At the 2026 Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC) last month in Orlando, FETC Chair Jennifer Womble offered a rebuttal to the idea that schools should answer falling literacy and rising mental health issues by pulling the plug on technology. Instead, she said, district leaders must reclaim the narrative around the possibilities associated with research-backed ed tech.
Moreover, Womble said the reputation of "brain-numbing" commercial social media — driven by addictive algorithms — is unfairly bleeding into the public perception of evidence-based classroom tools.
"I think one of the things we need to work on is the language of technology. We need to make sure that people understand the difference between a commercial technology product and an education technology product," she said.
While much of the national conversation around AI has focused on academic integrity and the potential for students to offload cognitive work, Womble presented a more optimistic view: AI as an equalizer for student expression. She noted that emerging tools are lowering the barrier to entry for high-level production, allowing students to turn voice or imagination into books and movies without expensive software.
This shift, she continued, requires a corresponding evolution in how we teach information literacy. Womble noted that the "encyclopedia model," where information was static and trusted, is gone. In its place, educators must use technology to foster "healthy skepticism" and data literacy to help students navigate a world of instant, AI-generated content.
According to Womble, though, the transition to these advanced tools is often hindered by a gap in teacher preparation, highlighting a disconnect between higher education and the realities of modern K-12 classrooms.
"A lot of pre-service training across the country in higher ed doesn't even include technology or technology skills," she said, calling for a shift away from "cookie-cutter pedagogy." Instead, she urged for more diverse, hands-on training that prepares teachers for specific environments, such as rural districts versus those in urban areas or traditional suburbs.
The most common argument for getting kids off screens, according to Womble, is the erosion of mental health and the loss of critical thinking. She said that rather than removing tech, schools should use intentional, research-backed tools to solve the very problems commercial tech, like addictive social media algorithms, created.
For example, to address student and teacher burnout, FETC featured a "Brain Gym" and a "Sensory Room" that utilized digital wellness tools, such as green noise and breathing apps.
"We built a Brain Gym to give people strategies on how to help teachers and students to be better in the classroom, and actually help students deal with the things they're doing," Womble explained.
Womble also highlighted that the workforce views technology skills as non-negotiable.
“We can't stop teaching kids the things they need to be prepared for the future, but we need to explain more with clarity what the difference is between the tools and when they're appropriate,” Womble continued, pointing to a student drone team from Colorado that programmed 500 drones for a massive aerial display — a feat made possible only because those students were Federal Aviation Administration pilot-certified through their school's tech program.
"That kind of aerial display shows we're in it for the kids," Womble said. "And what technology can do, there's really no limits."
