Leveraging tech to address classroom disruption

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Disruptive behaviour in classrooms is on the rise. Hear how school stakeholders can use technology to create a sense of community and connection that drives engagement and minimises class disruption

DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOUR in classrooms is an escalating issue in Australia – so much so that a Senate Committee recently called for an inquiry in a bid to address our falling academic standards. According to the PISA 2023 results, Australian classrooms are ranked among the most disruptive in the world. The impact of COVID-19 has only amplified the problem, with schools facing increased absenteeism and school refusal. Natalie Mactier, CEO of Vivi, says these issues are hardly new; however, the root causes are yet to be properly addressed.

Built exclusively for the needs of education, Vivi offers a seamless wireless screen-sharing, digital signage, emergency comms, and announcements solution. Its technology provides a consistent, reliable and easy-to-use experience for teachers, can be centrally managed to reduce support costs for the IT team, and turns every display into an effective tool for connecting, collaborating and communicating in classrooms and schoolwide. Vivi is used in over 100,000 classrooms and trusted by more than 2,000 schools.

“Education is not just about academic outcomes – it’s also about producing happy, healthy and well-adjusted individuals who will go out into the world and be productive and positive members of society”

Natalie Mactier, Vivi

“Education is not just about academic outcomes; it’s also about producing happy, healthy and well-adjusted individuals who will go out into the world and be productive and positive members of society,” Mactier tells The Educator. “When you think about community at school, it’s about getting the grounding and early formative experience of what the world is going to be like later as an adult. It’s about teaching positive and respectful behaviour, building social connections and feeling part of a tribe, and learning social cues and norms. I believe a strong school community is driven by all levels of the school, from the leadership down and including parents and teachers.”

Mactier notes that finding the ‘spark’ in each individual student is vital to increasing engagement and reducing disruption. For some, that spark will be found in the social connections created at school and by spending time with your tribe. For others, it’ll be sport, music or the dramatic arts that engages them – but until you find it, there will inevitably be a lack of purpose and belonging. “That becomes amplified in class when the student doesn’t really want to be there, and that’s what we’re seeing with the disruptive symptoms that play out,” Mactier says. “It’s a symptom of a much deeper problem than just somebody talking out of turn.”

As technology maintains an increasing presence in the classroom and throughout a school, the right tools can help foster stronger connections. As a leading name in the education tech sector, Vivi has seen the impact of the right tools and features first-hand. Originally started in 2016 as a wireless screen-sharing solution, Vivi has since expanded its offering to include digital signage, emergency alerts, live video and text announcements, plus various classroom management tools such as timers and polls. However, Mactier notes that technology isn’t just important on a practical level – it can also help create the sense of community that is so very important in today’s climate.

She highlights that principals in particular have made use of Vivi Announcements by broadcasting video messages live into classrooms to create a culture of positivity and approachability. “A principal at one of our Vivi-enabled schools broadcasts a message live into every classroom each day,” Mactier says. “It’s not a formal announcement, it’s just a welcome to the school day, and it really humanises the principal. They’ve traditionally been the ‘disciplinarians’ of the school and can be quite intimidating! These days, if you can use technology to your advantage and develop human connections, that’s invaluable.

“We have another school leader who tries to do creative and engaging communication each day. On one occasion he read a book to the entire primary school that was broadcast live via video,” she adds. “One of our school leaders in the US shares ‘Dad jokes’ and puzzles via Vivi digital signage in all of their public spaces. It’s about keeping the kids happy, motivated and connected. There’s a lot of darkness in our world, and these communication methods really help to encourage a positive sense of community.” Many of Vivi’s features have been crowdsourced from the hundreds of thousands of educators who rely on the solution daily. When it comes to the issue of classroom disruption, Vivi has observed in person the things teachers need to achieve within a 45-minute lesson and has evolved its features to support those objectives.

“Teachers have a very short amount of time per lesson to achieve a number of ideal outcomes,” Mactier says. “Classroom technology has to be seamless, intuitive and incredibly easy to use, and it needs to be underpinned by evidence-based practice.” Another of Vivi’s features is the ‘emoji poll’, which allows teachers to conduct a quick, anonymous check-in on how students are feeling at the start of a lesson. Students can indicate through emojis whether they’re feeling positive and engaged or tired, stressed, bullied or even hungry. Once the teacher has got a read on the class, an integration between Vivi and Headspace provides the teacher with access to mindfulness content to help settle students if they are not quite ready to sit down and focus. This could be a quick three- or five-minute session to get students to focus on the job at hand and start the lesson positively.

Students and teacher in classroom with laptop

Finding the ‘spark’ in every student

Published 18 Mar 2024

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“We’re helping schools with issues they’ve always faced, with much better tools now using technology. Things like student disengagement, school refusal and disruptive behaviour are universal problems. This technology helps educators globally”

Natalie Mactier, Vivi

To combat the ongoing problem of disruptive behaviour, Mactier says we need to start with the ‘why?’ Why are students acting out in classrooms? She believes the lack of a sense of community and belonging is where it begins.

Fostering community through technology

Source: PISA 2022 results

Over 40% of students say there is “noise and disorder” in their maths classroom all or most of the time

30% of students get distracted by digital devices

Levels of disruption in classrooms

Key features of Vivi

Wireless screen mirroring

Digital signage

Emergency alerts

Announcements

One third of students don’t listen to their teacher in most lessons

Other Vivi features focus on less disruptive communication. Gone is the hard-to-understand public address announcement or ‘messenger student’ – instead, teachers and principals can send a text message directly to a classroom’s display board. “The work we’ve done in the classroom has really proven to drive engagement and student participation, and it’s enabled teachers to have a more productive relationship with their students on an individual basis,” Mactier says. “We’re helping schools with issues they’ve always faced, with much better tools now using technology. Things like student disengagement, school refusal and disruptive behaviour are universal problems. This technology helps educators globally.” To find out more about Vivi’s technology and features for the education sector, click here.