“School tech has expanded rapidly, fueled partly by the Covid-19 pandemic. Federal aid during the pandemic let districts buy laptops and tablets, and a multibilliondollar ed-tech industry promised to transform teaching and help students recover lost ground.
Proponents said it can elevate instruction, narrow the digital divide, help pupils with language barriers and other needs—while often supplementing, not replacing, core curriculum. Educators have mixed views. In a recent EdWeek Research Center survey, more than half said the tech had a positive impact on engagement, yet a majority also said it negatively affected students’ well-being.
Pupils in grades one through 12 averaged 52 minutes on school-issued devices during the school day this past school year, according to the educational-software company Lightspeed Systems. That is down, which the firm attributes to some schools’ moves to limit tech.
Middle-schoolers spent about 70 minutes daily on screens in school during the past school year, more than elementary- and high-schoolers.”
