Are Students Off-Task in Class on Phones? There's an App for That!

As teachers and administrators, grappling with off-task behaviors and distractions when it comes to student phones in the classroom has occurred at some point. Recently I recently learned about Pocket Points, an app that educators are using to promote better decision-making amongst students with the goal of keeping them off their phones when not being used to achieve learning outcomes associated with the class. More on this in a little bit. 

I am a huge proponent of harnessing and leveraging mobile technology in the classroom. As the principal, I decided to implement Bring Your Own Device back in 2010 as a way to not only take advantage of student-owned devices but to also improve the learning culture through more empowerment and ownership.  In Uncommon Learning, I detailed the necessary steps we took to ensure success. The key, whether 1:1 or BYOD, is to thoroughly plan and put learning at the forefront for kids, teachers, and administrators.  

However, planning can only get you so far. Building pedagogical capacity both with and without technology must be prioritized.  Mobile technology is more accessible than it has ever been. The urge to go on a personal device in schools, with and without mobile learning initiatives, has grown exponentially.  Up until recently, there have been two main deterrents:

1. Well-designed lessons that are relevant to kids combined with sound classroom management
2. A school culture that empowers kids to use their devices responsibly

Now the above strategies might still work well, but in my experience working in schools as a job-embedded coach, I have seen more and more students off-task. No matter how well we plan or work to develop a positive school culture, off-task behavior still occurs. Enter a third deterrent mentioned at the beginning of this post called Pocket Points. 

Pocket Points was founded in 2014 by two college students who noticed a disturbing trend among their classmates in that too many kids were spending class glued to their phones, ignoring their professors' best attempts to teach them. They had the idea to create an app that would reward students for paying attention in class. They got local businesses to agree to offer free and discounted food as rewards on Pocket Points, and it spread through the campus like wildfire. Within a few weeks, half of the student body was using the app. 

The developers spent the next few years spreading Pocket Points to every college in the country as well as high schools. Through their growth, they came to the realization that the problem was even more prevalent at the high school level than college, and these teachers felt the impact more than anyone. As a result, a Teacher Rewards program was developed. This program allows teachers to directly offer rewards to their students on Pocket Points for staying focused in class. The hope is that it will act as a support tool that teachers can use to help their students develop healthy phone habits while maintaining engagement on learning tasks in the classroom. In the near future teachers will have the ability to "whitelist" certain educational apps, meaning students could continue to earn rewards while using these as part of the learning process. This should help teachers who integrate phones as educational tools keep their students on task.

Getting started is easy. Students can download the Pocket Points app for free from the app store. They sign up, select their school, and they can begin earning rewards. Here they will find a gift page on the app full of rewards provided by companies, including Redbox, Panda Express, and Papa Johns on the national level. There's a variety of online companies that are available to all students as well. In many areas, partnerships with local restaurants and retailers provide even more rewards, all of which cost points.

Points can be earned in a variety of ways. Initially, they could only be earned when a student had his or her phone out of sight when not being used as part of the teaching and learning process. Now kids can earn points when they are not in school, though they need to set and successfully complete a time off phone goal to get the points. There is also a great feature where the app automatically tracks when a student is driving and gives points if he or she remains undistracted.

Schools and teachers can leverage this app to provide positive reinforcement while combatting the issue of off-task cell phone behaviors, which cause a distraction in the classroom. This issue has become pervasive in many cases while frustrating teachers and administrators alike. It's a battle that most are tired of fighting. 

Empowering kids to use devices as tools to support and enhance their learning is, and always will be, the goal. However, balance is critical, and technology will not improve every lesson or task. In either case, Pocket Points might be an option to help overcome battles with phones to create a school culture that sets up students for success now and in the future. 

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A Practical Way to Increase Access to Mobile Technology Regardless of Age

More and more schools are either installing or improving WiFi networks in schools. We still have a long way to go in many places, but the increase in access provides kids with an array of innovative learning opportunities that continue to evolve.  With a pedagogy first, technology second if appropriate, approach to instructional design, educators can begin to support and enhance lessons with an array of tools. Sites like Common Sense Education and edshelf make it easy to find the right alignment to the right instructional strategy.  However, if a well-designed assessment is in place, then the natural course of action is to allow learners to select the best tool for the task. 

Even though the cost of mobile devices has gone down, considerable purchasing challenges persist. With that being said I do want to share a pretty cool and practical idea I stumbled upon during one of my coaching visits with Wells Elementary School.  As I was conducting some learning walks with the admin team I noticed some kindergarten students in Deborah Weckerly’s class engaged in blended learning activities using smartphones. As a successful Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) campus, I wouldn’t have been surprised if in fact some of the students were learning with devices that they had brought in from home. Knowing though that it is never safe to assume, I asked Deborah if the kids were using their own devices. She laughed and said no in a way that affirmed the apparent observation that these students were kindergarteners. I was then left wondering why I even assumed that they might have brought devices to school.

Since the kids weren’t bringing in the devices, I inquired as to how they made it into the classroom. Deborah then showed me a basket that had at least five devices in it at the time but held a total of eight or so when full. She then explained that over the years she had asked her family and friends to donate older smartphones for use in her class instead of trading them in for cash or towards an upgrade.  I thought this was a genius idea!  She now had enough devices connected to the district’s secure WiFi network to support individual or station-rotation blended learning. 

