Gaming is big money, and wildly popular. The four games Finnish mobile game developer Supercell have on the market include ‘Clash of Clans’, with more than 100 million daily active users (DAUs). And Epic Games are on a winner; in less than a year Fortnite have more than 40 million players logging in to play each month.
Personal mobile devices are the norm. They are also both learning devices, and potential sources of digital distraction. While technology is an enabler of education, constant connection can sometimes come at a cost and students can easily succumb to using the internet for non-class related tasks. The term "cyber-slacking" refers to the act of avoiding immediate tasks by delving into cat videos, social media, and other online entertainment, and this new digital world is highly addictive.
Inviting student devices onto your school's BYOD network also invites new ICT challenges.
Schools are often unaware that student use of VPN software such as Hotspot Shield or Ultrasurf can bypass school internet filtering and allow access to any online content.
A recent analysis Linewize conducted of a large Auckland High School found that 15% of students were using such software to bypass school internet filtering and gain access to any online content.
Getting smarter with 1:1 digital distractions.
Distraction of the digital kind is on the rise in classrooms. How can you successfully oversee devices and online access? In the aptly named article ‘We have met the enemy and he is us’1 the authors rate self-produced distractions, such as playing games, checking emails and surfing the net, as the most common classroom distractions, with more than a third of students admitting to ‘multitasking’ in class time.