Teacher wants classroom mirrors to curb gaming and online shopping

A teacher at Rundhøjskolen, a school near Aarhus, wants mirrors at the back of classrooms to help monitor students’ computer screens and keep them focused on lessons, DR reports.

Finn Rasmussen says some students start playing games as soon as a lesson begins, making it harder for them to rejoin classwork. Others use their computers for online shopping. He says this leaves him feeling that he has to teach and supervise students at the same time.

Rasmussen, who has taught since 1996 and teaches subjects including physics, biology, geography and mathematics, says he is not opposed to the computers provided to students by Aarhus Municipality. They can give students quick access to information and useful teaching materials, he says, but can also become a constant distraction.

He often begins lessons at the back of the classroom so he can see students’ screens. He also watches for students sitting with “three fingers on the keyboard”, which he says can be a sign that they are gaming. He finds the monitoring cumbersome and says it can create a bad atmosphere. “It shouldn’t be my job to check that students are actually doing what they are supposed to,” he says.

Rasmussen proposed putting a mirror on the back wall so he could see the screens without continually walking around the room. The idea was rejected. He says students might stay more engaged if they knew their screens could be seen.

For Rasmussen, the concern is not only disruption but lost learning. Students who play games during lessons miss parts of the material, he says, like reading every other page of a book and then being expected to recount the story. He would like teachers to have more control over which programs students can access, while allowing unrestricted use in some situations.

“I have a sense that we are letting a lot of potential go to waste,” he says.