Does anyone else absolutely despise the iPad driven learning and all the “ed tech” software? My daughter is in second grade at Washington, and I can’t see a single value add for the applications she uses. Maybe there would be in high school, but elementary? Bring back books and paper/pencil!
Does anyone else absolutely despise the iPad driven learning and all the “ed tech” software? My daughter is in second grade at Washington, and I can’t see a single value add for the applications she uses. Maybe there would be in high school, but elementary? Bring back books and paper/pencil!
I'm going to give them some promotion later this month when I publish my angry screed about YouTube. I think this is a good topic to bring up with Board members and I definitely will.
Are you sure they are organizing with relation to getting D65 policy changed?
I welcome that group, but the article seems to be more focused on pledges that families take individually with regard to smartphones rather than getting the school district to use age-appropriate tech.
I welcome anyone who wants to be sensible about tech in our lives, but I didn't get that vibe from the article that that was their focus.
Sensibility in EdTech is a major priority of mine, and our district leadership must provide clearer research-backed positions on how and when tech is used in the classroom in an age-appropriate manner. Tech solutions should provide a clear advantage over their "analog" counterparts, otherwise we should lean on the latter.
We're part of the Wait Until 8th movement, and I'm happy to see that gaining steam locally. ETHS adopted a strong stance around phones in the building, yet I don't recall hearing it brought up meaningfully by D65. As Miriam noted below (thank you for spearheading!), these efforts are interrelated in that they center around fostering a healthy relationship with tech for our kids.
Understandably, our EdTech adoption in D65 was accelerated by the unprecedented circumstances of Covid that forced full-time e-learning. That doesn't give us a pass on reevaluating our EdTech philosophies to ensure they align with our overarching values and goals that span BOTH academic and socioemotional sides of learning. When extra "iPad time" is given as a reward during free time, it robs kids of valuable opportunities to socialize and sharpen creativity skills.
Oh, and in the context of class sizes, I'd imagine there's a correlation between that and EdTech usage.
In thinking about D65’s embrace of technology such as iPads, I think it’s relevant to recall that it was never evidence based but was based on the achievement gap. The thinking was that because white kids had iPads and black kids did not (at least this was the perception), that giving everyone iPads would solve the problem.
I am one of the D65 parents featured in the article. Yes, one of the things we want to accomplish, in addition to encouraging families to delay giving their child a smartphone, is also to put pressure on D65 to have more community conversation about technology in the schools. If anyone would like to get involved, we'd love for you to join!
YES! The ipads and chromebooks for younger grades are horrible and I don't particularly love it for the older kids either. Word on the street is a lot of them are just watching youTube and other things all day. There are ways for them to have this technology available for media arts/typing papers etc that doesn't involve unlimited access. Also I will point out I have yet to see an adaptive test that they are using on these devices that I think is more valuable then pencil/paper. MAP test in particular is a disaster - thank goodness it is going away. I would be happy to be involved. I have a MS student and will have a kindergartner next year.
100%! There has to be a way to shift the default of these devices to be opt-in vs. opt-out in terms of controls over what can be accessed. Otherwise, it's difficult for parents and caregivers to establish foolproof settings their kids can't find a loophole around, and it's unreasonable to expect the staff at school to enforce these variable boundaries for all the students.
We had the school principal send a note asking us to remind our 8 year olds not to use their iPads on the playground before school as they were getting damaged.
I sent a response saying maybe you shouldn’t be giving iPads to 8 year olds and asking them not to send them home.
Her response was that we needed it at home in case we had to ‘pivot to e-learning.’ This was in April of last year— fine weather and the pandemic restrictions behind us!
Let’s also not forget the district is charging families for ‘technology insurance’ as part of the fees.
The wait until 8th group is just for parents delaying getting their kids smartphones. I'm a candidate and 1:1 tech in elementary school is only good for days like today, when there is 3 hours of e-learning and it's called a full day.
I just saw in an email that Chute will be piloting a new, more restrictive YouTube access system. Apparently during school hours kids will only be able to access YouTube videos that their teachers have shared to Google classroom.
