麻豆传媒入口

When Marcus Luther began teaching 13 years ago, his school didn鈥檛 have 1:1 classrooms鈥攋ust a cart with a handful of laptops that teachers could check out for lessons or activities. With such scarcity, teachers were forced to think intentionally about how they used technology, Luther said. 

Today, things have changed. 

鈥淚n almost every school, there is some sort of device that students are almost expected to use in any given lesson,鈥� said Luther, a high school English teacher in Oregon. 

This reality was apparent before the pandemic, of course. But educators told 麻豆传媒入口 that when students and teachers returned to school, many found it difficult to untether themselves from tools that had become essential during lockdown. 鈥淭he tools sort of replaced what we were doing before,鈥� said elementary school Spanish teacher Dorie Conlon Perugini. 

Data bears this out: A finds that the use of edtech tools in school districts has ballooned. In 2018, school districts used an average of 841 tools each during the school year. This year, that鈥檚 tripled to 2,739. With so many tools and devices being used in and out of classrooms, researchers say that now, more than ever, teachers, schools, and districts must 鈥渃onsider the scale, efficiency, and effectiveness of their tech.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Paul Emerich France, an author, instructional coach, and former elementary school teacher, has spent the past five years delivering this message to teachers and schools. France, who coined the term 鈥渆dtech minimalism鈥� in , said that his philosophy鈥攐ne that is increasingly being adopted鈥攊sn鈥檛 anti-technology. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not that we think tech鈥檚 bad, it鈥檚 that we want to be intentional with how we use it, and consider the impact it is having on kids.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Principles of Edtech Minimalism 

France wrote his story about edtech minimalism in 2020 based on his earlier work in a tech-focused network of micro schools that practiced, 鈥渆ffectively, edtech maximalism,鈥� he said. The schools used platforms to serve students a 鈥減laylist鈥� of custom digital activities and had cameras monitoring students, who sat staring at screens instead of each other. 

鈥淚 was drowning in data and drowning in tech,鈥� France said. The school network shuttered, and France credits the failure for exposing flaws in the 鈥渕ore is better鈥� approach to tech in schools. 

He developed a series of questions that he calls a 鈥渇ilter鈥� educators can use to determine if the tools they use are actually effective. 

• Does the tech minimize complexity? Tech should make teachers鈥� lives less complicated, not more, France said. But with teachers using various apps and learning the ins and outs of each one, often the exact opposite happens. 鈥淭eachers often complain about the number of apps they have to use and learn,鈥� France said, and about the massive amounts of data apps provide them鈥攄ata which can often overwhelm them, rather than inform their instruction.
• Does the tech maximize the individual power鈥攁nd potential鈥攐f students? Generating valuable data to improve student performance is a marketing point for many tech tools, France said. But it鈥檚 important to be mindful of whether that鈥檚 true. France recalled inputting 7,000 student performance data points into online tools in the first half of one year (he counted), but all that time didn鈥檛 improve his practice, or his students鈥� performance. 鈥淭he process of looking closely at student work, and understanding them, and responding to them based on what I saw in their work helped me become a better teacher.鈥�
• Does the tech allow you to do something previously unimaginable? The best use cases for tools are when they elevate student learning and connection in ways that can鈥檛 be achieved otherwise, France said. For example, Perugini uses Google Earth on school-issued iPads to transport her elementary school students to places like Puerto Rico and deepen their understanding of the language and culture of the Spanish-speaking nations they鈥檙e studying. 鈥淚 like to use the iPad to bring them to places that we can鈥檛 physically visit,鈥� she said. 
• Does the tech preserve鈥攐r enhance鈥攈uman connection in the classroom? Redefining learning experiences cannot come at the expense of human connection and collaboration between students, France said. 鈥淭he research is really clear on the benefits of that collaboration, so if we鈥檙e just answering questions on platforms and going through gamified activities, we鈥檙e actually removing that connection from the classroom.鈥� He points to a tool like Seesaw, which he said can help usefully expand connection and expression by helping students share their thoughts through drawings or audio, in addition to writing. 鈥淭hat is something that wouldn鈥檛 have been possible鈥� before.

Tech Must Deepen Human Connection 

Educators reevaluating their relationship to technology say they鈥檙e most concerned about France鈥檚 last question, and what they see as the biggest downside of relying on too much tech: limiting the human connection that students need and that schools are desperately trying to foster. 

鈥淲e鈥檝e all taken a hit on collaboration, student interaction, student well-being, and mental health,鈥� said Luther. And yet, in many classrooms, students spend a big portion of class time staring at a screen and working independently. Although Luther said this often results in quiet, seemingly engaged classrooms, there is something lost in the equation, too. 

