Managing Disruptions in the Digital Classroom:

The DNA of learners is changing – young or old, the democratization of information has led to learners becoming more entitled.

The role of the faculty has changed– we are no longer the vessel that contains knowledge and wisdom – that is Google.

So, what's our role today? We are here to hook, engage, de-mystify, and simplify the learning process. Our credibility does not come from our knowledge and wisdom anymore - that is a given. Rather, it comes from the manner in which we disseminate this knowledge and information to our learners. Our audience is ruthless - they can literally switch us off if they do not derive value.

In such a situation how do we manage engagement while ensuring discipline? What are your thoughts on the policy of mandatory or minimum attendance? It leads to a ‘captive’ audience albeit one, replete with youthful exuberance, acute boredom, a plethora of digital distractions, and a large gaping digital divide.

What would we do if we were in a similar situation? If we were 'captive' students?

• We could either not care – just do our own thing. Think of all those learners who never switch on the camera or respond to questions even after repeated requests and threats.

OR

• We could have fun with it. Think back to those learners who heckle and argue, and in the case of college students - log in with funny names and make wisecracks under the cloak of anonymity.

Both are disruptions to the teaching process.

So, what can educators do?

Well, the long answer would be to create a course that hooks; get only interested people in,?etc. – but we know however interesting we make our course and as stringent our selection process may be, the above situations are bound to arise in some form or the other.

How do we deal with the inevitable? This is a question that has kept me awake ....here are my 2 cents:

1.??????Pre-empt these situations – set up a code of conduct. However, publishing it like a formal code with do’s and don’t’s may defeat its purpose. Take a leaf out of SouthWest Airlines and see how they have turned something as mundane as the safety features on flight and made it really interesting. Add humor and make it memorable! This might just help you break the ice with your learners.

2.??????When friendly debates turn into heckling you have 2 choices – by all means, wield the stick and dismiss your audience from the meeting. They may just thank you for it.

OR – call them out on a condition called “i-Know-It-All-itis” The debater to prove his/her proficiency in the subject of discussion will need to hand in an un-plagiarized 2 pager or a 3-min presentation. Encourage them to put their money where their mouth is.

3.??????In the case of pure “backbencher” behavior, to manage the decorum, it may be a good idea to take the high road and dis-engage. However, Root Cause Analysis shows that this behavior is rooted in boredom or the need for attention. Both these issues warrant another article (coming soon).

4.??????Getting students to switch on videos is tedious – you keep asking them; they turn a blind eye and deaf ear or worse still, they switch on the cameras and you are appalled – some are lying down or have their zombie-face on.?

We need to let go of our need to feed off the audience's facial expressions for feedback and move to other modes. A bit of soul searching has revealed that as facilitators, we find this difficult because for each 60 min session, we need to think of at least 5 or 6 different digital engagement questions or hooks. Earlier we could do this impromptu – we can no longer afford that. So, preparation is key:

• Set up a mood board at the start – Happy |?So-So | Sad.

• Ask Questions: How are you feeling today? How are you going on the assignment? How do you feel about this topic? How are your team interactions coming up? How happy are you with the challenge that this program is presenting you with? Consciously avoid “Yes” or “No” questions.
• Set up at least 2 polls that talk about the topic in question which forces the learners to think. One question could be on lower-order thinking skills and another requiring higher-order thinking skills (caselet based)
• Ask one / two open-ended questions that require learners to?participate and express their thoughts.
• Get learners to ask each other questions at the end of the session. Example Team A can direct questions to Team B, Team B to Team C, and so on. Reward the best question of the day.
• Gather feedback regularly using 30-second end of session surveys

The game has changed and so have the rules – digital classrooms have changed the paradigm as we know it and we need to evolve to persevere – else we perish.

In our case, the learner just clicks Alt+Tab.?