Class time and screen time don't mix

A straightforward policy limiting or outright banning smartphones in Toronto District School Board classrooms is something that should have been instituted more than a decade ago when and But prudent policy actions are better late than never, and at long last, it appears a smartphone policy with teeth — one that gives teachers explicit instruction on how to curtail phone use in class A motion to develop such a policy will go to a school board committee meeting this week.

If approved, it will launch a process to research, develop, and hopefully adopt a new smartphone policy board wide. Currently, the TDSB has a guideline in its code of conduct concerning phone use in the classroom, but critics argue that it is too vague and difficult for teachers to enforce. “I don’t believe [the current guideline] supports teachers well, as it leaves it up to them to police and enforce without clear expectations,” said Rachel Chernos Lin, the TDSB chair who co authored the notice of motion.

“I believe the time has come for us to reexamine this issue, and create a clear, strong policy that puts restrictions in place to ensure students and teachers are able to focus on what’s happening in the classroom.” Chernos Lin said that one of the top concerns parents and teachers raise with her is phone use during instructional time.

“In recent months and years, we have seen research that not only highlights the significant disruption that cell phones have on learning but the real impact they together with social media have on teen mental health and well being,” she told the Star. Indeed, if we can all agree that screen time should be limited for kids at home, certainly it should be limited or better yet, discontinued in most classroom settings.

Not only does research indicate that excessive smartphone use is ; it is detrimental to their learning too. In fact, according to a , phones in class can be so detrimental to student learning that the organization recommended that they only be used in class when they support “learning outcomes.” In other words, students should not be scrolling TikTok in class.

From the : “Clear objectives and principles are needed to ensure that technology use is of benefit and avoids harm. The negative and harmful aspects of the use of digital technology in education and society include risk of distraction and lack of human contact. Unregulated technology even poses threats to democracy and human rights, for instance through invasion of privacy and stoking of hatred.” The report cites a study showing that once a student is distracted by a “non academic activity,” like a smartphone notification, it can take them up to 20 minutes to refocus on the task at hand.

It is no wonder that school smartphone bans are underway in many nations. According to UNESCO, the removal of smartphones from schools in Spain, Belgium, and the UK “improved learning outcomes,” particularly among students who weren’t performing on par with their peers. Of course, digital technology in the classroom is not all bad and can sometimes be a force for tremendous good.

For remote learners and for it can be life changing. The goal then of the TDSB and by extension any school board should not be to ban technology from classrooms outright—an impossibility in an education space soon to be upended by artificial intelligence. Rather the goal should be to harness modern technology for positive educational outcomes, and to restrict its use when it poses a risk to those outcomes.

The first step to achieving this goal is a clear and robust board wide smartphone policy. We encourage the Toronto District School Board to move quickly on this issue so that all students have the opportunity to learn without screen time distractions..