Barrington schools questioned about students' screen time?

School committee member also challenges district's plan for funding technology purchases

Posted 5/14/18

Does the school district set limits on students' screen time?

Barrington School Committee member Gina Pine asked that question during a presentation Thursday night about the district's technology …

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Barrington schools questioned about students' screen time?

School committee member also challenges district's plan for funding technology purchases

Posted

Does the school district set limits on students' screen time?

Barrington School Committee member Gina Pine asked that question during a presentation Thursday night about the district's technology plan. 

Ms. Pine said there is evidence that too much screen time on computers and similar devices can prove problematic for young people, creating irritability and presenting other issues. 

Ms. Pine's question followed a report from the district about new iPad and Chromebook purchases, and the ongoing 1:to:1 initiative, where each student in grades 6 through 12 is given a Chromebook to use during the school year. Students in grades 4 and 5 have full-day access to devices when they are at school, and students in kindergarten through third grade have access to devices that are brought into their classrooms on carts. 

Paula Dillon, the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, told Ms. Pine that the district does not have a specific policy about screen time limits. 

She added that Barrington schools do, however, follow best practices that are outlined by "Common Sense Media."

Ms. Dillon said students in kindergarten through third grade only use the technology when their teachers bring one of the tech carts into the classroom for a specific lesson.

The activity would be extremely limited, said Ms. Dillon.

The district's director of technology, David Burrows, told the committee that his experiences in the schools have shown that students are not using the devices non-stop all day. 

"We're not seeing that constant exposure," he said. 

In the past, some parents have questioned whether teachers are communicating with each other about how much screen time they are requiring from their students.

Ms. Dillon said that when the district adopted the 1:to:1 initiative, officials decided to focus on a deeper learning approach and not a "blended" environment, meaning that students are not put into science, math and reading online programs across the board. 

PTO purchases?

The technology discussion involved a focus on funding, also. 

During the discussion, Mr. Burrows said the school district should not rely on PTOs for funding technology devices, but Barrington School Committee member Dr. Megan Douglas asked why not. 

Dr. Douglas said some states use that specific approach when funding the purchase of tech devices.

Mr. Burrows said that relying on PTOs or other such organizations can present issues when those groups are unable to provide funding. He then said he would be willing to meet with the volunteer organizations to further explore the issue. 

Dr. Douglas agreed that district officials should have a conversation with PTOs. 

She also questioned how "Google specific" the Barrington school district is; she seemed concerned with the amount of student information that was being shared with tech giant. 

Dr. Douglas and an audience member also suggested students be given the opportunity to learn about other operating systems and software. 

Mr. Burrows said he planned with stay with Google and its browser, Chrome. He said he was comfortable with Google for education, which, he added, is different than Google for enterprise.

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A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.