This issue of New Chalk looks at some of these distractions and presents some strategies for dealing with them. In and Out of Focus . . . Unlike the kind of learning that takes place in isolated library cubicles, learning on the Web is prone to interruption by links and resources that entice students to veer from the learning task. When designing Web pages and assignments, instructors should keep in mind how easily students may be distracted on the Web and may want to employ strategies to direct and structure student learning. Nonetheless, she does offer students incentives for staying on task.
Students often have to come to class ready to discuss the topic.
This discussion is part of the class participation grade. When instructors link to outside resources, they can give students specific questions or tasks they need to accomplish at the sites they are visiting. A more technical strategy is to open up a new browser window for all outside resources, so that students never will wander too far from the original page. Messinger also asserts that a little random surfing is not necessarily a dangerous thing. However, I think that that is useful.