for social media. The school has blocked a lot of things like Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter but the kids have all found a way around a block. I spend most of my day asking students to put away their phones, or to take their earbuds out or to stop chatting with people on their iPads.

Technology is a wonderful thing, but it's not being used the way it should be used and the administration doesn't want to hear it. They like to be able to tell the media that we are one to one iPads and they dont' seem to care that they students are just distracted by them. I teach high school and yes it is leading to poor grades on everything. They don't want to complete homework because they would rather be on thier technology. If you don't do the homework, you don't learn the material and you get poor test grades. We are always in contact with people from the community and there are many employers that have stopped hiring students from our school because they know that they are easily distracted and won't put in much effort in their job.

It's becoming a real issue with the youth in our country today and if we just ignore it, it will only get worse. We need parents help in this. Parents need to educate their kids on how to use technology and when they should be using it. They should also have consequences for their kids that help to reinforce the rules they put in to place. It's a problem that has only gotten worse in the last few years and is getting worse all the time.

Kids IMO these days are bombarded with information and graphics at such a fast pace that many of them think everything that is taught in school is boring. We have done a disservice to kids by making them think learning is always going to be fun.

So why can't schools use the same methods to make it more interesting? Yes, kids will always find school boring, but it doesn't seem like our education system is evolving with our culture. If this problem is really as prevalent as you guys are saying, then why are we trying to force the 30 kids into obsolete teaching methods. It makes more sense to me for the teachers to change their style to how the kids will learn. I don't understand why we are saying that the entire generation of kids have a problem instead of thinking there is a problem with how we are delivering it. Kids are showing an interest in technology and its up to educators to find a way to use that effectively. It's more than just handing them new tech and utilizing it with old techniques. It doesn't do anything if you give them an ipad just use it to read as a textbook. Now, I have no idea how to do this, but I do have faith in our new wave of teachers who have also grown up using these things.

This is all based on the assumption that these kids are being raised to have enough respect and discipline to learn if delivered in an effective way.

 

[teachercd]

Oh my god...

If you have kids at home...and you tell them to clean their freaking room...do you make it a "fun game" for them? Do you tell them that each article of clothing is a piece of of a magic potion, do you tell them that each plate and cup they bring down to the kitchen is really a magical golden nugget?

When you make your kid mow the lawn...do you first convince them that each blade of grass is really en evil being from Lord of the Rings and that they are destroying the bad guys?

Parents says it...kid does it

Teacher says it...student does it

Coach says it...player does it

Its not "kids these days" it never has been, it never will be. It is "parents these days" and it always has been and it always will be. When I was in school, not that long ago, and I went home and told my mom or dad "Uggg, its boring, that class is boring" they said "So what, learn it, get a decent grade and move on, not everything in life is going to be super exciting, its your job to do well in class"

 

[SandhillshuskerW]

There are many distractions. They are using their own phones and iPods and the school issued iPads. The powers that be have decided that iPads are the greatest thing in the world and a great educational tool. I have come to believe that the iPad is a gaming device that can be used for social media. The school has blocked a lot of things like Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter but the kids have all found a way around a block. I spend most of my day asking students to put away their phones, or to take their earbuds out or to stop chatting with people on their iPads.

Technology is a wonderful thing, but it's not being used the way it should be used and the administration doesn't want to hear it. They like to be able to tell the media that we are one to one iPads and they dont' seem to care that they students are just distracted by them. I teach high school and yes it is leading to poor grades on everything. They don't want to complete homework because they would rather be on thier technology. If you don't do the homework, you don't learn the material and you get poor test grades. We are always in contact with people from the community and there are many employers that have stopped hiring students from our school because they know that they are easily distracted and won't put in much effort in their job.

It's becoming a real issue with the youth in our country today and if we just ignore it, it will only get worse. We need parents help in this. Parents need to educate their kids on how to use technology and when they should be using it. They should also have consequences for their kids that help to reinforce the rules they put in to place. It's a problem that has only gotten worse in the last few years and is getting worse all the time.

Kids IMO these days are bombarded with information and graphics at such a fast pace that many of them think everything that is taught in school is boring. We have done a disservice to kids by making them think learning is always going to be fun.

So why can't schools use the same methods to make it more interesting? Yes, kids will always find school boring, but it doesn't seem like our education system is evolving with our culture. If this problem is really as prevalent as you guys are saying, then why are we trying to force the 30 kids into obsolete teaching methods. It makes more sense to me for the teachers to change their style to how the kids will learn. I don't understand why we are saying that the entire generation of kids have a problem instead of thinking there is a problem with how we are delivering it. Kids are showing an interest in technology and its up to educators to find a way to use that effectively. It's more than just handing them new tech and utilizing it with old techniques. It doesn't do anything if you give them an ipad just use it to read as a textbook. Now, I have no idea how to do this, but I do have faith in our new wave of teachers who have also grown up using these things.

This is all based on the assumption that these kids are being raised to have enough respect and discipline to learn if delivered in an effective way.

