Public school districts across the Philadelphia region in the United States are tightening restrictions on technology use in classrooms, with several schools scaling back or ending programmes that provided students with individual devices, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The move comes as concerns grow over the use of screens in classrooms. Some districts have restricted students from taking devices home, while others have reduced the use of individual laptops and tablets in younger grades.
The Colonial School District has barred elementary school students from taking their laptops home at night.
The Tredyffrin/Easttown School District is not assigning iPads to kindergartners. Students across its elementary schools are also restricted from taking their tablets home at the end of the school day.
Methacton School District has moved from individual devices to a shared model for kindergartners and first graders. Chromebooks are available for centre-based activities.
The Phoenixville Area School District has ended its one-to-one device programme for students from kindergarten through third grade. In Wallingford-Swarthmore, students from kindergarten to second grade will take fewer online assessments, while students up to fifth grade are restricted from searching and browsing YouTube.
The changes have been welcomed by some parents who have opposed the use of computers in classrooms. They believe the restrictions could help teachers lead instruction more directly and reduce distractions caused by screens.
However, some parents are concerned that the changes may have a limited impact because students will continue to use devices in many classrooms. Parents who have been calling for less screen time are also urging schools to examine their reliance on technology in higher grades.
For many districts, reducing computer use in elementary schools "seemed like the low-hanging fruit," said Alex Bird Becker, a Wallingford-Swarthmore parent active in PA Unplugged, a statewide group with about 5,000 supporters that advocates for limits on educational technology.
Becker said reducing device use becomes more difficult in middle school because technology is more deeply integrated into the curriculum. Wallingford-Swarthmore, which has about 3,700 students, has invited parents to apply for its new Technology Advisory Council. The council will advise the district on further changes, including those involving device use in grades six to 12. In Lower Merion, parents have also been pushing for a technology review committee that includes parent representation.