Teachers know the value of routines and procedures. They help with classroom management and create efficiency in the classroom, especially during transitions from one space or activity to another. They also give students structure and predictability, which can help them feel safer and more confident in your classroom space.
As we approach the start of another school year, teachers are undoubtedly planning to outline and practice routines in the first weeks of the year. As we do this, it’s important not to forget about technology and the routines that accompany tech use and management. Because more and more classrooms feature 1:1 programs where every student has their own dedicated device, tech has become almost ubiquitous. It’s used regularly for learning, materials management, and communication.
As you prepare for the start of another school year, consider addressing these four key questions when establishing and implementing your classroom technology routines.
1. When and what technology is allowed?
Students need to know when they are allowed to use their devices. They also need to know which digital tools are appropriate for certain learning tasks. Because of this, there should be some type of clear signal as to when and how much students can use their device for completing their classroom work. There are multiple ways that you can set up a communication system with your students.
- Stoplight System: One option is to use visual cues, such as a color-coded stoplight chart at the front of the room. This might be hung up as an anchor chart, or it might be placed on a bulletin board in front of the room. A green light can signal that tech is acceptable to use, yellow might indicate that students should have their tech ready for when the teacher asks them to use it, and red may indicate that tech should be turned off and put away. This system sets clear expectations and communicates those expectations in a consistent manner.
- Written Expectations: To help guide students both in class and when they are working on homework, you might consistently include a tech expectations section with the directions for each assignment. The more consistent this is, the better. It could mean using the exact same bulleted list on every assignment, with check marks in front of the ones that are allowed. In addition to an “if tech can be used” part of this checklist, you might also include the specific digital tools that can be used to assist with completing the work.
- Apps and Extensions: When it comes to the use of AI, Laguna Beach Unified School District has developed a helpful Google Docs add-on for this purpose called AI Trust You. With this option, the teacher completes a checklist indicating what is allowed on an assignment and then pastes it into the document or directions for the assignment. The student completes the checklist when they are ready to turn in their work, and they paste it into their submitted assignment. Not only does this foster clear expectations, but it also promotes trust and honesty in regard to AI use.
- Verbal Cues: In addition to visual cues, you might consider verbal signals as well. If you go this route, you’ll want to establish clear and consistent expressions that you will use with the class. For example, when you want students to pause their use of a computer and give you their full attention, you might say, “Screens at 45 degrees.” You can also incorporate a call-and-response approach to get students actively engaged in the communication, such as “Lids down / Eyes up.” In this case, you would say, “Lids down,” and the students would respond with, “Eyes up.” That would be their cue to focus their attention back on you. Call-and-response routines can be very effective.
2. How will students access and submit digital assignments?
Consistency is key here. How will you distribute and collect student work? If it’s paper-and-pencil, you likely already have a process in place for passing out and collecting work, and you may have your class practice that routine each time they have a paper-and-pencil activity. The same should apply to assignments and learning tasks that require technology. Have them practice digitally handing in assignments.
Where will students find the documents and links that they will need to complete the work, and how will they turn them in when they are finished? You’ll want to establish a clear and consistent location and process for this. This will usually involve posting it to a learning management system (LMS). Within that system, it’s important that you also have consistency. Use a common folder structure. Maybe that’s chronological, so students can search by date. Maybe it’s by unit or assignment type. Whatever you choose, be consistent so that students don’t need to waste time searching for materials. If they can’t find it, they can’t complete it.
If students are submitting their work digitally, make sure that due dates are clearly posted and that the type of submission is clear as well. If there is an integrated calendar option in your LMS, this can be an intuitive way for students to see what is due on a particular day. In fact, if you can do so, provide multiple pathways to required materials and links. For instance, you might develop a routine of posting assignments in an upcoming events announcement that gets emailed to students, while also adding a link to the class calendar and having it posted in a color-coded assignments folder in your LMS. The biggest key is consistency. Make sure that your students know your method, and then stick to it.
3. What if something goes wrong or doesn’t work?
Tech routines fall apart quickly if devices aren’t working or if students are stuck on small issues and don’t know how to solve them. Because of this, it’s essential to proactively build troubleshooting into your routines—just like you would with any classroom management strategy. Here are a few approaches that you might consider:
- Troubleshooting: Start by teaching basic fixes that every student should know. This includes things like:
- How to refresh a browser
- How to check the Wi-Fi connection
- How to restart a frozen app or device
- What to do if audio or video isn’t working
Teach students how to complete these troubleshooting steps if possible. You might want to reinforce this by posting a “What to do if…” troubleshooting guide or flowchart in your classroom and in your LMS for students to reference.
- Ask Three Before Me: Another good troubleshooting tip is to create a troubleshooting protocol like “Ask Three Before Me.” A spin-off of this is “Ask Three Before T,” with “T” referring to the teacher. The three primary checkpoints might include referencing a tech checklist, asking a buddy, and Googling for the answer. If those efforts don’t work, then students can ask the teacher. If you don’t want students interrupting you during a certain point in a lesson, you could develop a nonverbal help signal, like putting a color-coded card on the edge of a desk. Sometimes, teachers have students use a stack of plastic cups, made up of three different colors, at their desk. When the green cup is on top, they have no questions. When they display the red cup, they need help immediately. Yellow means that they could use help, but it’s not urgent.
- Classroom Tech Experts: A third troubleshooting option is to designate certain students as the tech experts in your classroom. For some students, this is their area of expertise and a source of personal pride. Giving them a position of importance in your classroom can build up their confidence and esteem while taking pressure off of you.
4. How can I set my students up for success?
Certain routines might seem obvious to the teacher, but students might not see it the same way. If procedures and routines are not clearly understood by the students, they won’t work. Therefore, it’s important to be very clear in explaining an expectation or routine. At the same time, we need to realize that simply explaining something is not enough. For many students, they won’t internalize what we’ve told them until they apply it and accomplish it themselves.
This is where practice comes in. Have students practice their tech routines before there are high stakes involved, such as with project due dates and late-work penalties. For instance, if you are teaching how to access and submit an assignment, you might want to do this with a fun puzzle-type activity or a “get to know you” survey—something that is fun, engaging, and not academically high pressure. In fact, you might build some sort of digital mixer into the first several days of class to cement these procedures and build community at the same time. Connecting the routines to a fun activity can also associate these tasks with positive connotations and good feelings going forward.
In addition to practice, ensure students know that having trouble with technology is normal. Mistakes happen—bugs occur in computer systems, and the internet can go down unexpectedly. Help them see tech issues as normal and something that they can overcome by following your classroom procedures and helping one another out.
With any classroom routine, it’s a good idea to ask yourself how you can give students a voice in creating that routine. Ownership goes a long way toward gaining more student buy-in. If the routines belong to the students, they are more apt to see their value and follow them. Plus, it helps to build classroom community and trust. By involving students, you are signaling that you respect and trust them.
AVID Connections
This resource connects with the following components of the AVID College and Career Readiness Framework:
- Instruction
- Systems
- Culture
- Relational Capacity
- Student Agency
- Break Down Barriers
Extend Your Learning
- Classroom Routines Eliminate Chaos and Confusion (Dr. Catlin Tucker)
- Classroom Management in the Tech Era (Paige Tutt via Edutopia)
- Teachers’ Essential Guide to Teaching With Technology (Common Sense Education)