How Can I Divert My Students' Focus from Social Media?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on strategies for diverting high school students' attention from social media and gaming towards more educational content, particularly through the creation of a blog focused on science innovations. Participants explore various methods to engage students and encourage learning beyond entertainment.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests creating a blog to share innovative ideas in science class and encourage students to explore informative sites beyond social media.
  • Another participant proposes linking current news items to physics concepts as a way to engage students, citing a specific example involving the Russia-Turkey situation.
  • Some participants express skepticism about the challenge of competing with the allure of social media and entertainment, noting that student motivation is crucial.
  • There is a suggestion to collaborate with other teachers to enrich the blog's content and cater to diverse student interests in various scientific fields.
  • One participant mentions the potential for students to create their own physics-based games as a way to engage them in learning.
  • A later reply emphasizes the importance of documenting the process and evaluating the effectiveness of the innovations implemented in the classroom.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the difficulty of diverting students' focus from social media, with some expressing hope that innovative approaches can cultivate curiosity. However, there is no consensus on the effectiveness of specific strategies or the overall feasibility of the proposed blog initiative.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the importance of student motivation and the need for evidence of improved outcomes to evaluate the effectiveness of any innovations introduced.

MATS309TrinaC
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Hi guys , I am planning to create my own blog for the innovations on my science class so that I can share more ideas with my students, And to encourage them to read and visit other informative sites on the internet not only on social media. Do you guys think it is possible ? And is there any other ways that I could divert their focus not only on playing games or visiting their social media accounts.

Any suggestions is really a great help..
 
Science news on Phys.org
Its going to be hard. Ideally you would look at news items that you can somehow link to physics.
An example could be the Russia-Turkey situation in Syria a while back.
Using basic information (which you should dig up in those cases) it was easy to find several inconsistencies in the story of both Russia and Turkey using kinematics. (Altitude of the russian plane was one example)

An idea could be to make it a team effort with other teachers at your school.
That way you can quickly populate the blog as well as cater to individual students interest.
Some would be interested in Biology, others in chemistry (because boom) and some are into maths.
 
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I am also thinking that its really hard especially now a days where students are really hook into social medias, Your suggestion hepls me a lot. :)

Its a team effort and hopefully we can make it in our school.
 
Be sure to document the process, you could write an insight on physicsforums that maybe motivates other teachers all over the world.
 
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Yes, I will document it, and I will share it to all teachers :) I know it might be impossible for now but its not bad to start this idea :)
 
Sounds like a pretty decent idea. I take it your students are in high school?

Unfortunately though, i think unless students are truly motivated to learn and be curious about the world, it is very difficult for them to compete with entertainment and social media. Perhaps I've lost hope.

Conversely, i do believe that it is possible to cultivate this curiosity if you find a good angle to pitch your innovations on the blog.

Good luck! Be sure to share your successes/failures with the forum (including the blog itself) :).
 
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Yup, they are high school students and at their age, they are really inclined with social medias especially on online games. Their time on studying lessen because of those temptation. That's why I want to maximize their use on internet not only for entertainment or games but also for their own learning.
 
You could have them program their own game based on physics..
 
MATS309TrinaC said:
Hi guys , I am planning to create my own blog for the innovations on my science class so that I can share more ideas with my students, And to encourage them to read and visit other informative sites on the internet not only on social media. Do you guys think it is possible ? And is there any other ways that I could divert their focus not only on playing games or visiting their social media accounts.

Any suggestions is really a great help..

Any 'innovation' must be accompanied with evidence of improved outcomes. What outcomes are you using to evaluate the effectiveness of your innovations?
 

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