A drop in the bucket (and ridiculously late in coming) but at least it's a step in the right direction
I too am absolutely appalled by the “tech” the kids use now. The iPads put a barrier between students and parents that is actually kind of dangerous at worst, misguided at best. It is impossible to monitor the work that is being done so I can guaje understanding of the material. I should’t have to have a IT background to help my kid with schoolwork!They don’t even know how to sign their names anymore! Are we reverting back to signing an “X” as a legal signature? I
I am very alarmed about what is going on. D65 wants to encourage families to delay use of smartphones but at same time make all schooling, even in the classroom, take place on electronics! Instead of discussions of the material in class, many classrooms are having kids watch videos on their iPads of child actors have fake discussions! While they all sit at desks next to each other! This is why they don’t have any social skills!!!
I must be from another planet because I didn’t even love school all that much but 1980-1993 were years when I KNOW Evanston offered an incredible educational experience to students.These iPads are hindering our kids…my 6th grade son says the options for research are very limited because everything is restricted. They don’t want them seeing “inappropriate” material. I will decide what is inappropriate for my kid thank you. I would rather he do an amazing, well researched report or project than have him limited by his education system!!! Kids by kindergarten already know how to get information off phones and internet better than any of us adults.
As for smartphones, how are kids supposed to get in touch with their friends now that nobody has home phones?they literally need phones so they can learn some autonomy. 14 is too old to start making your own plans with friends and keeping track of yourself. We already have data showing this but nobody seems to know that the “parenting” part of parenting will teach your child how to be responsible and respectful.
I have a couple of points to make here. The over-reliance of electronics in education is one reason we abandoned the sinking d65 ship for a local parochial school. 5th grade was the first time students had meaningful use of classroom chromebooks. They were assigned individually, but still racked until it was time to use them for whatever reason. Generally “research”. I like it this way because of exactly what you said- I need to see the homework. I need to see the work they do on scratch paper to make sure they aren’t using calculators. I need to see how handwriting is progressing. I need to see the syntax and grammar errors so I know where help needs to be concentrated. Plus, I have done the research and the research tells us devices in the classroom are overall a bad deal for kids. I don’t think the US educates its population well at all compared to other westernized nations, and this is just another lazy low budget way to prove it. I’m not saying Ed tech isn’t expensive, but it’s cheaper than smaller class sizes and individualized lesson plans. When you rely on curriculum loaded on an iPad, you can justify hiring young and inexperienced teachers for less money. What is stopping us from going full AZ and hiring anyone at all to be a teacher? If they are going to be a babysitter who directs students to a webpage, why need an el Ed degree at all? Maybe that is too dystopian a view, but I’m finding it hard to have a positive outlook here.
Kids do not need phones to communicate to friends, btw. Parents have a phone. You can use a million online methods of communication. You can get your kid an Apple Watch and a decent pair of headphones. Apple Watches are way better than Gizmo, albeit a bit more expensive. But there is no distraction with these, it’s easy to put them in school mode until 3 pm, and let’s face it. You KNOW it ain’t good to give your 8 year old a smart phone, right? Cmon.
Lastly, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t point out that Mary Lofghren is nuts. She’s like Professor Umbridge, her devotion to the corrupt Ministry and the Dark Lord (a reference to Voldemort, not Horton- to be clear) unabating, even when presented with proof she is wrong. That’s just an analogy from a parent of a young child getting into HP. But for real- her comments trying to defend her pals seem less about presenting evidence that the current BoE have actually done ANyTHING good at all and more about her refusal to admit that she was wrong and apologize for being a world class - er, bully, I guess is the polite term- online in that heinous d65 group all those years ago. She should be embarrassed to continue her feeble retort comments on the Roundtable. Thank you for putting her in her place with facts and data and not needing a screeching voice to do so. That is all.
