Laptops and tablets have become essential in the classroom, especially as digital learning materials and online testing have become the norm.
Most districts have had 1-to-1 computing environments, in which every student has a school-issued learning device, since 2020 when the COVID pandemic forced schools to rely on remote learning. Other districts have had 1-to-1 computing programs since the 2010s.
However, a growing number of 糖心动漫vlog and parents seem to be souring on the ubiquitious technology, citing concerns that students are spending too much time on devices, leading to behavioral and mental health problems, as well as drops in academic achievement.
So far, a handful of state legislatures have introduced bills that would limit students鈥� screen time in schools. Parent-led groups are asking school boards to dial back the use of educational technology. And some teachers are experimenting with so-called 鈥渢ech-free days.鈥�
A majority of 糖心动漫vlog (55%) say that parents/guardians believe that the amount of time students spend using technology for school-related purposes is 鈥渢oo high,鈥� according to a nationally representative EdWeek Research Center survey of 596 teachers, and school and and district leaders conducted in February and March.
Most 糖心动漫vlog (74%), however, say their district or school hasn鈥檛 reduced investment in ed tech and have no plans to do so due to pushback or complaints from parents, the survey found.
Still, some schools are trying to find ways to address parents鈥� and 糖心动漫vlog鈥� concerns about the overuse of technology in school.
Below are three examples of how schools are taking new approaches to manage students鈥� screen time and make better use of educational technology.
Teachers are trying tech-free days and seeing higher student engagement
One of the units in Brooke Wolting鈥檚 6th grade English class is all about technology. The essential question was: Do we rely too much on it?
The question prompted discussions among her students on how much time they spent using devices. Her students didn鈥檛 just focus on their personal use of technology, but also how much they use it in school, said Wolting, who teaches at Gladeville Middle School in Mt. Juliet, Tenn.
鈥淪tudents were the ones who said, 鈥榃e鈥檙e on technology too much. We all have Chromebooks. Every teacher has slides. Everything is online in school,鈥欌�� Wolting recalled. 鈥淚 thought, 鈥極h my gosh, we鈥檙e just as bad.鈥欌��
Wolting suggested doing a tech-free day, and students were excited to try it.
They were so engaged. I didn鈥檛 have to worry about people opening up different tabs, or someone not having a charged Chromebook.
For the tech-free day, Wolting brought in her classic record player, covered the digital smart board with poster paper, and drew on it what she would normally put in her welcome slide. Then she prepared a printout of an article for the students to read and discuss.
Wolting put students in groups to answer multiple-choice questions about the article and write their answers on the poster paper at the front of the classroom.
She also created a musical-chairs-style writing assignment for the discussion questions. She would play music on her record player and students had to start writing an answer to the question. When the music stopped, everyone had to get up and find a new seat, read what was written by the student who previously occupied that seat, and then the music started again and the students had to add to what was already written.
鈥淭hey were so engaged,鈥� Wolting said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have to worry about people opening up different tabs, or someone not having a charged Chromebook.鈥�
On a normal day, students are usually on their Chromebooks during half of the class time, reading poems online and then taking notes on paper the way they would have to on state standardized tests or playing games to review concepts, Wolting said.
But for the tech-free day, 鈥渢here was nothing to troubleshoot and there were no technology issues, so it actually went a little bit smoother and quicker, even though it wasn鈥檛 a fancy day with bells and whistles,鈥� she added.
Guidelines for effective use of technology in school are shared with parents
On a recent day in the Wichita Public Schools in Kansas, 1st graders used Scratch, Jr., a beginning coding language, to retell the events of The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. The assignment blended literacy concepts, such as plot and character, with computational thinking.
Elsewhere in the district, students in special education鈥攚ho often struggle with independent research鈥攗sed a teacher-designed chatbot to research the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr., the transformational civil rights leader. The bot helped the teacher monitor their thinking in real time in order to steer them to deeper questions.
That type of 鈥渆xemplary鈥� use of digital tools may not be what parents or members of the public picture when they hear the phrase 鈥渆ducation technology,鈥� said Dyane Smokorowski, the district鈥檚 coordinator of digital literacy.
