The Irving Independent school district quite rightly state:

“The key to good classroom management in a one to one school is acknowledging that there is no “magic button” technology solution that will ensure laptops are used appropriately.  Traditional discipline is only one part of the puzzle.  Effective instruction is even more important. 

 

 

Now I have been teaching in one-to-one classrooms for at least 4 years now and proceeding that I had the options of carts containing banks of computers at all my previous schools.  For this reason managing such a classroom was embedded in my initial teaching experiences.  If I think about it I do have some tricks

1) Lesson Structure: My lesson structure is designed for the initial entering of the room and turning on the computers whilst simultaneous engaging with a displayed starter activity.

2) Classroom structure: My classroom is set up so students work in collaborative groups with their computers facing out.

3) Class exploration: I rotate around my class and get my class used to me looking over their shoulder watching and supporting their progression (I am not even sure if this is related to one-to-one laptop use but just best teaching practice).

4) Classroom expectation:  When I say computers down and look to the front I have a clear expectation that this will happen from the start of the year onward.

5) Considered response: If I see the computer being used in an off task manner I will again just quietly point out the issue and expect the student to move back on task and also note the incidence in my grade book.

6) Consistent response: The students also know that a computer related issue will always be jotted down in my grade book and two comments in a trimester will result in one week without computer access in my class and an e-mail home explaining the issue.  Such an issue rarely does occur but it does include the students having to run upstairs to collect printed worksheets or in some case passively supporting another student who does have computer access.

Yet these are just a list of useful points.  If you want more then I really recommend you checking out Dean Groom’s blog post “23 things about classroom laptops” or Tim Bray’s blog post “5 Tips for Classroom Management within 1:1 Environments“.

However, if I had to find the magic button to success it is simply embedding effective laptop use into the student activities.  So sending a clear message that using the laptop provides the student with the tools to be better and that my teacher wants that from me and I should not waste that opportunity.

 

Dyknow Monitor Screen

 

That would have been a great concluding but I feel that I should be prepared to offer full disclosure.  I also use a tool call DyKnow which is a piece of software which allows me to monitor remotely the screens of my students.  Now I mention this only because it might have an impact on the student body’s acceptance of methods.  Yet I now really only turn this on at the start of class out of some strange habit.  I find it more useful, but actually to show the class a students work (although this is more often than not too slow for practicality) or to quickly share a document (this tool us useful).  Yes, occasionally this may reveal a student not on task but wandering around the class appears to be far more effective and I still do not see it as a crucial part of one-to-one classroom management but could see why some people would appreciate the resource.