Australian schoolchildren are becoming dumber, not smarter. In the recent NAPLAN test, one in three Australian students were found to be below the national benchmark. Despite the sacrosanct status of digital technologies within the apparatus of school education, results aren’t improving, they’re worsening and no attention has been given to technology’s deadly role in proliferating this outcome. So where did it all go wrong?
Over 10 million students around the world use iPads in school
It was supposed to be a technological aid, something that enhanced education for students across Australia to drive ‘innovation and creativity.’ The technological apologists would argue that now, ‘95% of students say they find school more fun now because of the use of iPads in the classroom’
What exactly is meant by ‘fun’ and is ‘fun’ conducive to effective learning? Is fun a reliable indicator of the usefulness of technology in education?
Unfortunately, Australia has neglected to examine any of these questions thoroughly, and we know, unsurprisingly, that outside of the classroom, Australian kids are staring at screens like possessed zombies.
The Family Institute of Affairs has found that:
“At 4-5 years old, children average more than two hours of screen time per weekday. By 12–13 years old, this increases to more than three hours per weekday and almost four hours per weekend day. This means that up to 30% of a child’s waking time is spent in front of a screen.
TV is children’s main form of screen time, accounting for about 60% of total screen time. By 13 years of age, the daily average was 150 minutes watching TV compared to 60 minutes on a computer and 45 minutes gaming. The more TVs there are in a house, the more likely a child is to watch excessive TV. Around 60% of 4–5-year-olds reported having more than two household TVs. Around 20% of 6–7-year-olds have a TV in their bedroom; at 12–13 years old, this climbs to 45%.
While the NSW Department of Education announced a policy change for the use of digital devices in primary schools, it still allows them in secondary schools and states, “Secondary school principals will continue to determine the extent to which digital devices and online services are restricted or permitted in their schools.”
Like many things in our culture today, we’ve jumped with reckless abandon into the universe of technology
Perhaps it wasn’t wise to do this. In the past, teachers used overhead projectors, chalkboards, and possibly PowerPoint presentations as school kids would vigorously put pen to paper to complete tasks and homework.
That was typical of the school system before we all joined the radical promises of the technology revolution. By we, I mean parents and teachers, and while still searching for the fruits of the tech revolution, the answer to the prayer of Australian school kids has been answered in abundance. They have unfettered access to iPads every hour of the day and under the guise of learning.
I may sound cynical, but the findings of the Family Institute of Affairs suggest that Australian kids love technology not because of its ‘creative innovation and efficiency’, but because of the transitory entertainment value it engenders.
I Pads and laptops aren’t used to study, students use them for social media and to play games
Children have access to social media, smart phones, gaming devices, Netflix, online gaming, and chat GPT. The latter allows them to place a question into the AI software system and receive an answer within milliseconds.
Is there any wonder why NAPLAN results have declined so badly?
Rather than focusing on how schools can limit the use of tech devices and how parents can work to reduce their children’s screen time to facilitate more effective learning, we place blame on the education system when the glaringly obvious is ignored.
Parents ought to exercise a healthy degree of skepticism when scouting out which high schools to send their children to. There are Australian schools that take a more conservative approach to learning, and parents should seriously consider these.
If adults cannot exercise self-control when it comes to screen time, how do we ever expect children to?
