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I teach at an institution where most all of our classes require students to be on their laptops and most likely online during class. This makes it very challenging to keep students on topic when the subject matter gets a bit dry. Even the best students seem to multi task when they are on a computer and almost always have open their email or Facebook on another window. Do you have any ideas for keeping students off of Facebook and other distracting sites during class time?
I know this is going to sound elementary, but it works. I let them know at the beginning of class that I assign daily participation points. The participation points are entered on a daily basis so the students are aware that I am paying attention to their professionalism in the classroom. I explain what the points are based on during our first meeting. I understand that all classes have moments when the material might become as you stated, “dry.†Unfortunately, how many times does the daily life of any profession become, “dry?†Students need to accept that in the classroom and in their future professional life, sometimes it is a little bit “dry.â€
