App Overload

My fifth grader’s teacher pinged all parents on the Class Dojo app earlier this week to share that the class had counted, and there were only 29 school days remaining this year. A few days have passed since then so now we’re at … less than that. I’m approaching summer with a mix of excitement and apprehension this year, mentally planning the day trips I want to take with my kids, while at the same time wondering how they will stay entertained during the workdays without camps. I’m sure all kinds of computer apps—many of which my kids are already using in their classes—will be crucial to filling that time.

The sheer amount of technology in classrooms isn’t just something that’s changed since I was in school, or since I led afterschool programs in the aughts; it’s something that’s changed since Covid sent every CCS kid home with a Chromebook. Its prevalence right now has experts concerned—especially since there’s not a lot of data on how effectively tech can serve as a teacher, and there is a lot of data on how distracting Chromebooks can be. Given this, many experts are calling to ban what they can, starting with cellphones. That’s a proposal Governor Mike DeWine is behind, calling phones “detrimental to learning.” Thursday, the Ohio Senate passed a bill to limit cell phone use in schools. 

I think the phone limits make sense, provided they're still available after school for kids to share when their buses are running late. I am also generally not a fan of Chromebooks in classrooms, where my kids are apparently spending time watching a rotating potato chip (why?). This combined with the state standardized testing going on right now (and the failures that come with doing it all online), almost has me nostalgic for the days of Scantron. It’s clear that the horse has left the barn here, and getting rid of tech in classrooms isn’t a realistic or even useful goal (especially when teachers themselves use apps like Class Dojo regularly). But we can be thoughtful and look for where it works best. 

And recently I saw the upside. It came in the form of an email, announcing my fifth grader had signed up for a Duolingo account so that he could learn German. He was given free reign to close out elementary school with an independent study project, and this is what he chose. He loves the gamified experience so much he’s on an eight day streak (so my now-daily Duolingo emails tell me). It even inspired his little brother to start taking French. Sometimes, tech can provide the differentiated learning experience it claims to. While this certainly begs the question of whether an app designed for use anytime is the best use of kids' limited classroom time, when there are actually teachers in the room, I’ll always take German lessons over spinning chips. Danke.

✅ Actions to take

👄 Discuss the future of CCS schools. Want to be among the first to (maybe, possibly) hear where things are going with the new facilities and school closure plan? This event on May 2 will include Superintendent Chapman and the co-chair of the facilities taskforce. Warm up on April 28 at a family-friendly dialogue about equity in schools. 

🚶Visit Zone In Columbus. Are you concerned that the district is talking about closing schools at the same time the city is talking about adding tens of thousands of new residents? Head downtown to the Zone In Gallery to learn more about how these proposed changes could affect your family—and be sure to bring your questions. 

🚀 Celebrate Star Wars Day at CML. It’s always a good time to visit the Main Library, but spending Star Wars Day (May the 4th) with costumed characters, TIE fighters, blue milk and more makes us feel like the force is with us.

🧠 News to know

🚻 School bathroom bill. Not content with denying minors gender-affirming care, the Ohio House Higher Education Committee has now elevated a bill that would mandate K-12 schools and colleges to require students to use bathrooms and locker rooms matching their sex assigned at birth, a stance opposed to that of the American Medical Association (AP News & Ohio Capital Journal). 

🏫 Community schools. The Columbus Education Justice Coalition has ideas about how to improve district schools without closing them—and our recent commentary on school closures and zoning changes is linked in the first paragraph (Matter & EdInk). 

🦽 Sidewalk problems. Getting safely from home to school or the bus stop and back is difficult for many kids in Columbus due to the lack of sidewalks. Appreciate the Dispatch for drawing attention to an issue that’s literally close to home (those are my kids walking in the anchor photo). 

🚨 ICYMI

🥰 We were so thrilled to be featured in last month’s Clintonville Spotlight! If you missed the story about this newsletter in print, you can still read it online. Local news supporting local news FTW. 

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