Smart Devices

District leaders say the pandemic-era practice of giving a Chromebook to each of the district's 160,000 students is too expensive to sustain, and they need to reallocate money being spent on them for HVAC upgrades.

K-12 students will have to store any wireless communication devices in their cars or lockers during the school day. Gov. Kay Ivey is expected to sign the bill, as she said in February that she supported it.

Screen time leads to less retention and more multitasking than focus, so maybe schools should evaluate how a reliance upon digital devices has contributed to plummeting student test scores, engagement and mental health.

The new state budget would set aside $13.5 million to make New York the largest state in the country to not allow public school students to use cellphones during the school day.

Two statewide proposals, one in the House and one in the Senate, offer competing ideas for how to limit phone use in K-12. One would leave it to school boards to decide specifics, and the other stipulates more specifics.

Iowa City Community School District is maintaining its 1:1 student device program, but grades K-5 will keep theirs at school after parents expressed concerns about excessive screen time for young students.

A school board in North Carolina is debating whether the district should accept responsibility when a student's confiscated cellphone is stolen, lost or damaged.

While the Oklahoma Legislature considers a ban for cellphones during the day for all the state's public schools, various districts have their own policies requiring that they be stored during instructional time.

The technology of refrigeration changed not just what and how we eat, but also the economy, international trade and even the atmosphere. When educators teach students about AI, they need to think beyond computers.

While Maine state officials discuss potential legislation, a group called Phone-Free Portland Schools is advocating for a policy that would ban cellphones at all grade levels throughout the school day.

After voters declined to pass a larger ballot proposal last year, Helena Public Schools are asking voters to approve a smaller amount to replace aging laptops, desktops and teacher devices.

The state's Legislative Audit Council says USC misused $4,589 in grant money intended for computer labs, while the university says those watches are part of teaching and understanding Apple's technology ecosystem.

The editorial board of the Baltimore Sun argues that school cellphone restrictions are needed, as mental health professionals are increasingly concerned about how overuse of the devices can harm a child’s development.

A bill introduced to the House of Representatives this week would ban cellphones from school classrooms, with exceptions for students with disabilities or other needs, such as lack of English language proficiency.

Digital technology, AI and the dopamine loop that drives our constant connectivity are undermining the quality of students' attention. There's an old solution: social connection, deep reading and tuning out tech.

A sophomore at Asbury University felt her mental health problems and attentiveness improved when she locked her iPhone in a drawer for all but essential tasks and switched to using a flip phone.

The Oregon House of Representatives will vote on a bill to restrict K-12 students from using cellphones between the first and last bells of the school day and spells out consequences for those who violate the rules.

A 2023 law prevents Northwestern School Corporation from charging student fees to pay for devices, so the school board is pursuing a $1.5 million bond project to cover the cost of new iPads for students.