Managing Student Use of the Internet During Instruction

		Managing Student Use of the Internet During Instruction VIU Teaching and Learning Centre

		Policy 45.01 Use of Information Technology Vancouver Island University

There is a significant trend among educators to include the internet and other online communication tools in their instructional design. Although these tools help students communicate, collaborate and access information more efficiently, they present new challenges to educators when students use them inappropriately during instruction. Without an effective management strategy, internet use—including surfing irrelevant web sites, chatting, visiting social networking sites and playing online games—can become a significant distraction in the classroom or computer lab. This page will:

• Provide faculty with classroom management strategies that reduce the inappropriate use of internet technology during instruction; and
• Suggest a set of guidelines that faculty can communicate to students regarding the appropriate use of internet technology during instruction.

Classroom Management Strategies

The following suggested strategies will be useful in deterring misuse of the internet and other online communication tools during instruction:

1) Collaborating with students about appropriate use of the internet

Facilitating an open discussion at the beginning of a course is a proactive way to communicate expectations around appropriate internet use during class time.

2) Communicating expectations in the course outline

Guidelines regarding appropriate internet use can be included in the course outline and referred to during the course introduction. See below for an example.

3) Monitoring behaviour

Monitoring behavior during class is extremely important to ensure that students observe that expectations are being enforced. Effective ways of monitoring internet use should include:

• Regularly scanning the class during instruction;
• Regularly walking around or to the back of the class to view computer screens during instruction; and
• Asking distracted or disruptive students what they are viewing on their computers.
  

4) Reviewing expectations when necessary

When there is need, review expectations by referring back to the course outline or facilitating a discussion.

5) Spotlighting

If you see students misusing the internet, respectfully draw attention to them in a way that does not jeopardize the instructor-student relationship. For example, “John, I noticed that your computer is distracting some of us from our lesson. Could you please either put your laptop away or set it aside for a moment and focus in on our discussion. Thanks.” This example illustrates that the instructor:

• Used the student’s name to show respect, get the student’s attention and invite the attention of other students;
• Used terminology that reinforces a cooperative and shared learning environment that students play a role in creating (e.g. distracting us, our lesson and our discussion);
• Used the words please and thanks to show respect;
• Provided a choice to the student, giving them responsibility for and control of their own behaviour.

6) Providing consequences

With repeated offences, it may be necessary to provide consequences that are appropriate to the level of distraction or misbehaviour. Such consequences may include not allowing the student to use a computer during one or more classes or including a category for participation in the course assessment and reflecting the student’s distractive behaviour in their grade. If consequences are to be used, students must know what they are to ensure fairness, so communicating potential consequences in the course outline and during the course introduction is important.

Example Guidelines for Appropriate Use of the Internet

Although instructors should develop their own expectations and guidelines, the following is an example of what could be included in a course outline to effectively communicate expectations for the appropriate use of the internet.

Our classroom is a shared learning environment that all students play a role in creating. Used appropriately in our classroom, the internet and other online communication tools can help us communicate and access information more efficiently, but they can also be a significant source of distraction if used inappropriately. To help facilitate an effective learning environment, students may not surf irrelevant web sites, chat online, visit social networking sites or play online games during instruction. If a student is found to be using the internet inappropriately during instruction, they may be asked to put their computer away. Repeated or extreme offences may result in a lower participation grade of 1% per infraction.