This is one of the parts we struggle with more and more all the time. There are too many parents at home that want to be their kids friends instead of being a parent. If I ever went home and told my parents that school was boring, my parents would have looked at me and said tough @#$%, get off of your butt and learn. They would have said that school isn't always supposed to be fun and entertain you. School is there for you to gain knowledge and gain skills that you will need to be successful later on in life. Is it always perfect, no, but it's still your job to get through it. Parents: Quit making excuses for your kids and tell them to do their job in school.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Our school has issued iPads and as a parent of three, I think they are fantastic. Now, our school also has very strict rules about phones during the school day. If they get caught with them, the principal gets them. If they get caught again, they get taken away for a long time. The parents know this going in and they have nothing to b!^@h about when it happens.

I know a lot of teachers in our system and they all love the iPads and I haven't heard any of them b!^@h about them.

The fact is, technology is in the work place now. It is everywhere and a major part of our lives. It is absolutely amazing how more efficient the relationship between student and teacher is with this technology and I'm all for it.

However, there needs to be rules and those rules need to be abided by.

There is absolutely no reason why a student needs a phone with them during the school day.

 

[SandhillshuskerW]

Our school has issued iPads and as a parent of three, I think they are fantastic. Now, our school also has very strict rules about phones during the school day. If they get caught with them, the principal gets them. If they get caught again, they get taken away for a long time. The parents know this going in and they have nothing to b!^@h about when it happens.

I know a lot of teachers in our system and they all love the iPads and I haven't heard any of them b!^@h about them.

The fact is, technology is in the work place now. It is everywhere and a major part of our lives. It is absolutely amazing how more efficient the relationship between student and teacher is with this technology and I'm all for it.

However, there needs to be rules and those rules need to be abided by.

There is absolutely no reason why a student needs a phone with them during the school day.

I really wish that all parents thought the same way that you do about all of this. If we ever take cell phones from kids, and we do it on a daily basis, we get angry phone calls from parents claiming that we have no right to take their childs phone.

 

[teachercd]

Our school has issued iPads and as a parent of three, I think they are fantastic. Now, our school also has very strict rules about phones during the school day. If they get caught with them, the principal gets them. If they get caught again, they get taken away for a long time. The parents know this going in and they have nothing to b!^@h about when it happens.

I know a lot of teachers in our system and they all love the iPads and I haven't heard any of them b!^@h about them.

The fact is, technology is in the work place now. It is everywhere and a major part of our lives. It is absolutely amazing how more efficient the relationship between student and teacher is with this technology and I'm all for it.

However, there needs to be rules and those rules need to be abided by.

There is absolutely no reason why a student needs a phone with them during the school day.

This guy seems to get it!

One thing...most teachers won't b!^@h to parents about school stuff...even if they are "friends" in the end...mama and papa bear care a lot more about their kids than their kids teachers! haha...

I have parents "hit me up" for info and drama all the time.

We have iPads in school and I love them..cell phones, that is different.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Our school has issued iPads and as a parent of three, I think they are fantastic. Now, our school also has very strict rules about phones during the school day. If they get caught with them, the principal gets them. If they get caught again, they get taken away for a long time. The parents know this going in and they have nothing to b!^@h about when it happens.

I know a lot of teachers in our system and they all love the iPads and I haven't heard any of them b!^@h about them.

The fact is, technology is in the work place now. It is everywhere and a major part of our lives. It is absolutely amazing how more efficient the relationship between student and teacher is with this technology and I'm all for it.

However, there needs to be rules and those rules need to be abided by.

There is absolutely no reason why a student needs a phone with them during the school day.

I really wish that all parents thought the same way that you do about all of this. If we ever take cell phones from kids, and we do it on a daily basis, we get angry phone calls from parents claiming that we have no right to take their childs phone.

f#*k the parents. Our administration has the parents sign a document at the beginning of the school year with these rules spelled out. They acknowledge the rules and sign that they agree their little kiddypoo is going to abide by them.

I tell you what, if my kid comes home and says his phone got taken away, any trouble he gets in at school isn't going to compare to what I have for him at home.

I think one difference is that we have a fairly good administration here and our board backs the administration. If there is a rule, they have the ability to make the kids abide by that rule. Now, if the administration does something stupid, they get in trouble and they understand that.

Every school has their issues. However, I believe we have a very good school system for the size of school we have. A lot of that is because we have had great support from the public ever since the new building was built in the late 60s. There is a standard we expect our kids to abide by. There are some idiots in our school system. But, the public and the administration doesn't cut them slack by supporting them being idiots.

 

[SandhillshuskerW]

Our school has issued iPads and as a parent of three, I think they are fantastic. Now, our school also has very strict rules about phones during the school day. If they get caught with them, the principal gets them. If they get caught again, they get taken away for a long time. The parents know this going in and they have nothing to b!^@h about when it happens.

I know a lot of teachers in our system and they all love the iPads and I haven't heard any of them b!^@h about them.

The fact is, technology is in the work place now. It is everywhere and a major part of our lives. It is absolutely amazing how more efficient the relationship between student and teacher is with this technology and I'm all for it.

However, there needs to be rules and those rules need to be abided by.

