Back when I was a college student (a span that lasted roughly 30 years), I used to cope with boredom in classes by doodling, sketching, writing letters, and even writing papers for other class assignments. Usually, I did these activities during long lectures, but I also zoned out during endless, poorly executed presentations by my class peers. As technologies advanced, I began using my PDA, smart phone, and laptop to perform the same unprofitable boredom avoidance tactics.

Instructors were never that threatened by daydreamers and doodlers up until these new technologies came on the scene, for some reason. So, the good folks at companies such as SMART Technologies invented products like Synchroneyes, which is supposed to help give instructors control over potentially distracting computer screens. I tried this tool in one of the graduated educational technology courses I taught in a computer classroom, and found it to be clunky, slow, and a distraction. Worse yet, while I was busy doing Synchroneyes activities, the students were bored and a little insulted. I found that whatever I gained in control over the less-motivated students, I lost in interest and engagement from my more-motivated students.

I am an instructional designer, so I am biased toward keeping my courses dynamic and engaging rather than by trying to control all distractions. My courses move along fairly fast-paced, and I try to design them so that I’m not talking more than a 10-15 minutes without engaging the students in some kind of activity, even if it’s only to stop for a mini discussion of the topic. I may repeat these 10-15 minute chunks in a variety of learning style modes, but I keep them all short. Whenever possible, I keep the lecture down to a few minutes of instruction and then let the students do whatever possible on their own. Nothing beats doing a task oneself for learning. Also, I build in time for working with others in groups once they’ve had a chance to work alone, which gives them all the benefits of social connectedness. If time is pressing, I can off-load the social connectedness tasks to 2.0 applications outside of class tiem. This provides me with a hugely effective formative assessment tool, since I can check to see how patterns of understanding are emerging from all this activity.

Bottom line: Students will find a way to occupy their minds of I don’t keep them occupied in class. Better to make a more dynamic class than to try and control all potential distractions.