Ivey’s ed tech commission weighs how schools should use technology

Members repeatedly cautioned against a one-size-fits-all approach, noting that technology can serve very different purposes depending on a student’s age, subject, needs and access to teachers or courses.

Official response and confirmed impact

“Technology is not going away,” Houston County Superintendent Brandy White said, adding that the commission’s goal should not be simply to increase or decrease screen time, but to determine how schools can use technology with “balance and purpose.”

Chris Jenks, technology director for Tuscaloosa City Schools, said educators should be central to those decisions.

“We understand and see every day that not every minute spent on the screen is equal time,” Jenks said.

He said teachers should start with what students need to learn, then decide whether technology or more traditional teaching methods are the best way to get them there.

Jenks also said some teachers have been given technology without enough training to use it effectively.

He said policymakers need to understand technology use at the “front line level” from people who work with children every day.

Opelika High School Principal Kelli Fischer raised another question: whether technology is helping students think or making them too dependent on it.