The Daily Herald, a newspaper in Utah, published an article this week featuring parents who are resisting education tech in their schools. Here’s an excerpt about one parent, Amy Mullins, who
“I have some children that self-regulate really well, and some who do not who would get sucked in for eight hours without even batting eye,” she said.
It was hard to place limits on technology in her own home, let alone monitor what her children were doing with technology in the classroom.
Google products like Chromebooks and Google Classroom are commonly used in schools, as are the use of phone apps and the digitalization of learning materials. But it’s not just the use of the technology that’s concerning to parents. They also have worries around if the use of tech in the classroom is creating an addiction or dependency to screens and what is being done to protect the data apps that schools collect on their students.When she has tried to opt her students out of using technology in the classroom, she said she has faced resistance from both the school and society from people who don’t understand why she’s
resistant, or make automatic assumptions about who she is.“I needed to, as a parent, to be able to opt out of that and not be labeled Amish or afraid of technology,” Mullins said.
What have you done to limit your child’s/children’s screen time at home and
My daughter is a junior, she is not allowed to use Google Classroom or devices in school. I have requested her assignments be in paper format. If she must use technology at school she uses a dummy account, and has done this for several years now.
We had a 1:1 IPad pilot in the MS. It was awful and got more awful every year! By the time #2 was in the 8th grade, I refused for him to use the IPad. Of course I got a call from school and was told that I couldn’t do that because everything was being done online. My compromise was that he could have it in school but I DID NOT want it in my house. My husband is a techie and data security is a major part of his work….our WiFi and internet are like Ft. Knox. The security settings on the IPad were so loose according to my husband. Child #2 is now in private HS and yes, they have to have their own computer, but they also have to go into school with parents to load the apps and secure the settings. The tech is used mainly for word processing to submit essay type assignments, for students to take notes during lecture halls and occasional Google searches. The boys are allowed to carry their phones, but they are not allowed to use them in the building or be seen in the building……confiscated, detention, parent retrieval of the phone. Much nicer this way. #1 is still in public HS and they have stopped talking about the BYOD…..I think they have found that it has created more harm than good and are slowly letting it die.