HOOD RIVER — Hood River County School District Board of Directors held a work session June 18 on the use of technology, both in school and at home, whether it be district-issued iPads or personal devices like phones and watches.
“A Team Approach to Technology,” as the work session was titled, saw multiple reports on what has become an increasing concern in the community, said Superintendent Bill Newton.
“During the pandemic, the use of school employed devices, meaning the iPad and Google Classroom and Meet, allowed our schools to continue to operate virtually during a very challenging time in all of our lives,” he said. “During this time, both students and staff saw a steep increase in using these devices and apps with the intent to support student learning.
“Since the return to school-based instruction following the pandemic, we have continued to use our technology to support student learning at all levels,” Newton said. “However, there are questions that we are now asking ourselves regarding the guidelines we should expect our students and staff to follow when using technology at the elementary, middle and high school levels.”
The ultimate goal of the work session, he said, was to “increase academic achievement, ensure school safety, create an environment more conducive to learning, enhance in-person social interactions among students, and improve mental health and wellbeing.”
Communications Director Stephanie Hoppe shared school community survey results around the “attitudes and behaviors surrounding technology use among different groups within our community,” she said. It also includes interviews of middle and high school students, K-12 teachers, and parents of elementary, middle and high school students in the district.
Results show both positives and negatives to technology usage: On the positive side, education can be tailored to individual needs and aid in collaboration; conversely, it can be a distraction from schoolwork and reduce personal, face-to-face interactions while bullying and harassment through digital platforms affects student safety and mental health.
Reflecting on the results, Hoppe said, “We’ve seen how technology can enhance learning, foster communication and provide new opportunities for engagement. At the same time, we’ve also identified areas where improvements are needed to ensure technology is used safely and effectively.”
Hood River County Sheriff Deputy Joel Ives’ report focused on safety. Technology is increasingly becoming a driving or contributing factor to many safety issues, he said, which fall into four main categories: Drug and alcohol use being flaunted or facilitated online; bullying and gossip on social media or anonymous confession pages, which is hard to track down; sex-related issues such as possession and distribution of nude photographs of peers, considered child pornography; and violence and threats, which can lead to disruptions at school.
Ives added he’s often asked if technology is helpful in an emergency, and the answer is phones vibrating or ringing in a classroom present a safety concern when students are in lockdown. “When everyone is trying to be silent, a vibrating phone is incredibly loud,” he said. “We want to encourage our students to worry about their safety, whereas we expect administrators and staff are the ones who are notifying us … So while we understand that there can be a benefit in this particular application of a potential active threat … we really see that the technology has more of a potentially harmful effect than beneficial.”
Human Resource Director Gus Hedberg gave a review on current district technology policies, and the process for adopting new ones by the board policy review committee. Amy McConnell, director of curriculum and instruction, then reviewed digital platforms utilized by the district for math and writing, for example, and how many minutes per day students were on screens versus total instruction time.
Technology Director Tod Hilstad reviewed content filters, expectations of use and monitoring at all grade levels and whether devices are used at home or at school. Content filters are meant to keep “bad actors” out, he said. The district also can block specific URLs.
Hood River Middle School Principal Rolland Hayden shared an administrative perspective — namely, that shifting the culture around cellphone use at school will take time and effort. Hood River Valley High School Teacher Rebecca Swartzentruber discussed changes she’s seen in school culture since the pandemic, with a rise in anxiety and depression, chronic absenteeism, long bathroom breaks to use phones, decreased ability to think and write critically and increased distraction, among others.
“When we sent kids home during the pandemic for comprehensive distance learning, we saw it as a lifesaver and the intent of creating Google Classrooms was to create access, and equity and connection,” she said. “And when we returned to in-person instruction, we realized those trends of more time, being connected to tech, have had some unintended negative consequences.”
The last presentation came from Andrea Davis, mother of five and certified by the Digital Wellness Institute. She and her husband run Better Screentime, a family-friendly resource on the topic of screens (betterscreentime.com). She presented scientific research on how devices shape student learning and wellbeing.
Kids ages 8-12 use or watch screens 4-6 hours a day outside of school time, she said, while teens spend up to 9 hours a day doing the same.
“Teens are actually spending the equivalent of a 40-hour work week on their devices,” she said. “… There is actually scientific study of brain drain — so just the mere presence of having your phone here by you reduces your cognitive capacity because your brain is always thinking … ‘What’s on that device, what’s happening? I need to check it.’”
Following all reports, Newton summarized the impacts of technology on learning, teaching and overall wellbeing at home and school.
“Balancing technology with offline activities is essential to maintain overall wellness,” he said. “Promoting digital wellness and healthy habits is crucial for ensuring that technology serves as a positive force in individuals’ lives.”
His recommendations on next steps included policy development — crafting clear, enforceable policies, procedures and practices regarding tech use during school hours — as well as ideas to consider around the use of technology in school — such as limiting iPads for freetime and keeping those devices at school at the elementary and middle school levels. He also discussed creating a phone-free school environment and the challenges of doing so.
He then opened the floor to discussion.
Corrinda Hankins Elliott (position 3) said she believed school technology and personal devices were two separate issues. She also said that students not having access to iPads at home could become an equity issue, as not every household has personal technology for homework. Newton clarified that iPads would be available for checkout.
Jen Kelly (member at large) said she supported keeping personal devices, including phones, during class time and updating policies. She added students and parents need to know ahead of time what the rules and potential punishments are if they’re caught using those devices in class.
“Everybody needs to be very aware and very open to the fact that this is going to be a process that there’s a lot of different facets to, and it’s not going to be solved with just one policy change,” said Board Chair Chrissy Reitz (position 1). “It’s going to take some time …”