Districts need to show what she calls her 鈥淣orth Star鈥�: deep, project-based learning that would not be possible without digital tools鈥攏ot just 鈥渢ech for tech鈥檚 sake,鈥� Smokorowski said.
As a start, Smokorowski and Rob Dickson, the district鈥檚 chief information officer, worked with parents and teachers to develop a series of draft technology guidelines that spell out how technology is used鈥攁nd isn鈥檛鈥攊n different grade spans.
The guidelines, which the district is still finalizing, were informed by crafted by groups with expertise in child and adolescent development, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association.
The kindergarten guidelines, for instance, note that children aren鈥檛 assigned devices, and that technology is typically used for about 5-10 minutes a day鈥攁nd many days, it isn鈥檛 used at all.
Under a heading called 鈥淲hat You Might See in the Classroom,鈥� the guidelines spell out 鈥渁 short video that gets the class moving or singing together鈥� and 鈥渁 virtual field trip to a zoo, farm, or museum on the big screen.鈥�
Under another heading titled 鈥淲hat You Won鈥檛 See,鈥� it lists 鈥渟creens being used as a reward, time filler, or to calm a child down鈥� and 鈥渓ong stretches of video without discussion or activity.鈥�
The high school guidelines, by contrast, don鈥檛 include a time limit for screens. They note that use of digital devices 鈥渧aries by class and day. Some days are screen-heavy. Others are intentionally screen-free. Balance across the week matters.鈥�
The high school recommendations explain that students may be using digital tools for activities like 鈥渞esearch, group projects, and creative work on shared platforms.鈥� But devices aren鈥檛 meant to 鈥渞eplace labs, discussion, or hands-on work.鈥�
The time limits in the guidelines documents aren鈥檛 meant to be a hard and fast rules, Smokorowski said. They are flexible goals, intended to help 糖心动漫vlog and families get a sense of what good practice looks like.
鈥淭eachers don鈥檛 want more rules,鈥� Smokorowski said. 鈥淭hey just want guidance and support in how to do this well.鈥�
Schools use laptop monitoring software to make sure students are staying on task
Principals who spoke with Education Week say their districts use monitoring software on students鈥� district-issued Chromebooks as one way to manage students鈥� screen time and online activity. These software products usually include tools for teachers to see exactly what their students鈥� screens look like in real time and know if they鈥檙e getting off task, and then block or stop them from getting on other websites.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard enough to keep the focus of 12- and 13-year-olds when you鈥檙e the most entertaining person in the room, much less when they have a device sitting there at their fingertips that has music and games,鈥� said Amy Sanders, the assistant principal of Sapulpa Middle School in Sapulpa, Okla.
Principals say they鈥檙e up front with students and families about the online activity monitoring, and students learn quickly that teachers can see what they鈥檙e doing on their Chromebooks.
鈥淲e have this program [that] locks every browser down to exactly what the teacher needs them on, and you would watch kids almost panic when they realize they can鈥檛 open anything [else] up,鈥� Sanders said.
The students eventually get used to it, and sometimes teachers experiment with turning off that program to see if kids will try to open another tab, she added. They often don鈥檛.
Educators at Gladeville Middle School, in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., also have access to Chromebook monitoring software, which is an 鈥渆xcellent program,鈥� said principal Bethany Wilson.
But those products are 鈥渋nferior to just walking around the room while students are working and seeing what support they need,鈥� Wilson said. She encourages her teachers to do that as a way to ensure students are on task on their Chromebooks.
In addition to using monitoring software, principals say their teachers are also empowered to have lessons that don鈥檛 use the Chromebook.
鈥淥ur teachers are very intentional about [Chromebook use],鈥� said Amanda Jamerson, the associate principal at Shorewood High School in Shorewood, Wis. 鈥淭eachers are totally comfortable saying, 鈥楬ey, you don鈥檛 need your devices right now. Let鈥檚 put them in your backpacks,鈥� and students respond effectively. There have not been issues.鈥�
