Districts and schools across the country are implementing cell phone bans and restrictions. These policies are motivated in large part by a desire to limit classroom distractions. Yet, an often overlooked reality remains: students will still be on school-issued Chromebooks or laptops. These devices, though intended for educational purposes, are equally potent sources of distraction.

In addition to keeping students focused amid the lures of technology, many teachers are carrying larger class loads and managing increased interruptions as a result. If we truly want to lighten their loads, we must consider these other challenges as well.

Classroom Distractions: Not Just a Cell Phone Issue

The image of a teen slouched over their cell phone ignoring the world around them is one we’re all familiar with. But for teachers, a student hunched over a school-issued device with that same glazed-over expression can trigger an equally irritated reaction. When a student’s eyes are glued to their device screen, a teacher can’t know for sure if they’re taking copious notes or enthralled by the latest Poppy the pygmy hippo video.

Technology distractions can create obvious problems for students, including fragmented focus, decreased engagement in learning, and ultimately lower academic performance. But they also create problems for teachers, who are left with the responsibility of policing students’ device usage. For many teachers, this is a particularly frustrating and exhausting experience when what they really want to do is teach. 

How Classroom Management Software Helps Teachers Limit Classroom Distractions

With classroom management software, teachers have the visibility and control they need in technology-enabled classrooms. They can:

• See student screens during class from their own device
• Push content and resources to students’ devices
• Lock students’ screens during tests and when their attention is needed
• Close unrelated and distracting sites to keep students focused

Aside from basic functionality, Securly Classroom has some pretty unique features that teachers appreciate. These include student groups to support personalized learning, saved announcements for more efficient communication, and supporting students via virtual hand-raise, 1:1 text, or voice/video chats.

Securly Classroom’s seamless integration with Securly Filter is yet another feature that appeals to teachers, as well as and IT teams. This integration lets teachers create their own block/allow lists. For example, teachers can create temporary allow lists so students can gain access to typically restricted sites like YouTube, without having to engage help from IT. Teachers gain autonomy to access the resources they need, while IT maintains oversight of these changes to ensure master block/allow policies remain intact.

Helpful features like these transform the teaching experience. Teachers can maintain instructional momentum while ensuring students remain focused on learning tasks—all without needing extensive training or constant IT support.

Before you know it, they start to see technology as a bridge to richer learning experiences instead of a barrier between them and their students.

Another Class Disruptor: Hall Pass Requests

Picture this common scenario: a teacher is mid-explanation of a critical concept when a hand shoots up. The flow of instruction halts as the teacher acknowledges the student, who whispers an urgent bathroom request.

While a single interruption like this may seem insignificant, consider the compound effect:

• The teacher’s attention is diverted from instruction to process the request
• Other students seize this moment to disengage or start side conversations
• The instructional rhythm broken, the teacher must now regain their own focus and their students’ attention 
• Upon the student’s return, another disruption occurs as they re-enter the classroom and return the pass
• If three students make hall pass requests during a single class, 5-6 minutes of instructional time could be lost

Physical classroom disruptions like these have become so normalized they’re often overlooked. Yet, they could easily be eating up 30 minutes or more of instructional time each day. Teachers don’t just need a way to minimize digital distractions—they need a comprehensive solution to maximize focus in the classroom.

How a Digital Hall Pass Maximizes Instructional Time

A digital hall pass lets students request a hall pass electronically. Instead of raising their hand and interrupting class, students submit electronic requests through a web interface using their internet-connected school device. The teacher receives the request on their device, and is able to approve or deny it with a click of a button, all while continuing to teach.

By digitizing this age-old classroom process, schools are able to limit classroom distractions and maximize instructional time. But the benefits of a digital hall pass like Securly Pass don’t stop there: it also provides more visibility and control of student movement, improves school safety, and reduces student discipline referrals.

A Dynamic Duo: Securly Classroom + Securly Pass

The integration of Securly Classroom and Securly Pass gives teachers classroom management superpowers to defeat digital distractions and classroom disruptions. Hall pass requests pop up in Classroom for the teacher to approve or cancel. In their Class view, they can see each student’s screen, as well as which students have active passes. A notification center makes it easy to manage multiple simultaneous requests.

Cell phone policies represent just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to ensuring students are focused and ready to learn in technology-enabled classrooms. The real heroes in education—our teachers—deserve tools that make this part of their job a whole lot easier.

To learn more about how Securly Classroom and Securly Pass work together to give teachers the superpowers they need to defeat digital distractions and classroom disruption, visit www.securly.com/classroom.