Pic from https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/iLI15g8PtD6X_cRuaEMnevCHJ9vQ4maMm3PnXJf8I5FTur4j1of-DGoHjs65FIS273s=h900

For the newbies and those new to technology in the classroom:

Before I get to phones, I want to return to the worms in the last post. It’s easy to let a worm go. It’s easy to say to yourself, “Well, Jared finished his work and we only have two minutes left. Let him play the game.”

Beware of worms! Watch out for those moments of kindness. You can’t let the worms gain a foothold. As soon as you let Jared play the worm game, the laptop next to him will go to that URL. Pretty soon everyone will fall under the spell of the worms. Then they will start asking you, “Can I play the worm game? I’m done with my assignment.” They may even try to bargain with you. “If I finish the  homework for the week, can I play the worm game?” The problem will begin to grow larger. “Why can’t I play “Droid Attack? You let Matthew play the worm game.”

If you are not careful, your classroom may begin to resemble Tremors #6: The Worms Eat Ms. Q’s Classroom. Worms will gnaw on your lesson plan and swallow your reinforcement activities whole. Minute by minute, you will be battling worms, droids and other time-sucking creatures, all intent on stealing your class time.

If you have ever watched a lavalantula movie or that classic Big Ass Spider, you should know the key ingredient to managing cyberworms: You can’t let them reproduce. If you do, there goes the plucky heroine’s best friend — and most of your students with her.

I’ve had some fun, but the idea behind this post was quite serious. A minute here, a minute there, and soon whole hours will slip away. If you want to use the worm games as rewards, the terms of that reward have to be clearly spelled out with penalties for infractions.

One major help as you add technology to the room: Set up your classroom with your desk in back so you can see what’s on student screens in front of you.