There is absolutely no reason why a student needs a phone with them during the school day.

I really wish that all parents thought the same way that you do about all of this. If we ever take cell phones from kids, and we do it on a daily basis, we get angry phone calls from parents claiming that we have no right to take their childs phone.

f#*k the parents. Our administration has the parents sign a document at the beginning of the school year with these rules spelled out. They acknowledge the rules and sign that they agree their little kiddypoo is going to abide by them.

I tell you what, if my kid comes home and says his phone got taken away, any trouble he gets in at school isn't going to compare to what I have for him at home.

I wish we had more parents like you in this school district.

I think one difference is that we have a fairly good administration here and our board backs the administration. If there is a rule, they have the ability to make the kids abide by that rule. Now, if the administration does something stupid, they get in trouble and they understand that.

This is one area that I wish could be changed a little bit in our school district.

Every school has their issues. However, I believe we have a very good school system for the size of school we have. A lot of that is because we have had great support from the public ever since the new building was built in the late 60s. There is a standard we expect our kids to abide by. There are some idiots in our school system. But, the public and the administration doesn't cut them slack by supporting them being idiots.

 

[NUinID]

Our school has issued iPads and as a parent of three, I think they are fantastic. Now, our school also has very strict rules about phones during the school day. If they get caught with them, the principal gets them. If they get caught again, they get taken away for a long time. The parents know this going in and they have nothing to b!^@h about when it happens.

I know a lot of teachers in our system and they all love the iPads and I haven't heard any of them b!^@h about them.

The fact is, technology is in the work place now. It is everywhere and a major part of our lives. It is absolutely amazing how more efficient the relationship between student and teacher is with this technology and I'm all for it.

However, there needs to be rules and those rules need to be abided by.

There is absolutely no reason why a student needs a phone with them during the school day.

I really wish that all parents thought the same way that you do about all of this. If we ever take cell phones from kids, and we do it on a daily basis, we get angry phone calls from parents claiming that we have no right to take their childs phone.

f#*k the parents. Our administration has the parents sign a document at the beginning of the school year with these rules spelled out. They acknowledge the rules and sign that they agree their little kiddypoo is going to abide by them.

I tell you what, if my kid comes home and says his phone got taken away, any trouble he gets in at school isn't going to compare to what I have for him at home.

I think one difference is that we have a fairly good administration here and our board backs the administration. If there is a rule, they have the ability to make the kids abide by that rule. Now, if the administration does something stupid, they get in trouble and they understand that.

Every school has their issues. However, I believe we have a very good school system for the size of school we have. A lot of that is because we have had great support from the public ever since the new building was built in the late 60s. There is a standard we expect our kids to abide by. There are some idiots in our school system. But, the public and the administration doesn't cut them slack by supporting them being idiots.

You would be amazed how many parents think their kid needs to carry their phone at school so they can contact them at any time.

I do like your view on this though.

 

[SandhillshuskerW]

If anybody has been following this thread, I know that I started out about students distracted by technology, and I still believe they are. One of the main problems that has surfaced with all of this though, is that parents aren't being parents as much as they used to. I'm not saying that it applies to all parents, but we have too many parents that want to be their students friends and they aren't doing what they need to to teach them responsibility in the classroom and in society in general.

 

[STL Husker]

Oh my god...

If you have kids at home...and you tell them to clean their freaking room...do you make it a "fun game" for them? Do you tell them that each article of clothing is a piece of of a magic potion, do you tell them that each plate and cup they bring down to the kitchen is really a magical golden nugget?

When you make your kid mow the lawn...do you first convince them that each blade of grass is really en evil being from Lord of the Rings and that they are destroying the bad guys?

Parents says it...kid does it

Teacher says it...student does it

Coach says it...player does it

Its not "kids these days" it never has been, it never will be. It is "parents these days" and it always has been and it always will be. When I was in school, not that long ago, and I went home and told my mom or dad "Uggg, its boring, that class is boring" they said "So what, learn it, get a decent grade and move on, not everything in life is going to be super exciting, its your job to do well in class"

So because school has always been boring, we can't try to do anything to make it more enjoyable. The things you remember most from school are things that you were interested and engaged in. You can do enough to pass a test, but how long does that information stick with you if you aren't engaged? How much do you still remember from your high school classes? The stuff I still remember are things I found interesting or were presented in an interesting way. I got As and Bs in school, but I couldn't pass many of those tests if I took them again today. Why not try to make things more interesting so they can do more than just pass a test?

I have 18 month old twins, so I can't ask them to do much, but we have gotten them to do some things by turning them into games. They pick up their own toys, put their shoes away, put their clothes in the hamper, and throw their own trash away by making them fun. We have started to notice that they sometimes start picking up their things before bedtime without having to tell them. There are times they don't want to do it, but they do face some kind of puinishment if they don't do what we tell them. So what's wrong with telling them that something is a "magical golden nugget" if it gets them to do it? The difficult thing is finding what that golden nugget is as kids get older. They become less interested in the basic games you tried to play with them when they were younger. I think it's pretty lazy on the teacher's part to do it their own way and expect students to pick up on it.