When Adam Quirk’s daughter and son were in preschool and kindergarten at Unionville Elementary School, they were issued iPads to use in the classroom. But he is not sure the iPads helped them learn anything.
“It was a lot of sorts of activities and games and stuff,” he said. “It just seemed like it was more of a tool of distraction, for lack of a better term, than focus. So, I didn't understand it.”
Given how much time Quirk’s kids were spending in front of screens in the classroom made him decide to transfer his kids to Seven Oaks Classical School, a charter school in Ellettsville.
“We quickly realized that they were spending more time looking at screens than they were at books or teachers or other kids,” he said, “so that was sort of the catalyst for us looking elsewhere.”
The classical education Seven Oaks provides appealed to Quirk. In the five years his kids have attended Seven Oaks, they have not used iPads at all in the classroom. As a result, he thinks their focus has improved.
“School is just a place where I don't think you need screens,” he said. “You can learn from a teacher. Education is relational, that's how we've all learned from other people, from watching good teachers and letting people explain things to you.”
More parents like Quirk are transferring their kids to other schools like Seven Oaks to get away from frequent technology use.
More than a dozen parents on social media have called on MCCSC to reconsider the use of devices in the classroom and want more structure and clarity on how they can best be used while also managing the negative effects screens can have on children.
Studies show early screen exposure has been associated with lower cognitive abilities and academic performance, as well as diminished social skills. If using a device before bed, the blue light from screens makes it harder for kids and adults to fall asleep and stay asleep. Poor sleep in children can lead to low energy, worsening symptoms of ADHD and increased migraines.
But in a technology-driven world, experts say if done in an effective way, introducing technology early on can be beneficial for children.
Anne Leftwich, professor in instructional systems technology within IU’s School of Education, the Barbara B. Jacobs Chair in Education and Technology and the Associate Vice President for Learning Technologies at IU, said iPads have indeed helped provide more direct and immediate feedback to students when a teacher may be busy. iPads can also give kids the opportunity to follow along with a text while it is being read aloud to them, which can help improve their reading capabilities.
MCCSC has policies in place that clarify when using school-issued devices is appropriate. The corporation is actively working on addressing parent concerns and striking a balance between limiting screen time and maximizing productive use of technology.
Parent concerns
John Riddle’s daughter, who will be going into third grade at Fairview Elementary School in the fall, first used an iPad in the classroom in first grade. He said she has used the iPad mainly for educational-related games that require her to complete a task to continue playing. He was told these games should help students prepare for standardized tests but is not sure they’re helping his daughter.
“I don't believe our standardized testing is given that way, so what I do worry about is without considering what impact these devices are having on the attention span,” he said, “we all know now about the dopamine response, and without truly understanding the impact of that, there could be more negative effects in the long run when it comes to developing habits for studying and for exam performance that we're not fully considering.”
He only finds the iPads useful if there’s inclement weather and they are doing an e-learning day from home.
“Other than its function as like a group Zoom chat, it does help with engagement with the classroom on days like that,” he said, “but I've not seen any application or other function of the iPad that is particularly advantageous in terms of being used as a learning tool. It really feels more of like a distraction.”
While Riddle limits his daughter’s screen time at home, he’s seen more frustration from her when it’s time to turn the screen off because of how much exposure to screens she has on a daily basis at school. He thinks parents should have more say in how much screen time their kids get on school-issued devices.
“Well, mainly it seems almost to be introduced in a way where there's no say, we have no say as parents, like, no, she doesn't need an iPad,” he said. “I feel left out of the decision to use it, and that's concerning.”
Myeshia Price has three kids aged 7, 8 and 14 attending MCCSC schools. She thinks having iPads in school is a good opportunity to teach kids how to responsibly use technology. She also thinks kids can experience new things and places on their devices, such as through Google Maps.
“I've seen my child at 6 use Google Maps and literally go zoom in on the pyramids in Egypt,” she said “...You can drive in cities and explore them, and he was driving around Chicago and Paris, and they can see what these cities look like.”
But she also shares similar concerns to Riddle. She has her own rules in place on how to use technology at home; she sets timers on how long her kids can play a game on personal devices before it automatically shuts down. The home devices also turn off about an hour before bedtime. But school-issued devices do not have these restrictions in place.
“They'll [iPads] get sent home, and then I have to monitor this device, but because I don't have control over that device, it's going to do whatever it wants to do,” she said. She also says it gets tricky because teachers encourage using the iPad at home and she must say, "Well, you can't, that's not what we do at home.”
Price is also able to monitor and see exactly what her kids are doing on their home devices but can’t on school-issued ones. As a result, kids can get away with doing unrelated school activities, such as playing games or talking with friends on Google Docs, loopholes in the usage that were discovered years ago that Price thinks need addressing.
“If there's bullying, if there's conversations that are happening that are inappropriate, I get an alert,” she said. “That's not happening with the school device, so I don't want him using that. I would much rather him use the device that's here.”
