An increasing number of teachers, leaders and schools are revisiting policies surrounding cell phones and technology in classrooms.

  • “I’m banning student use of electronic devices in my classes this semester. Why? Student use of electronic devices in class reduces exam performance – even for those who aren’t using these devices.” —Professor in New Jersey
    • “People rightfully call this policy ableist, but fail to address the concerns that give root to policies like this one. How should educators navigate the use of technology in the classroom, knowing the tech is a distraction?” —High School ELA Teacher in Texas
  • “At some point people are going to look back at this current era of education and wonder why there was so much emphasis on getting one type of screen out of the hands of students only to have so much time in the classroom be spent…staring at another screen. When I think about the best moments + lessons in our classroom every year, almost all of them have zero use of screens whatsoever. What do they all have, though? Students talking with each other.” —High School ELA Teacher
    • “I was subbing in a class which was debating the ban of cell phones.  This was one of the student arguments against… ‘Chromebooks are just as bad and I can do everything on a laptop that I can do on a phone’…” —Educator in Oregon
  • “It’s simple…phones don’t belong in classrooms or hallways. Kids aren’t responsible enough to resist the temptation—phones distract, disrupt, and undermine learning.” —Educator in Michigan
  • “My NY resolution is to use less technology and more worksheets. Yep, you read that right.” —Teacher
    • “My students really hated using their Chromebooks. They preferred doing math on worksheets. They told me they use Chromebooks in every class and asked if they can do math on paper.” —Math Teacher in Tennessee
    • “I’m encouraging teachers to use more paper and less tech. When we ordered more paper from the warehouse, we were told we were going through too much paper. I said that is exactly what I am wanting, send us the paper.” —High School Principal in New Mexico
  • In reference to an article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Screens Have Taken Over Classrooms. Even Students Have Had Enough.”
    • “There is definitely a place for EdTech (especially accessibility features for Multilingual Learners and students with special education needs), but it should never be depended upon to replace good instruction from a teacher and access to real books and pencils in hands.” —ESL Educator in Canada
    • “More and more of us are no longer wondering. We know. It has no benefits. We’ve had enough.” —Elementary Teacher 
    • “The schools making the biggest gains are minimizing time on tech and maximizing time with direct instruction from the teacher. … I can agree that the intentional use of tech can be beneficial, but it can’t replace the powerful force of a teacher providing direct instruction and corrective feedback.” —Educator and Leader in Georgia