Internet Access
At school we allow students internet access during class. We only block certain cites, and I think students are still distracted by this. Just wondering how many of you block internet access during lectures?
We allow internet access and do not block most social sites..it is a huge distraction. I have been policing it lately. We do have software such as AB Tutor control, but my class size is small enough to notice who is doing something on the computer that shouldn't be. What is the best way to control this from happening? In terms of an accelerated learning environment it would not be a good idea to call the student out on this directly. Can you offer some advice?
There is software available (possibly from your IT dept) that you can control students systems from the teachers computer. Everything from sending messages, controlling their screens, to yes, blocking the Internet.
Curtis,
yes, casually surfing the web for sites or information can be very dangerous & obviously not the best use of time.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
When using the Internet for classroom learning, the Instructor has to plan explicitly how the Internet will be used....as we should since we are educating the 21st Century learner.
Ronald,
yes the room movement is an excellent way to monitor this as well as to make all parts of the class feel they are part of the program.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I agree with Justin. If you are an instructor that walks around your classroom students are less likely to go on the internet or pursue other distractions. I try to move around as much as possible to engage students in different corners of the classroom, especially with larger classes.
Is your internet access script run at the individual machine or at one of the routers? The reason I ask is that we issue laptops to many of our students and some of them are surfing instead of paying attention.
Internet access is imperative in many of the classes that I teach so I can not block the students from using it but during class time I tend to walk around the classroom and this seems to discourage excessive internet use. I don't know if your classes are small enough to walk around in but if so it may help.
Agreed,
Alowing internet access during class is not the best of ideas. Too much opertunity for distraction.
I agree that internet access is a problem during class, especially when teaching computer classes.
Unfortunately, there are those that catch-on to something very quickly and others not-so-quick. The quicker ones end up surfing the web, while the others work.
We end up at times having a script written to turn on/off web access to all the PCs. It works very well.
Paul,
I personally do not allow my students to be on the internet during my classes. I realize there are some classes that might need this, but mine does not & so it is not allowed at all.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
