Education leaders don’t expect rising concerns – and hostility in some cases — over screen time in classrooms to decrease this coming school year, according to an Education Week article.
In fact, some see the tech backlash intensifying. Many district leaders are trying to balance the appropriate amount of screen use and improve communications with parents about how technology is being deployed. This includes educators who haven’t yet faced parental pushback against classroom devices.
How significant will “techlash” be for school leaders in the new school year, and how should they respond?
Education Week interviews with district leaders, a school communications expert, and a parent advocate revealed several themes:
- Many school systems are overdue for a tech reset and need to seriously study how much tech they’re using.
- There are fears some schools will over-react and eliminate technology that’s useful for student learning.
- Communication with parents will be key to striking a balance.
There is no simple solution, says David Law, superintendent of the Minnetonka (MN) public schools who is also the immediate past president of AASA, the School Superintendents Association. “If we stop sending technology home, there are households that will still have technology and then there are kids that won’t,” he says.
“We have to do a reset, and we have to retrain our kids because some kids have developed some bad habits, and some staff members maybe have developed bad habits,” he says.
Tom Livezey, the superintendent of Oakridge (MI) public schools, is preparing for a big tech backlash in his district even though he has yet to see it.
“The conversation needs to be deeper than just screen time,” he says. “The two things that I intend to focus on are: Is the technology safe, and is it helping students learn?”
Here’s how educators are handling the tech reset question:
- Law’s district surveyed its teachers about how much class time students are spending on screens.
“In our teacher survey, we have some teachers who reported much more use than we would’ve ever approved,” he says.
- Products purchased years ago have added many new features a district doesn’t need and may not fit educational goals. The result: tech being used beyond the amount of time intended.
- Now teachers in Law’s district will only use technology when appropriate, make students put devices away when they complete an activity, and never start class on screens
- At the elementary level, devices won’t be sent home with students unless it’s necessary, such as for the district’s Chinese and Spanish immersion programs that have many resources and practice tools online.
- A research study team comprising students, educators, school board members, and others will examine research and best practices on classroom tech use in the Belvidere (IL) district. Parents’ concerns about tech use surfaced in an earlier survey about the district’s cellphone policies.
- Belvidere (IL) District Superintendent Cassandra Schug is using the plan her district developed to address students’ cellphone access at school to tackle broader classroom tech concerns.
- Communication with families is key. Feedback from parents and guardians might reveal attitudes that differ from the much-publicized strong national tech backlash, says Keri Rodrigues, the president of the National Parents Union.
Only 1% of parents in a recent poll said they want zero screen time in schools. Three quarters said they want daily screen time limits and three quarters of parents said their schools’ device use is already at about the right level.
“They want guardrails, not handcuffs,” says Rodrigues. “This is technology that kids will need to be prepared for the economy and the jobs of the future.”
- Listening is as important as talking, says Mellissa Braham, the associate director of the National School Public Relations Association. “It’s really important for school systems to approach communications about educational technology first from listening to parents’ concerns. Then they’re going to be better able to explain how the educational technology use is different from the screen time that is triggering those concerns,” Braham says, referring to technology designed for learning versus gaming and social media apps.
- Share details about the kinds of tech teachers are using and why in newsletters, Braham says. Place that information at the top so parents are more likely to see it.
- Testimonials from parents discussing how the technology that schools intend to keep has helped their kids can be effective messaging, says Braham.
- Explain to families the benefits of the technology educators are sticking with. “There are a lot of ways we use those Chromebooks that really foster effective, differentiated instruction,” says Schug. “Whatever we do here with those Chromebooks, we have to make sure we’re not throwing the baby out with the bath water.”
- Krestin Bahr, the superintendent of the Peninsula school district in the Seattle area is making sure the district’s youngest students have analog learning tools and supplies, such as manipulatives, pencils, and paper.
- Law’s Minnesota district plans to share a list of the technology its schools use, and it’s creating a new online system that will make it easier for parents to comment on the district’s tech use and flag concerns.
- Educator input and buy-in are also important. “The parents giving feedback are not practitioners, and I’m not a second-grade teacher,” Law says. “Developing a plan without the people who have to implement it is destined to fail.”
Education Week
