How to handle social media distractions in the classroom

Anne Vize

By Anne Vize
Community contribution / September 19, 2019

Sigh. A high school teacher scans a classroom searching in vain for the culprit responsible for the latest unmistakable ‘brrrp’ of a smartphone notification.

Teens respond differently to the way they perceive the likes, comments and images that fill their screens, with some being significantly harmed by what they see online and others much less so.

Inevitably, the owner is likely to soon reach casually into their pocket or the side of their bag to check ...

This story appeared in the September 2019 edition of Australian Teacher Magazine.

Secondary Teacher ~ MacKillop Catholic College, Mount Peter - MacKillop Catholic College

Catholic Education - Diocese of Cairns Edmonton QLD

Applications are invited for a qualified and enthusiastic Secondary Teacher to join the MacKillop Catholic College team in 2026. Experience in teaching Junior Science...

Teaching - Primary / Feb 28, 2026

VET teacher (Engineering & Construction) - St Augustine's College, Cairns - St Augustine's College

Catholic Education - Diocese of Cairns Cairns

St Augustine's College, Cairns is looking for a VET teacher to join their College. Ability to teach Certificate II in Engineering, and Construction would be advantageous.

Teaching - Secondary / Feb 28, 2026

READVERTISEMENT: School Learning Officer (Industrial Technologies & Design), Good Counsel College, Innisfail - Good Counsel College

Catholic Education - Diocese of Cairns Innisfail Queensland

Good Counsel College is seeking applications for a School Officer (Industrial Technologies & Design) for an immediate start.

Non Teaching Positions/Roles / Feb 28, 2026

By Anne Vize

Community

Anne Vize is the author of the best selling book The A to Z of Specialist and Inclusive Education (2nd edition) and Partnerships with Families of Children with Additional Needs, published by Essential Resources. https://www.essentialresources.com.au/Store/Author/Detail/ANNVIZ You can check out more about Anne's writing at https://www.annevizewriting.com/

Similar news

School news / Social media can be helpful distraction during exam time: Deakin expert Opinion / Social media and education Opinion / Schools, students and social media

Latest comments

And if we wait for a child who is entering Foundation in 2026 and don't approach climate change as a topic until they...

— Anne Vize on Our Tokenistic Sustainability Education Is Missing The Mark: Peak Science Associations

Top events

School news / Helping schools on the frontline of dealing with childhood trauma: new book

Authored by several internationally recognised trauma-informed researchers from here and overeseas, a new book argues that traditional approaches to discipline and behaviour management are often ill-suited to the reality many students face today.

School news / The world-leading primary mental health program having an extraordinary impact

A whole-school approach to wellbeing that has been producing phenomenal results in helping teachers better identify and support students and creating referral pathways to local mental health services, will be rolled out to every public primary sch...

School news / The digital delusion: teacher’s shift to tech-free lessons shows promising results

Before trialling a tech-free approach in her Year 12 Legal Studies classroom, Nicole Horton was seeing fractured attention, a sea of glazed over faces and eyes fixated on screens – the digital distraction was real, she says.

School news / Kids as young as 10 to be fitted with ankle bracelets, Qld police not impressed

Police and youth advocates are querying whether new state laws that will see children as young as 10 fitted with ankle bracelets are workable.

School news / Embed literacy instruction into PDHPE for incredible results: leading educator

Literacy and the explicit teaching of writing skills ought to be a focus of all PDHPE teachers’ practice and not left solely to English departments to handle, a leading educator has said.

School news / Gift to help educators teach maths with ‘confidence, clarity and impact’

A Melbourne university has received a $2.5 million gift to “use its foundations in evidence-based learning to help address Australia’s mathematics crisis”.

School news / Identifying children at risk of speech disorders to be made easier: new resource

A new tool for identifying children at risk of speech disorders has been developed by Melbourne researchers, reducing unnecessary treatment for common speech errors that often resolve on their own.

School news / ‘Improved behaviour across the board’: student leadership program sees huge results

Primary school children given the chance to teach their younger peers are showing remarkable improvements in their confidence, class work and mental health.

School news / ‘Let’s get on with it’: induction policies still ignoring substitute teachers

Inequitable induction arrangements for substitute teachers come at a professional, emotional and career development cost, new research has flagged.

School news / Award-winning Vic school reveals what it takes to extend gifted students

High-ability students can expect to be thoroughly challenged in their learning when they come to Heathmont East Primary School.

Comments