Scores of Education Experts Call on Schools to Reject Screen-Saturated
Return to Learning
"Now is the time for parents and teachers to come together and demand what
children really need."
byAndrea Germanos, staff writer
Seven-year-old Hamza Haqqani, a 2nd grade student at Al-Huda Academy, uses a
computer to participate in an E-learning class with his teacher and
classmates while at his home on May 01, 2020 in Bartlett, Illinois.
Seven-year-old Hamza Haqqani, a 2nd grade student at Al-Huda Academy, uses a
computer to participate in an E-learning class with his teacher and
classmates while at his home on May 01, 2020 in Bartlett, Illinois. (Photo:
Scott Olson/Getty Images)
As school districts across nation make plans for the fall semester-with the
ongoing coronavirus pandemic forcing varying degrees of reliance on remote
learning-scores of education experts on Tuesday sounded the alarm over the
very real threat to students posed by increased screen time.
The warning comes in a new statement (pdf) that cites risks to student
privacy, the potential entrenchment of controversial educational technology
(EdTech), and students' need for authentic and human engagement.
"Our children and our nation deserve nothing less than safe schools and
low-tech, child-centered, educator-driven learning."
-Education experts joint statement"With no end in sight to the pandemic,
school leaders would do well to remember that remote learning does not have
to equal online learning, and to emphasize offline approaches to support
children's wellbeing and learning," said Faith Boninger, Ph.D. of the
National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado Boulder's
School of Education.
Boninger is one of 70 experts that signed onto the statement authored by the
Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood's (CCFC) Children's Screen Time
Action Network. The call is also backed by three dozen advocacy groups
including the Massachusetts Teachers Association, Badass Teachers
Association, Boston Teachers Union, and ParentsTogether.
The groups say their message applies "whether school is in-person, remote,
or some combination thereof" and suggest educators eye with suspicion claims
from the companies that sell educational technology under the guise of
personalized learning. As the joint statement explains:
Seizing an opportunity to capture a larger portion of the $10 trillion
global education market, for-profit EdTech vendors are selling families and
policymakers the false premise that EdTech products offer effective and
budget-friendly ways to learn. In reality, the products are costly to
purchase and maintain, and frequently crowd teachers and staff out of the
budget. The products also ensnare students, whose data and brand loyalty are
harvested, and who often become targets of relentless marketing efforts.
These efforts include the insidious practice of upselling, through which
students and their families are pushed to purchase premium versions, thereby
exacerbating inequalities among students. Equally important, these programs
reduce the roles played by creative, compassionate teachers in educating the
whole child.
"Learning happens best in the context of human relationships and is lost
when the balance is skewed toward online platforms," the groups argue.
The statement goes on to cite research debunking technology's claims of
boosting educational outcomes and adverse physical impacts-from eye strain
to worsened sleep-from prolonged screen time.
"We're at a critical juncture when it comes to the education of our
children, and we cannot let pandemic profiteering set the educational agenda
for our children for years to come."
-Josh Golin, Campaign for a Commercial-Free ChildhoodMore insidious impacts
are possible with increased digital device time as well, the groups say,
giving as one example the threat that "sensitive student data, once
processed into 'de-identified data,' can be used for non-educational,
profitable activities. Worse, de-identified data can be reconstituted as
personally-identifiable data."
Simply put, "reducing screen use during the pandemic has to be a priority-no
matter the adopted reopening plan," say the child advocates.
To make that happen, the statement outlines five guiding principles for
educational institutions as schools reopen during the ongoing pandemic:
Limiting screen time so that's used only for necessary and intentional
purposes. "Algorithm-driven adaptive learning platforms, gamified learning,
and similar apps that incorporate persuasive design to keep kids online
should be avoided."
Remote learning "should be driven by human interactions and designed to
maximize student engagement and agency through use of project-and
place-based pedagogies and other self directed projects."
Hands-on learning must be maximized through activities such as "reading
actual books, writing by hand, art, movement, outdoor play, real-world math
projects, and nature exploration."
Investment should be made in educators, not EDTech.
Schools must be mindful of privacy protections for students when bringing
any technology into the learning environments.
"Our children and our nation deserve nothing less than safe schools and
low-tech, child-centered, educator-driven learning," says the statement.
According to CCFC executive director Josh Golin, the choices schools make
now will have reverberations well beyond the coronavirus crisis.
"We're at a critical juncture when it comes to the education of our
children, and we cannot let pandemic profiteering set the educational agenda
for our children for years to come," Golin said in a statement.
"During remote learning last spring, millions of parents saw firsthand the
ineffectiveness and downsides of EdTech," he said. "Now is the time for
parents and teachers to come together and demand what children really need."
Our work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License. Feel free to republish and share widely.