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For many learning activities, it’s not the device that matters but instead what learners can do with access to an array of interactives accessible on the Web. I can relate to this as well.  As my wife was preparing to upgrade her iPhone, she asked me if I wanted to as well. I thought about this briefly until settling on just inheriting her older 6 Plus. For what I use my smartphone for all I needed was a right amount of storage and the ability to access the Internet for the few apps that I depend on regularly. 

Innovative educators like Deborah Weckerly are always looking for ways to improve the learning experience for kids.  Regardless of your position, think about reaching out to your family and friends to acquire mobile devices before they are ready to upgrade.  These tools can then be used as part of pedagogically sound blended learning or used to support BYOT initiatives where students forget to bring their device or do not have one of their own. In the end, it is essential to always look for ways to improve access and ensure equity so that all learners are provided with a relevant and challenging learning experience. 

For more mobile learning resources check out this Pinterest board. 

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Power Up Your Spaces

Times are a changing in case you haven’t noticed. We have seen disruptive innovation across so many different sectors of society.  If you were to go back in time and pinpoint when disruption began to take off, I would wager that it correlates with the proliferation of the smartphone. Pause a second and think about companies such as Uber and Airbnb.  Had it not been for the smartphone their innovative apps might never have come to fruition or experienced immense scalability as they have. Where would many of us be without these or similar apps today?

Now we know that across the world adults have pretty much embraced the smartphone. Some would even go as far to say it has become an additional appendage of many. Statista predicts that approximately five billion people will use a smartphone by 2019. Imagine what this number will be in years to come.  With all of this predicted usage, I was curious to know how many of our learners owned a smartphone. Well, I did find some stats for kids in the United States and am willing to bet that other developing countries have similar numbers.  The site eMarketer found that 41% of students ages 0-11 and 84% ages 12-17 owned a smartphone in 2016.  These numbers are predicted to increase to 49.7% and 92.9% respectively by 2020. Before we know it almost everyone that wants a smartphone across the globe will have one.

The increase in smartphone ownership is a good indicator as to where many schools are headed.  Over the years we have seen more embracement of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and 1:1 device rollouts.  Cost and ease of access will only lead to more schools and districts going down this path. The USDOE’s Office of Educational Technology places emphasis on students and educators having access to a robust and comprehensive infrastructure when and where they need it for learning.  The National EdTech Plan goes on to state the following:

Preparing students to be successful for the future requires a robust and flexible learning infrastructure capable of supporting new types of engagement and providing ubiquitous access to the technology tools that allow students to create, design, and explore. The essential components of an infrastructure capable of supporting transformational learning experiences include the following: 

Ubiquitous connectivity. Persistent access to high-speed Internet in and out of school. 

Powerful learning devices. Access to mobile devices that connect learners and educators to the vast resources of the Internet and facilitate communication and collaboration. 

High-quality digital learning content. Digital learning content and tools that can be used to design and deliver engaging and relevant learning experiences. 

Responsible Use Policies (RUPs). Guidelines to safeguard students and ensure that the infrastructure is used to support learning.

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Now don’t get me wrong, all of the above are great.  However, there is one crucial aspect that needs to be considered. A focus on logistics must complement the pursuit of a more enriched and challenging learning experience for students in the digital age, which Tom Murray and I lay out in Learning Transformed.   In laymen’s terms, this means having enough power to support all of the connected devices.  I know it’s not flashy, aligned to research, or even directly connected to pedagogy….but it is a necessity if the goal is to support learning. 

To begin, consider conducting an audit consisting of walk-throughs with IT, maintenance staff, teacher leaders, and administrators to determine where there are areas of opportunity. Many outlet additions can be completed over summer and holiday breaks.  Polling students to gain their insight is a good move as well.  The next step is to determine if there are excess funds in the budget (there is almost always money to spend at the end of the year) to make changes immediately.  If not, then this should be worked into the budget for the following year.  Below are some practical suggestions to power up your school.

• Transform blocks of hallway lockers into charging bars. During a coaching visit to the Downingtown Area School District, I saw how Lionville Middle School has begun to transition some of their obsolete locker spaces into charging bars (pictures above). Many lockers go unused as our digital learners don't find a need for them so converting them seems like wise decision. 
• Overhaul old typing rooms and computer labs. If your middle or high school building isn’t relatively new, then the chances are that there were at least one typing room and numerous computer labs. These rooms had numerous outlets throughout to power devices so a little innovative design can transform these spaces into power hubs. 
• Purchase furniture and accessories that have built-in electrical outlets. This strategy seems like a no-brainer when schools are looking to refurbish libraries and comfortable furniture for common areas. Check out Steelcase for an array of ideas and solutions specific to education. 
• Replace standard outlets with multi-functional USB combos – When assessing power needs through an audit, count the number of outlets in classrooms, hallways, and common spaces. You can then purchase and replace those outlets with dual USB tamper-resistant models, which will essentially double the available power in any room or space.  
• Invest in school branded charging stations – As the principal, I invested in a few of these mobile stations from a company called Kwikboost and placed them in common areas throughout the building (picture below).  One of the benefits was that each station already came with every type of charging cable pre-installed.  During events like concerts, plays, and art shows these devices can easily be temporarily placed in these spaces to meet the power needs of stakeholders visiting the school while showing off some school pride in the process. 

When more devices, whether school or student-owned, are integrated to support learning an infrastructure must be in place to support the need for power.  What unique ideas and strategies have you seen that you would add to the list above? 

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