NC district cuts back on technology usage, sees improved learning outcomes 

In a world rapidly changing through artificial intelligence and other technologies, one North Carolina district is taking a different approach through “tech-free” days throughout the school week.

“The Chromebooks and iPads now ubiquitous in American classrooms were replaced by old-fashioned pencils and paper across all grade levels,” The Assembly reported of the Granville County Schools initiative, adding recent news has bolstered community calls for less screentime in public education.

“The U.S. Surgeon General’s Office issued a report in May recommending that schools go back to using computer labs instead of personal devices; reinvest in physical textbooks; and prioritize pen-and-paper curricula, hands-on activities, and social and extracurricular activities for all grade levels.”

Superintendent Stan Winborne led the initiative at the rural district, which is based in Oxford with over 6,000 students.

“I worry that I’m making a mistake,” he admitted of his policies limiting screentime. “But it’s not like I’m abolishing technology. I’m just saying, look, let’s strike a balance here.”

‘Parents are growing increasingly concerned’

Winborne began making institutional changes after he realized technological tools, such as student individual devices introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, “hadn’t delivered the expected gains in academic achievement,” according to the news outlet.

“Data increasingly seemed to support the idea that digital devices were dragging down student learning.”

On the other hand, educators noticed better student behavior and learning outcomes once cellphones were put away for the entire school day.

“After the second year of our cellphone restrictions, we began to notice that some of the behaviors that the students were doing on their cellphones were migrating over to their Chromebooks,” Winborne said.

YouTube videos were becoming a major disruption to student learning, the news outlet noted: “Michael Spradlin, the district’s IT director, calculated that distracted screen time was costing students the equivalent of 31 instructional days a year.”

Not only educators, but also parents had noticed the effects.

“Parents are growing increasingly concerned about stunted learning, short attention spans, and addictive behaviors, and are demanding changes like those implemented in Granville County,” The Assembly wrote. “Parents in Wake, Mecklenburg, and Buncombe counties have signed petitions and provided emotional testimony at school board meetings urging less screen time and more parental control over which technologies their children use.”

Winborne has taken steps based on parental feedback to reduce technology use even further in the upcoming school year, particularly in elementary classrooms.

“To me, this is about communicating what we value,” he said.

At least one educator on the task force Winborne created, Balance Forward, agreed with the changes.

“I firmly believe that when you know better,” said Abigail McKenzie Stumpo, fourth-grade science teacher, “you have a responsibility to do better.”