As the more than 30 members of the Shawnee Mission School District’s Digital Learning Task Force continue to review how the 1:1 initiative’s iPads and Macbooks are used, the board of education last week heard from one constituent who says it’s time to stop relying so heavily on the devices in the classroom.
Brandon Richard, a 12-year-old 6th grade student at Brookridge Elementary, addressed the board during public comment on April 22, and said that he’s been concerned about the amount of screen time students are spending each day.
“Both my sister, who is in 2nd grade, and I have experienced an excessive amount of teaching using iPads,” Richard said. “I do not think we should have four to five hours — and sometimes more — on the iPads.”
Richard went on to point out that many Silicon Valley tech executives choose to send their children to schools where such devices are kept out of the classroom in elementary schools.
You can see his full remarks below:
The Digital Learning Task Force was formed early this year after a group of district parents organized to express concerns with how the 1:1 initiative was being implemented in classrooms and beyond five years after the district began the program to provide every student with his or her own device.
Since the district announced the members of the task force, which includes parents and teachers from each of the five high school feeder areas as well as district-wide representatives, the group has met three times to review current practice and consider recommendations for policies to govern the use of the devices.
Christy Ziegler, the district’s assistant superintendent for personalized learning, said the group has two more meetings scheduled for May and that the group is “hopeful to have initial recommendations to share with Dr. Fulton by early June.”