Thank you for this. You have the first comment I've seen about how technology in the classroom affects the quality of teachers, not just the direct impact on kids. This is all curriculum-driven. The current math & reading curricula in elementary is about as teacher-proof as you can get. Everything must be done on devices. Of course this is terrible pedagogy, but it equalizes teachers to the lowest common denominator. Retention doesn't matter then - as we've seen with veteran teachers leaving in droves. Hiring new teachers who stay a year or two isn't such a problem. As long as someone is there babysitting, while the kids watch the instructional videos and do all the work online, quality teaching isn't necessary. I'm not saying there aren't still amazing teachers in the district - there absolutely are. However, with the curriculum the district has chosen, you don't have to be an amazing teacher. You don't even have to be a good teacher. Responsible technology belongs in the classroom, but d65 has jumped that shark with its curriculum choices and over-reliance on screens.
We have seen that the veteran teachers are MUCH better at minimizing screen time and working with parents to reduce the use of iPads, whereas the newbies are much more reliant on the iPads and more likely to say "its District policy" when you ask them to reduce exposure for your kids.
I chalk this up to the exodus of experienced teachers pushed out by Horton's poor leadership.
We talk a lot about the financial disaster that Horton and the Board have created. But we should also highlight the degradation of the District's human capital that they also created.
The Administration can babble on about how much they value teachers but they still don’t conduct exit interviews with younger staff who walk away and then push retirement incentives for those who did make a career in D65 so there are no mentors.
When I started my career in Evanston over 30 years ago, it was a coveted job; now it is very close to becoming what is the nightmare scenario for school stability in a community, a “starter district”. My wife worked in such a district in a suburb north of here but there it was admin instability combined with very low pay; to see this happening in Evanston where pay and benefits are quite good in comparison should scare parents. Teachers will start their careers here and, after a couple of years, look for their “real” job.
There are so many great options to allow children to communicate with their friends and families and build those social skills / communicate as needed without open access to the internet and the application store. The Wait Until 8th Website has some great resources on this.
On the internet restrictions - when some families are upset by the existence of Halloween you're going to have to work with the lowest common denominator. I don't know what research limitations there are but when I hear every day from my 7th grader about how they're putting together a list of every online gaming site that hasn't been blocked I think perhaps they aren't blocking enough. Or maybe they're not paying enough attention to what the kids are doing during the day.
The problem with phones is that parents either don't know how to or don't want to lock them down. It's pretty easy to set up a phone so that it's just a phone.
The issue is when parents give their third grader a phone and don't restrict anything on it.
Not sure if anyone is still following this thread, but this appeared in the Newsletter from a middle school administrator ( link at the end)
“ Technlogy Safety ALERT
We have recently discovered a very troubling situation that we want to bring to your attention. It has come to our attention that students are able to access open Zoom meetings by simply searching for "open Zoom meetings" online. Unfortunately, this has led to instances where students have entered meetings that are highly inappropriate, including Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings, Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings, and other adult-oriented spaces that are not suitable for children.
This is a significant concern, as these environments can expose students to sensitive content and discussions that they are not equipped to navigate. In some cases, the nature of the meetings can be highly inappropriate for young audiences.
We have alerted our technology department about this issue, and they are actively working on solutions to prevent access to such content. In the meantime, we are urging you to be vigilant about your child’s internet activity. Regularly check their browsing history and monitor their use of technology to ensure their safety online.
Please also remind your children that searching for and participating in these types of meetings violates our school’s technology use policy. Violations of this policy may result in disciplinary actions, which could include the loss of iPad privileges up to suspension, depending on the severity of the incident.
Our primary goal is to ensure the safety and well-being of all students. By working together, we can help keep our children safe and teach them responsible online behavior.
If you have any questions or need assistance with monitoring your child’s online activity, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Does anyone else absolutely despise the iPad driven learning and all the “ed tech” software? My daughter is in second grade at Washington, and I can’t see a single value add for the applications she uses. Maybe there would be in high school, but elementary? Bring back books and paper/pencil!
There's a parent group that is organizing around this right now:
https://evanstonroundtable.com/2024/12/03/wait-until-8th-evanston-pledge-supports-delayed-smartphone-use/
I'm going to give them some promotion later this month when I publish my angry screed about YouTube. I think this is a good topic to bring up with Board members and I definitely will.
