How to Cut Back on Digital Distractions While Learning With Technology

It’s a digital world, and we’re all living in it. Years ago, we might have thought that technology would never have such a strong place in the classroom. How many schools enforced strict no-cell-phone policies? They were seen as a distraction to students during the school day. Now, smartphones, as well as Chromebooks, iPads, and other tech innovations, put the power of knowledge and learning at everyone’s fingertips.

Technology has become a valuable tool in helping students research, study, and digest the material they learn in school. There are now dozens of online resources that many teachers encourage students to use at school and at home. Digital distractions are a possible side effect, but there are ways to cut back on those while still allowing students to capitalize on the benefits of tech.

Tips for avoiding digital distractions

Set screen time limits. Parents can help cut back on digital distractions by utilizing parental controls and screen time limits on their children’s tech. For example, many smartphones have the ability to set daily time limits for social media apps. These limits ensure that students can still enjoy personal time on their favorite apps, but those apps will not interfere when it’s time to study.

Turn off notifications. Another way to manage screen time is to have students turn off notifications on their phones or other tech during learning time. This way, they might open distracting apps less frequently. You might consider giving small breaks in study time for your children to check up on their favorite apps.

Create a device contract. Parents and teachers alike can benefit from creating device contracts that everyone must agree to. These contracts can outline the parameters of when students are allowed to use tech and for what purpose, as well as the consequences for breaching the contract (such as losing access for a period of time). Teachers Pay Teachers has some sample contracts for classrooms, and Panda Security has family contract options for all different kinds of tech.

How Westminster Academy uses tech in the classroom

Though technology runs the risk of distracting students, we understand that it can also be a valuable learning tool in today’s tech-heavy world. Therefore, finding balance in our classrooms’ technology use is key. We mitigate digital distractions by…

Using tech as a group. When we use technology in the classroom, we do so as a group — not individually. So, students typically do not work independently on their Chromebooks. Instead, we pull up the learning material on a screen for the whole class to observe at once.

Closely monitoring individual tech usage. With that said, there are instances where students need to work on Chromebooks, such as a research project or essay. They do this work in small groups, and we closely monitor group work to ensure that everyone is staying on task.

Focusing on traditional learning material. Most of our learning happens with books, paper, pencils, and the whiteboard. We try to avoid overusing digital learning material, such as videos, so that students do not get into the habit of being in a digital environment all day long.

Providing tech for students with special needs. On the other hand, we do provide iPads and headphones for students who learn better this way. For example, a student with dyslexia might prefer to have the material read to them. The iPad and headphones allow them to be accommodated without distracting other students.

Please contact Angelyn Dodson at Westminster Academy with questions about our technology policies and accommodations.