鈥淲e must ask ourselves: Is what I鈥檓 doing making students feel more connected to their learning and more invested in our classroom community?鈥� Luther said. 鈥淥r is it creating additional barriers or granting them permission to opt out and not be a part of that community?鈥� 

This doesn鈥檛 mean tech should be abandoned, of course. Often, he said, there is a 鈥渂oth/and鈥� option available to teachers. 

For example, Luther frequently makes collaborative slide decks, which guide students to read hard copy texts, annotate them by hand, and then work with peers to share findings and create a slide synthesizing their takeaways. The groups鈥� slides are combined into a deck for a whole class discussion. 鈥淭hat to me is an example of how technology can level up and enhance collaboration that was already happening,鈥� Luther said.

Quick checks for understanding鈥攐ften streamlined with digital tools like an online survey or poll鈥攃an be tweaked, too, Luther said: 鈥淛ust because an activity happens digitally doesn鈥檛 mean that you can鈥檛 immediately have students debrief with each other and have a conversation.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

When to Get Back to Basics

While there are ways to integrate discussion and collaboration into technology use, there are times when tools like pencil and paper are simply more effective. 

In her elementary school classrooms, and particularly with her youngest students, Perugini often forgoes iPads because there are important skills鈥攍ike gripping a pencil, cutting with scissors, or even learning how to ask their neighbor to borrow a crayon鈥攖hat kids can only gain the old school way.

Often, this results in a noisier classroom, she said. But loud doesn鈥檛 always equate to unfocused. 鈥淭he classroom without iPads is a bit more chaotic, or at least may look more chaotic. But that鈥檚 what students need鈥攅specially at these lower levels.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Brett Vogelsinger, a high school English teacher in Pennsylvania, said that during his 20 years of teaching he鈥檚 been consistent about ensuring that large chunks of class time include students 鈥渨orking purely with their hands, writing on paper, annotating photocopied text, highlighting鈥攁ll of those, I guess you could say, vintage activities.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Vogelsinger said he thinks intentionally about whether the tech he鈥檚 using will streamline things in a way that aids student learning, or in a way that only benefits him. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easier to hand something out virtually than it is to stand by the photocopier,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I know what the research says about the effectiveness of writing and annotating by hand versus a screen.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Asking students to do a significant amount of writing in notebooks also gives him a chance to form connections with them while walking around the room, Vogelsinger said. He often stops to look them in the eyes and offer a suggestion or clarifying question. 鈥淭hose little moments of personal interaction are precious in today鈥檚 world.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Districts Are Asking Questions鈥攁nd Pulling Back

Teachers aren鈥檛 the only ones reevaluating their relationship to tech鈥攅ntire school districts are, too. 

Kate Lund, an assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction at Glastonbury Public Schools in Connecticut, said that during the pandemic, school systems were expected to 鈥渓everage any and all technology鈥� to help keep kids learning. But 鈥渘ow we鈥檙e at a point where maybe we leaned too far into the tech space,鈥� she admits. 

Lund鈥檚 district came to this realization after noticing some of the mental health and social-emotional issues students struggled with upon returning to the classroom鈥攁nd noticing that screens didn鈥檛 seem to aid in stemming them. 

A committee of educators and district staff discussed what purposeful technology use could look like and discovered there weren鈥檛 鈥渃learly articulated guidelines鈥� around tech use. 鈥淚f you were to ask any teacher in our district: 鈥榃hy are you using the iPad? And when is it necessary?鈥� Those responses ranged depending on the instructor.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

A survey sent out last year to elementary school teachers inquired about students鈥� relationships to district-issued iPads, and the results were striking: 85 percent of teachers said that not sending iPads home would have a positive impact or no impact at all on teaching and learning. 

The district no longer allows students to take iPads home unless directed by a teacher; it also published specifying that the youngest learners should use them 鈥渟paringly鈥� and upper elementary students should only use apps that help 鈥渆xpand and enhance鈥� lessons while still allowing them to 鈥渆ngage in traditional learning.鈥�

Lund said that this year the district will reevaluate the use of technology in middle and high school classrooms, and streamline the number of apps and platforms all teachers are expected to use. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to keep asking questions, we鈥檙e going to keep making adjustments, and keep measuring the effects,鈥� Lund said. 鈥淲e want to make sure that whatever changes we make are responsive to the needs of our students and ultimately support teaching and learning.鈥