My plan is to try to ask a few of them about this at the Jan 30 meet and greet.
Are you sure they are organizing with relation to getting D65 policy changed?
I welcome that group, but the article seems to be more focused on pledges that families take individually with regard to smartphones rather than getting the school district to use age-appropriate tech.
I welcome anyone who wants to be sensible about tech in our lives, but I didn't get that vibe from the article that that was their focus.
I think so, but we'll find out - I'm going to ask them to write one of the questions for the questionnaire that I'm giving out to candidates.
Sensibility in EdTech is a major priority of mine, and our district leadership must provide clearer research-backed positions on how and when tech is used in the classroom in an age-appropriate manner. Tech solutions should provide a clear advantage over their "analog" counterparts, otherwise we should lean on the latter.
We're part of the Wait Until 8th movement, and I'm happy to see that gaining steam locally. ETHS adopted a strong stance around phones in the building, yet I don't recall hearing it brought up meaningfully by D65. As Miriam noted below (thank you for spearheading!), these efforts are interrelated in that they center around fostering a healthy relationship with tech for our kids.
Understandably, our EdTech adoption in D65 was accelerated by the unprecedented circumstances of Covid that forced full-time e-learning. That doesn't give us a pass on reevaluating our EdTech philosophies to ensure they align with our overarching values and goals that span BOTH academic and socioemotional sides of learning. When extra "iPad time" is given as a reward during free time, it robs kids of valuable opportunities to socialize and sharpen creativity skills.
Oh, and in the context of class sizes, I'd imagine there's a correlation between that and EdTech usage.
Well said, Peter.
In thinking about D65’s embrace of technology such as iPads, I think it’s relevant to recall that it was never evidence based but was based on the achievement gap. The thinking was that because white kids had iPads and black kids did not (at least this was the perception), that giving everyone iPads would solve the problem.
This is 100% true. It is interesting to note that zero actual research on student learning went into the decision to roll out the technology.
And the initial funding for the pilot program came from tech industry foundations like those of Gates and Zuckerberg.
https://evanstonroundtable.com/2018/05/02/school-district-65-introduces-access-to-innovate-technology-program/
I am one of the D65 parents featured in the article. Yes, one of the things we want to accomplish, in addition to encouraging families to delay giving their child a smartphone, is also to put pressure on D65 to have more community conversation about technology in the schools. If anyone would like to get involved, we'd love for you to join!
YES! The ipads and chromebooks for younger grades are horrible and I don't particularly love it for the older kids either. Word on the street is a lot of them are just watching youTube and other things all day. There are ways for them to have this technology available for media arts/typing papers etc that doesn't involve unlimited access. Also I will point out I have yet to see an adaptive test that they are using on these devices that I think is more valuable then pencil/paper. MAP test in particular is a disaster - thank goodness it is going away. I would be happy to be involved. I have a MS student and will have a kindergartner next year.
100%! There has to be a way to shift the default of these devices to be opt-in vs. opt-out in terms of controls over what can be accessed. Otherwise, it's difficult for parents and caregivers to establish foolproof settings their kids can't find a loophole around, and it's unreasonable to expect the staff at school to enforce these variable boundaries for all the students.
We had the school principal send a note asking us to remind our 8 year olds not to use their iPads on the playground before school as they were getting damaged.
I sent a response saying maybe you shouldn’t be giving iPads to 8 year olds and asking them not to send them home.
Her response was that we needed it at home in case we had to ‘pivot to e-learning.’ This was in April of last year— fine weather and the pandemic restrictions behind us!
Let’s also not forget the district is charging families for ‘technology insurance’ as part of the fees.
Sonja, let's connect! You can DM our instagram account and I'll reach out to you that way: https://www.instagram.com/waituntil8th_evanston/
The wait until 8th group is just for parents delaying getting their kids smartphones. I'm a candidate and 1:1 tech in elementary school is only good for days like today, when there is 3 hours of e-learning and it's called a full day.
