What Educators Really Think About the Overuse of Tech in Schools

   Students have no idea how to use technology as a tool, only as a toy. They are given no classes or instruction on proper usage and do not know how to use it for work. It also divides focus and encourages multitasking, which is not a skill that they possess. The way technology is used keeps most students firmly in the concrete thinking phase rather than encouraging them to move to the abstract phase of thinking.

   Students cut school if they can just log in and complete work from home, lack of academic dialogue, lack of critical thinking, lack of meaningful classroom discussion, increased anti-social behaviors.

   Students have become too reliant on technology. They display diminished critical-thinking skills and diminished stamina for working through struggle. They want the answers instantly and are used to them being readily available through technology.

   The students are asked to do so much testing and are expected to be on the computer to practice skills. We have seen the impact it is having. Kids need to write and be able to express themselves without all this testing. Even our 4- to 6-year olds all test on the computer. This is not allowing the brain to develop.

   There is no thinking involved. They use AI, don't bother to actually read the answer it spits out, and either cut and paste or copy in by hand the answer AI gives them. Most don't even try to think it through. It also causes a LOT of drama, interpersonal conflicts, damages mental health, etc. Many are so addicted they can't go more than 15 or 20 minutes without checking their phone and they demonstrate an inability to focus. They all also claim that they can multitask. Research has consistently shown that idea is a myth, you just do both tasks poorly.

   Students have little ability to take their time reading or looking at work. They scroll through rather than read an article. They glance at art rather than closely examine it.

   I think it is different at different age levels. But we are seeing a negative impact on student language (which leads to literacy) skills from lack of conversation. I also don't think that the amount of tech in classrooms in general was ever right-sided after COVID.

   Students’ use of technology for school-related purposes can sometimes decrease learning when it leads to distraction, shallow engagement, or overreliance on digital tools rather than active thinking. While devices provide quick access to information, students may be tempted to multitask or quickly search for answers instead of fully processing and analyzing the material. This can reduce opportunities for deeper comprehension, problem-solving, and meaningful discussion with peers and teachers.

   Standard-level students do not have the maturity and self-control to limit their use to academic purposes. They're playing games or watching sports instead of paying attention to my lesson or engaging in meaningful online content.

   Our students' attention spans are so low. They don't have a drive to do well or to explore more in learning. Students don't have much of a work ethic anymore. It's become more of an "entertain me, or I won't do it" type of attitude. I know this is not a problem that only our school has. I also know that it's not just due to their school-related work or school-issued devices. When they go home, they are on video games and/or devices much of the time. Parents are on their devices much of the time.

   The studies prove that overuse of technology and screen time have net negative effects on student achievement and lead to heightened anxiety, low-cognitive engagement, and lower attention spans.

   Decades of research demonstrates that children learn best with traditional tools. As a school-based [speech and language pathologist] for over 25 years, I witness the harms daily from the excessive use of technology on learning and on social-skills development. The tech industry has profited while students suffer. We need to remove 1:1 device [programs] for ALL students.

   Research has shown that students retain (so actually learn) more content and show mastery in more skills using pen-and-paper activities. Research also shows that all of us spend too much of our day on screens, and it has a negative impact on our mood. Finally, with the advent of AI, more and more students use it to cheat than to enhance their learning. Yes, they used to just Google an answer before, but it at least required them to organize, synthesize, and analyze the information. And, yes, students used to just copy information from textbooks, but most assessment tasks required more than a surface level of information, so even if a student copied one or more assignments in a unit, their mastery could be more accurately measured by the quality of projects, quizzes, essays, and subject-area tests.

   They want to listen to music, change backgrounds, search for their interests more than actually use it for educational purposes. I started the year using more technology than I do now because students are trying to use the computer for their own interests, have little self-regulating of the educational time. There is a lot of wasted time where there is no educational value.

   Elementary students learn better through hands-on learning. They need to be physically moving their bodies and manipulating tools, even something as simple as flashcards are a tool of manipulation. Sitting and looking at a screen and only using a keypad and keyboard is not enough stimulation. Also, many activities are game-based. There are many students who just fly through the material, guessing, or hitting random buttons just to get to the game. Even if they score low points, they will eventually earn enough points to play something, and that is what they are looking for.