Taming the BUTWHATIF Beast: Strategies for a Well-run Digital Classroom

If you are walking into a 1:1 classroom for the first time, or if you've taught in a digital learning environment and are acquainted with the unique frustrations that entails, you can fall victim to a truly heinous animal called the BUTWHATIF beast.
       

  BUT WHAT IF they don't all have devices?

      BUT WHAT IF they misuse the device?
          BUT WHAT IF they just play games all day?
               BUT WHAT IF....
              BUTWHATIF.....

Honestly, the BUTWHATIF beast can completely paralyze you from using your technology effectively, because you're too darn scared of everything that could possibly go wrong. 

Here's a secret that's not so secret: something will go wrong. 

You can't avoid any and all possible problems with technology, mostly because the humans using the technology are, well, human. We get distracted. We explore where we shouldn't. We are inexplicably drawn to videos of cats in cardboard boxes and ice bucket challenge fails. 

What you can do is use some simple strategies to help you get control of your class and tame the BUTWHATIF beast for good. 

Strategy 1: Timers

Kids actually do care about finishing in a timely manner. Use an egg timer, or post one from the web on your board via your projector. Bear in mind you do need to hold the kids accountable for actually finishing, because when that timer dings and you add "just 5 more minutes," the ding won't mean a thing anymore. 

Also, don't set a timer for 5 minutes or 10 minutes. Those times aren't as concrete feeling as 7 minutes or 11 minutes. 

Here's a good online timer fromTimeandDate.com, which also has some cool global clocks and calendars. Steep.it is another fun online timer that actually darkens as your tea steeps - it's a cute visual cue to the class that time will soon be up. 

Strategy 2: Active Engagement

Really think about how and why you're using technology in the classroom. If you're only using it to digitize what was previously done on paper, you may be adding a small amount of efficiency to your class, but you're adding a massive amount of distraction as well. Instead, have kids use their technology for creating projects or for research-based and problem-based learning. If they are actively solving a problem they find interesting, they are much less likely to misuse the technology or get off task. 

Strategy 3: Have a Plan B

Actually, you want to have a plan C and possibly D. When technology goes awry, you need to be able to continue without losing too much traction. Something as simple as a few extra paper copies for students who may have forgotten their device goes a long way toward maintaining control and momentum. 

Strategy 4: Monitor Monitor Monitor

If you're at the front of the room talking and the kids are looking at their computers and you can't see their screens, they are off task. There's no question. Just think about how many meetings or professional development sessions you've attended where you were checking email (or Facebook) while you were supposed to be listening. 

• walk around your room - It's amazing how simple proximity cuts down on most off-task behavior
• get a wireless slate or keyboard and teach from the back
• have kids close or clam-shell computers to listen
• learn to spot the red flags, like too many open tabs or multiple browsers open at once

Strategy 5: Model Good Behavior

We've heard the old saying "do as I say, not as I do," but we can't afford to live by that maxim in education. We have to be daily models of good character and good citizenship for our kids. That means we need to keep our personal and professional online accounts completely separate. We need to model good organization of online resources. We need to carefully watch what we say on social media, because it can and will get back to kids (or parents). My grandfather used to say to live so that you don't wind up in the newspaper. In our digital world, you want your online reputation to be such that you wouldn't be embarrassed by a Google search. 

These five strategies are just the starting point. When you feel like you can face the BUTWHATIFS with a clear head, then the technology your kids use will work in your favor instead of against you. 

Image citation: Feller, Patrick. "The Eyes of an Old Black Cat" Flickr, 30 July 2009