I just saw in an email that Chute will be piloting a new, more restrictive YouTube access system. Apparently during school hours kids will only be able to access YouTube videos that their teachers have shared to Google classroom.
A drop in the bucket (and ridiculously late in coming) but at least it's a step in the right direction
Oh this is news to me and I'm working on a story about this. I'm going to reach out and get more details. Thanks!!
I too am absolutely appalled by the “tech” the kids use now. The iPads put a barrier between students and parents that is actually kind of dangerous at worst, misguided at best. It is impossible to monitor the work that is being done so I can guaje understanding of the material. I should’t have to have a IT background to help my kid with schoolwork!They don’t even know how to sign their names anymore! Are we reverting back to signing an “X” as a legal signature? I
I am very alarmed about what is going on. D65 wants to encourage families to delay use of smartphones but at same time make all schooling, even in the classroom, take place on electronics! Instead of discussions of the material in class, many classrooms are having kids watch videos on their iPads of child actors have fake discussions! While they all sit at desks next to each other! This is why they don’t have any social skills!!!
I must be from another planet because I didn’t even love school all that much but 1980-1993 were years when I KNOW Evanston offered an incredible educational experience to students.These iPads are hindering our kids…my 6th grade son says the options for research are very limited because everything is restricted. They don’t want them seeing “inappropriate” material. I will decide what is inappropriate for my kid thank you. I would rather he do an amazing, well researched report or project than have him limited by his education system!!! Kids by kindergarten already know how to get information off phones and internet better than any of us adults.
As for smartphones, how are kids supposed to get in touch with their friends now that nobody has home phones?they literally need phones so they can learn some autonomy. 14 is too old to start making your own plans with friends and keeping track of yourself. We already have data showing this but nobody seems to know that the “parenting” part of parenting will teach your child how to be responsible and respectful.
I have a couple of points to make here. The over-reliance of electronics in education is one reason we abandoned the sinking d65 ship for a local parochial school. 5th grade was the first time students had meaningful use of classroom chromebooks. They were assigned individually, but still racked until it was time to use them for whatever reason. Generally “research”. I like it this way because of exactly what you said- I need to see the homework. I need to see the work they do on scratch paper to make sure they aren’t using calculators. I need to see how handwriting is progressing. I need to see the syntax and grammar errors so I know where help needs to be concentrated. Plus, I have done the research and the research tells us devices in the classroom are overall a bad deal for kids. I don’t think the US educates its population well at all compared to other westernized nations, and this is just another lazy low budget way to prove it. I’m not saying Ed tech isn’t expensive, but it’s cheaper than smaller class sizes and individualized lesson plans. When you rely on curriculum loaded on an iPad, you can justify hiring young and inexperienced teachers for less money. What is stopping us from going full AZ and hiring anyone at all to be a teacher? If they are going to be a babysitter who directs students to a webpage, why need an el Ed degree at all? Maybe that is too dystopian a view, but I’m finding it hard to have a positive outlook here.
Kids do not need phones to communicate to friends, btw. Parents have a phone. You can use a million online methods of communication. You can get your kid an Apple Watch and a decent pair of headphones. Apple Watches are way better than Gizmo, albeit a bit more expensive. But there is no distraction with these, it’s easy to put them in school mode until 3 pm, and let’s face it. You KNOW it ain’t good to give your 8 year old a smart phone, right? Cmon.
Lastly, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t point out that Mary Lofghren is nuts. She’s like Professor Umbridge, her devotion to the corrupt Ministry and the Dark Lord (a reference to Voldemort, not Horton- to be clear) unabating, even when presented with proof she is wrong. That’s just an analogy from a parent of a young child getting into HP. But for real- her comments trying to defend her pals seem less about presenting evidence that the current BoE have actually done ANyTHING good at all and more about her refusal to admit that she was wrong and apologize for being a world class - er, bully, I guess is the polite term- online in that heinous d65 group all those years ago. She should be embarrassed to continue her feeble retort comments on the Roundtable. Thank you for putting her in her place with facts and data and not needing a screeching voice to do so. That is all.
