Personal computers & AI

As cell phone bans show early success, a growing number of educators are pushing for more – namely the scaling back of Chromebooks and 1:1 devices in classrooms. 

  • “If they banned phones in my state and schools actually followed it AND we reverted back to the ability to teach without devices (for example no mandatory reading program on a Chromebook etc.), I would consider going back into the field. But not until then.” —Former Educator in Massachusetts
  • “… Now we need to push to get rid of Chromebooks. They have no place in elementary and middle school!” —Substitute Teacher in Alabama
  • “I use their Chromebooks only for district mandated testing. Otherwise it’s, ‘put those evil things away.’ All my work and tests are done using actual textbooks and on paper. I do use my smartboard for notes but I don’t need to. I’m just as happy writing notes on my whiteboard.” —High School Biology Teacher in Massachusetts
  • “Scavenger Hunt. Find a peer-reviewed study not funded by an EdTech entrepreneur that convincingly correlates screens of any kind with positive student outcomes of any kind.” —Educator in the United States
    • “There is a MASSIVE difference between Chromebooks as a reference and communication tool in education while teaching normal hands-on science with actual labs and… Ed-tech ‘virtual learning’ where the activities themselves are virtual and the curriculum is all online.” —High School Science Teacher in the United States
  • “AI programs are on some straight up [expletive], and they don’t have a strong enough research base to justify 15 to 30 minutes a day on computers at the expense of teacher instruction. Small group instruction isn’t worthless.” —Retired Teacher in South Carolina
  • “I hate the Chromebook quizzes and assignments, I have been transferring everything back to paper. I hate grading them, I hate the way the kids act on their Chromebooks, I hate the games and built in distractions.” —Middle School Teacher in the United States
  • “We used to say: ‘If students can Google the answer, we’re asking the wrong question.’ Now it’s: ‘If students can AI the response, we aren’t designing the right task.’ AI will save educators loads of time managing paperwork, streamlining communication, even designing quality lesson plans. But using AI responsibly as a teaching tool will, paradoxically, require MORE time, as students demonstrate depth of knowledge, synthesis of content, and transfer of skills in tasks that computers cannot replicate. There’s no quick fix to authentic, meaningful learning.” —Leader in the United States
    • “This post assumes that all students think at the highest level at all times. In fact, students need to be asked a variety of depth of knowledge questions. They need the easy and the hard. They need the recall questions and the basic understanding questions to give them time to process before they move on to applying what they have learned to fresh situations or creating something new.” —High School English Teacher in New York