With an increasing amount of research identifying that children are spending a greater amount of time staring at a screen and with the growing awareness on the negative effects screen time can have on children’s development, what is the role of IT in education?

Research into the effects of too much screen time has increased over the last few years with many studies identifying serious health and mental health consequences. Too much screen time has been linked to sleep deprivation, obesity, vision problems, aches and pains, loss of social skills and aggression.

With many schools implementing 1:1 and bring your own device (BOYD) policies the amount of screen time in schools is going to increase. The American Academy of Paediatrics (APP) recommend that screen time should be limited to two hours per day for children age 3-18 years. So how do schools make the most of the devices without exposing students to the possible negative effects?

For schools to make the most of the technology we have available we need to look towards ‘Digital Learning’ not ‘Digitized Learning’. Digitized Learning is the process of taking a traditional method of instruction and converting it to a digital process. Rather than gathering information from a text-based source, the students use online materials, instead of answering questions on paper they fill in a document online and rather than handing in work face to face they submit it online in a shared drive.

During the Digitized Learning process, the technology is not enhancing the learning and is only adding to the amount of time that students spend looking at a screen. The students are not gaining anything from the use of technology that cannot be achieved through more traditional pen and paper-based methods.

Digital Learning is making the most of the device’s capabilities to enhance the learning beyond that of traditional methods. Using video, multimedia sources, augmented reality, increased collaboration and engaging global audiences are ways that technology can enhance learning. Through these types of uses, the students are making the most of the technology and achieve outcomes that cannot be created with pen and paper.

As with all things in life and education, it comes down to a balance. Technology is a major part of our lives and the need for our students to be digitally literate is huge. Schools need to manage the amount of time children spend looking at a screen with making sure we are equipping them with the skills they need for the digital world. We need to find the harmony between screen and paper.

Traditional teaching methods should be carried out hand in hand with digital learning. Enhancing the learning experience beyond pen and paper should be the focus of digital learning.