Thank you for this. You have the first comment I've seen about how technology in the classroom affects the quality of teachers, not just the direct impact on kids. This is all curriculum-driven. The current math & reading curricula in elementary is about as teacher-proof as you can get. Everything must be done on devices. Of course this is terrible pedagogy, but it equalizes teachers to the lowest common denominator. Retention doesn't matter then - as we've seen with veteran teachers leaving in droves. Hiring new teachers who stay a year or two isn't such a problem. As long as someone is there babysitting, while the kids watch the instructional videos and do all the work online, quality teaching isn't necessary. I'm not saying there aren't still amazing teachers in the district - there absolutely are. However, with the curriculum the district has chosen, you don't have to be an amazing teacher. You don't even have to be a good teacher. Responsible technology belongs in the classroom, but d65 has jumped that shark with its curriculum choices and over-reliance on screens.
We have seen that the veteran teachers are MUCH better at minimizing screen time and working with parents to reduce the use of iPads, whereas the newbies are much more reliant on the iPads and more likely to say "its District policy" when you ask them to reduce exposure for your kids.
I chalk this up to the exodus of experienced teachers pushed out by Horton's poor leadership.
We talk a lot about the financial disaster that Horton and the Board have created. But we should also highlight the degradation of the District's human capital that they also created.
This is the saddest of all developments - took decades to build and only a few years to undo
The Administration can babble on about how much they value teachers but they still don’t conduct exit interviews with younger staff who walk away and then push retirement incentives for those who did make a career in D65 so there are no mentors.
When I started my career in Evanston over 30 years ago, it was a coveted job; now it is very close to becoming what is the nightmare scenario for school stability in a community, a “starter district”. My wife worked in such a district in a suburb north of here but there it was admin instability combined with very low pay; to see this happening in Evanston where pay and benefits are quite good in comparison should scare parents. Teachers will start their careers here and, after a couple of years, look for their “real” job.
There are so many great options to allow children to communicate with their friends and families and build those social skills / communicate as needed without open access to the internet and the application store. The Wait Until 8th Website has some great resources on this.
On the internet restrictions - when some families are upset by the existence of Halloween you're going to have to work with the lowest common denominator. I don't know what research limitations there are but when I hear every day from my 7th grader about how they're putting together a list of every online gaming site that hasn't been blocked I think perhaps they aren't blocking enough. Or maybe they're not paying enough attention to what the kids are doing during the day.
The problem with phones is that parents either don't know how to or don't want to lock them down. It's pretty easy to set up a phone so that it's just a phone.
The issue is when parents give their third grader a phone and don't restrict anything on it.
Not sure if anyone is still following this thread, but this appeared in the Newsletter from a middle school administrator ( link at the end)
“ Technlogy Safety ALERT
We have recently discovered a very troubling situation that we want to bring to your attention. It has come to our attention that students are able to access open Zoom meetings by simply searching for "open Zoom meetings" online. Unfortunately, this has led to instances where students have entered meetings that are highly inappropriate, including Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings, Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings, and other adult-oriented spaces that are not suitable for children.
This is a significant concern, as these environments can expose students to sensitive content and discussions that they are not equipped to navigate. In some cases, the nature of the meetings can be highly inappropriate for young audiences.
We have alerted our technology department about this issue, and they are actively working on solutions to prevent access to such content. In the meantime, we are urging you to be vigilant about your child’s internet activity. Regularly check their browsing history and monitor their use of technology to ensure their safety online.
Please also remind your children that searching for and participating in these types of meetings violates our school’s technology use policy. Violations of this policy may result in disciplinary actions, which could include the loss of iPad privileges up to suspension, depending on the severity of the incident.
Our primary goal is to ensure the safety and well-being of all students. By working together, we can help keep our children safe and teach them responsible online behavior.
If you have any questions or need assistance with monitoring your child’s online activity, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Thank you for your cooperation and support.”
https://secure.smore.com/n/kh9gu-the-principal-s-perspective?ref=email
oh im working on my angry technology / youtube screed and this is going right in