The computer is the classroom's invisible distraction – SkoleElev.ai gives teachers an overview

A class can look calm while students use their computers for something entirely different from schoolwork. With Focus tracking, SkoleElev.ai gives teachers insight into whether students are active in the learning platform or have switched away from it.

School researcher Louise Klinge describes this challenge in DR's article of 12 October. She explains that students can shop, stream and play games in class without the teacher noticing, and calls it an invisible distraction. Classroom management researcher Dorte Ågård points out that students can continue on the computer the activities they used to do on their phones.

"A teacher can stand in front of a class that looks calm without being able to see whether the students are working on the task. With Focus tracking, the teacher gets a concrete overview of activity in SkoleElev.ai and can talk to the student when something changes. That gives a better starting point for helping the student move forward."

Three states give the teacher an overview

During a live lesson, or while a student works on an assignment opened in SkoleElev.ai, the status appears on the student's tile in the teacher's overview. Focus tracking distinguishes between three states:

• •Active: the SkoleElev.ai tab is in front and activity is registered.
• •Inactive: there has been no input for more than a minute.
• •Away from the tab: the student has switched to another tab or minimised the window.

For example, the teacher may see “Away from the tab · 2 min” or “Active again”. The feature uses no alarms, pop-ups or sounds. Teachers can check the overview when it suits the lesson and use it as a reason to go over to the student and ask about their work.

An inactive status means no input has been registered. It should therefore be seen in the context of the task, for example when the student is reading a text.

Overview on the student's profile

On the student's profile, the teacher can see active, inactive and away minutes plus tab switches for the last four weeks, week by week. This gives a concrete starting point for a conversation with the student and parents about work habits and concentration.

Focus tracking is part of SkoleElev.ai, which combines a learning management system (LMS), student administration and teaching tools. The overview from each assignment or live lesson is therefore linked to the student's profile in the same platform. In live lessons, the teacher also decides what is shown on the students' digital board.

The school turns the feature on, and the student is informed

Focus tracking is off by default. The school's administrator can turn it on in the privacy settings. Tracking is limited to live lessons and assignments that the student has opened in SkoleElev.ai as part of teaching.

The student sees the message “Your teacher can see whether you are active in the tab” and can follow their own minutes for the day. Tracking covers activity in SkoleElev.ai only. No other websites, apps or screenshots are recorded. Focus tracking data is deleted automatically after 13 months.