Price wants to see schools emphasize digital literacy and teach kids how to safely navigate the internet and communicate respectfully with one another on these iPads that are now easily at their disposal.
While she understands the challenges schools face with monitoring the devices, especially from home, she would like to see improvements in managing use when not at school. She said one option is to have the school iPads shut down at a certain time every night.
“I don't understand a reason why the middle schooler would need to be doing homework at 11,” she said. “If they complain, ‘I was trying to do my homework and my iPad shut down,’ then there's a conversation of what do we think about sleep, the importance of sleep, the importance of getting our work done before a certain time, etc.”
MCCSC policy on technology use
In MCCSC schools, kids in grades K-8 are given an iPad, while those in grades 9-12 are issued a laptop. Students are allowed to take home their devices for use. All devices have a content filter regardless of whether it is connected to MCCSC Wi-Fi.
MCCSC’s Student Learning Device & Agreement, which was last updated in 2023, states that devices are to be used for school-related activities only; students are not allowed to download any unapproved software without permission.
Teachers are to establish standards for using the device in their respective classrooms. Students cannot listen to music or play interactive online games unless a teacher approves and supervises it. The policy also states that when at home, students should use the device only under adult supervision in a common family area, such as a kitchen or living room.
Consequences of not abiding by the policy include but are not limited to limited access to the device, suspension or expulsion from school or civil or criminal liability under applicable laws.
MCCSC did not provide an interview but a statement from Director of Elementary Education Lily Albright said MCCSC encourages teachers to prioritize using technology for creating content, doing research, coding, collaborating with peers and doing multimedia projects. MCCSC said it deems technology “necessary” for state and local online assessments and e-learning days, as well as for learning some aspects of the writing process and accessing materials when absent.
In response to parent concerns, MCCSC is taking steps to reduce unnecessary screen time and make sure technology is used only when it supports learning. Starting next year, MCCSC will not be using as many supplemental digital programs, and won’t utilize Study Island and Reading Eggs.
“Teachers are expected to eliminate recreational use of devices during the school day, provide non-digital options when appropriate, actively monitor student device usage, and ensure that devices are put away when technology is not part of the lesson,” Albright said in the statement.
Potential solutions
IU School of Education’s Leftwich said it is important to find a balance between using technology as a tool and promoting face-to-face interaction.
Ways to limit screen time in the classroom, she said, include having kids turn the iPads face down when a teacher is talking, or even putting them away in the cart to plug in. Another option is walking around the room while students do work to monitor what is on their screens.
When it comes to addressing parental concerns like Price's with not being able to monitor school devices at home, Leftwich suggested more personalized solutions.
“If it is too much for parents to be able to monitor that [iPad] at home, then you can ask for alternative assignments,” she said. “So, it's the same thing with iPad usage. You could just say, ‘for any homework that's being sent home, I would like it to be printed up.’”
Edgewood Junior High School teacher John Sigman used to do all assignments and tasks online. But with more recent studies showing the impact of heavy technology use on students, he is starting to transition to more paper-and-pencil learning for certain assignments.
“Research projects, like National History Day and Project Based Learning will still be largely online, but notes, examining primary sources and secondary sources through document-based questions, station activities, bell ringers, and exit tickets will be on paper next year,” he said. “Chromebooks still hold an important place in education in preparing students for the college technology skills they will need to be successful. I am hoping to find the ideal mix of both old school and 21st century learning.”
The Indiana school district in Connersville has gone so far as to remove the one-to-one technology use for those in kindergarten through sixth grade. Jeremy Duncan, superintendent of the Fayette County School Corporation, said since the pandemic, every student in the school corporation has been assigned their own device to use. But concerns on the impact screen time has on brain development and potential learning loss made him want to make a change.
“They won't have one-to-one devices that are assigned to the students,” he said. “They'll remain in the classroom on a cart, where kids can access those, obviously with teacher permission throughout the day to do educationally relevant activities, but they won't have their own devices.”
Duncan will soon release guidance to teachers on how much screen time is appropriate and healthy depending on the grade level. He hopes that taking this step will help kids become better communicators and know how to balance screen time usage.
"We obviously can't control what happens at home, and so that is something we're taking control of," he said. "In our upper elementaries, we're not sending those devices home anymore. You know, you won't see kids on devices at recess. We want our kids to be playing and interacting with each other...(W)e believe that's a really important piece to child development."
Duncan recommends school districts pay attention to the research coming out about the impacts of technology on kids and adjust accordingly.
“This isn't about rejecting technology,” he said. “This is about finding balance, making sure that we use it well. But within those classrooms, it'll remain a part of the educational experience for our kids, because I think we have a responsibility to prepare them for that technological world. But again, it's about finding balance for those children and making sure that we are responsible with our use and don't perpetuate negative things.”
