Screen Time

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Robyn Lady, a member of the Fairfax County School Board in Virginia, left, and Rachel Edoho-Eket, a principal in Howard County, Md., participate in a panel discussion titled "Building Trust With Families in a Skeptical Age" at the ISTELive 26 + ASCD Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla., on June 30, 2026. The growing backlash against the overuse of technology in schools is forcing school and district leaders to have some difficult conversations with parents.
Marvin Joseph/Education Week
Classroom Technology How District and School Leaders Respond to the 'Techlash' Will Be Critical
Educators recommend showing parents how technology is used for learning.
Alyson Klein, August 4, 2026
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4 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Classroom Technology Opinion We’re Finally Starting to Ask the Right Questions About Ed Tech
Concerns about screen-saturated schools underscore a sense that “innovation” exacts a human cost.
Rick Hess, August 4, 2026
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5 min read
Image of a teacher and student balancing digital and traditional schoolwork approaches.
Robert Neubecker for Education Week.
Classroom Technology Schools Brace for Growing Backlash to Classroom Screen Time
Many school leaders think a tech reset is overdue, but don't want to dump what's helping kids learn.
Arianna Prothero, August 3, 2026
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7 min read
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Students at Loving Elementary School in Loving, N.M., participate in a science, technology, engineering and math lab on May 19, 2025. A rising number of school districts around the country are making decisions to cut back on the amount of time students spend using technology in the classroom.
Susan Montoya Bryan/AP Photo
Classroom Technology From Our Research Center How Much Time Are Students Spending on Tech in Classrooms?
Schools are wrestling with the backlash against students' classroom screen time.
Lauraine Langreo, July 24, 2026
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1 min read
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A student uses a cellphone after unlocking the pouch that secures it from use during the school day at Bayside Academy in San Mateo, Calif., on Aug. 16, 2024. Experts say schools can give parents valuable advice about how to make sure their children are not spending too much time viewing screens.
Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle via AP
Families & the Community How Schools Can Help Parents Manage Kids' Screen Time
From bullying to losing sleep, what kids do at home on screens affects their learning.
Arianna Prothero, July 21, 2026
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8 min read
Students in Coach Harris' history class refrain from using tech, focusing instead on group activities using white boards and worksheets on April 7, 2026 at Sapulpa Middle School in Sapulpa, Okla
A middle school history class refrains from using tech, focusing instead on group activities using white boards and worksheets on April 7, 2026 in Sapulpa, Okla. Some teachers are paring down tech, while others feel they have limited options to do so, according to their responses to an EdWeek story.
September Dawn Bottoms for Education Week
Classroom Technology How Teachers Are Tackling the 'Techlash'
Some educators say they would like to pull back on digital tools, but lack alternative resources.
Jennifer Vilcarino, July 16, 2026
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1 min read
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Davontez Johnson, right, ties preschooler Kodi's shoes, on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, at Dorothy I. Height Elementary School in Baltimore. Early educators’ growing concern centers on too much access to technology from a young age.
Stephanie Scarbrough/AP Photo
Early Childhood Flipping the Script on Tech Equity in Early Education
This urban majority-minority district plans to limit young students' access to technology.
Elizabeth Heubeck, July 10, 2026
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5 min read
Photo illustration of an elementary-aged Caucasian boy with outstretched legs and a laptop on his lap. He is sitting on a very large cellphone propped up by four orange construction cones. The background is a montage of overlapping rectangle shapes with some ghosted images of young elementary students using a variety of tech (headphones and cellphones).
Photo illustration by Gina Tomko/Education Week + Canva
Ed-Tech Policy Opinion Is the Backlash Against Tech in Schools Going Too Far?
As schools rethink their relationship with tech, there are questions they should be asking.
Lina Eroh, July 6, 2026
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5 min read
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Attendees gather for the ISTELive 26 + ASCD Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla., on June 29, 2026. Teachers and administrators at the show said there needs to be a balance between tech- and non-tech-based strategies in schools.
Marvin Joseph/Education Week
Classroom Technology Tech-Savvy Educators Weigh In on 'Techlash'
Teachers and administrators attending the ISTELive 26 + ASCD Annual Conference were asked for their takes on major tech themes.
Alyson Klein, Lauraine Langreo & Arianna Prothero, June 30, 2026
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1 min read
Four students sit at a table working on laptops in a bright classroom or library setting.
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Attendees move between sessions at the ISTELive 26 + ASCD Annual Conference at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., on June 29, 2026. The backlash emerging from many school communities about tech's role in classrooms has been a major undercurrent at the show, the nation's largest ed-tech conference.
Marvin Joseph/Education Week
Classroom Technology There's a New Pledge for Schools to Show They're Deliberate About Tech Use
ISTE and GreatSchools.org are urging schools to prove they're using tech in a "safe and purposeful" way.
Alyson Klein, June 29, 2026
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2 min read
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A middle school history class in Sapulpa, Okla., uses whiteboards and worksheets during a tech-free day on April 7, 2026. EdWeek Research Center survey data show that relatively few schools are pairing back their investment in tech, despite pressure from some parents.
September Dawn Bottoms for Education Week
Classroom Technology Are Schools Actually Scaling Back Tech in Response to a Rising Backlash?
An EdWeek Research Center survey asked educators about efforts to pull back on digital tools.
Sean Cavanagh & Jessica Cuellar, June 29, 2026
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2 min read
LuAnn Oliver's son, who is in 6th grade, demonstrates how he uses an iPad for his classes during a May 9, 2026 gathering at Oliver's house in Arlington, Va. A group of parents were there to discuss ways to encourage schools to limit screen time. Concerns about the overuse of technology in schools are rising across the country.
LuAnn Oliver's son, who is in 6th grade, demonstrates how he uses an iPad for his classes during a May 9, 2026, gathering at Oliver's house in Arlington, Va. A group of parents were there to discuss ways to encourage schools to limit screen time. Concerns about the overuse of technology in schools are rising across the country.
Kevin Wolf/AP
Classroom Technology Q&A How Schools Can Limit Screen Time, But Still Use Tech Effectively
A district leader discusses how adolescent brain development and screen use affect learning.
Lauraine Langreo, June 23, 2026
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5 min read
A student uses a cell phone after unlocking the pouch that secures it from use during the school day at Bayside Academy, Aug. 16, 2024, in San Mateo, Calif.
A student uses a cell phone after unlocking the pouch that secures it from use during the school day at Bayside Academy in San Mateo, Calif., on Aug. 16, 2024.
Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle via AP
Student Well-Being & Movement 'Anxious Generation' Author Jonathan Haidt and Others Tackle Tech Overuse
An EdWeek forum explored creative solutions to encourage students to move away from screens and devices.
Jennifer Vilcarino, June 18, 2026
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4 min read