As the number of classroom tech tools continues to rise, balanced learning environments for K5 teachers and students remain critical to support learning and mitigate tech fatigue. However, successfully navigating the blend of on- and offline pedagogies is no easy feat—especially in earlier grades where inclusive, joyful learning is essential and positively associated with academic achievement.
As such, this piece unpacks the common pitfalls that schools make when trying to find the balance. Two seasoned administrators are sharing innovative approaches for balancing screen time with interactive, tangible experiences that are crucial for developing young critical thinkers and problem solvers.
Technology use in elementary classrooms is at a crossroads. While edtech’s potential to enhance learning is undeniable, a staggering 70% of elementary teachers feel that current tools fall short in supporting the needs of young learners.
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This, coupled with growing concerns about excessive screen time and passive technology use, begs the question: How can educators strike the right balance between digital experiences and hands-on, developmentally-appropriate learning—especially in the foundational K5 years when authentic engagement is key to fostering lifelong learners. And, how can education leaders implement best practices that leverage technology’s potential while still prioritizing tangible experiences and joyful, active learning for young learners?
This piece offers 5 practices districts can employ to strike the right balance, ensuring that edtech tools support the active, joyful learning experiences that elementary students need:
1. Use tech to enhance exciting, joyful tangible experiences. Instead of thinking of tech use as an either/or experience, brainstorm ways to combine tech with learning experiences in the classroom. In our district, we use the video/audio recording and sharing edtech tools in Seesaw to empower learners to document their work.
For example, students can record themselves engaging in play-based learning activities, such as building with Legos or participating in STEM projects. This approach puts the agency in the hands of students, allowing them to self-direct their learning through play-based activities while providing teachers with a rich record of their development. It also enhances students’ experience as they enjoy themselves and create special memories.
2. Support teachers in creating developmentally-appropriate lesson plans that intentionally integrate tech for PK-5 learners. Many elementary teachers, especially those who started teaching during or immediately before the pandemic, have structured entire units and lesson plans around the technology that was required for remote or hybrid schooling. Back in the classroom, these teachers may find themselves using the same lesson plans—and over-relying on tech.
When integrating technology, educators should consider the PIC RAT model, which analyzes students’ relationship to technology (Passive, Interactive, Creative) and its impact on teaching practices (Replacement, Amplification, Transformation). District and school leaders might consider holding workshops or offering curricular support to teachers adapting to this major formal change (which is, for some teachers, the second time they’ve had to navigate one in just a few years). And updated lesson plans can foreground the “four Cs”: critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication.
3. Empower preK-5 students by offering tech and non-tech options when possible. While some lessons require the use of tech to be most effective, consider empowering students by giving them the choice between tech and non-tech options where possible. If there is time for “free reading,” for example, students might be allowed to read however they wish, whether they’re reading a text on tablets at their desks or reading a physical book while sitting on a bean bag chair near the classroom bookshelf. Either way, they’ll get to follow their own curiosity and experience the joy of reading under the conditions that feel most comfortable to them.
Designate “screen-free” zones like outdoor play areas or cozy reading nooks on campus. Children—and young children especially—benefit from tech breaks for unstructured play, physical activity and social interaction, which are all keys for their development. Designating certain rooms or outdoor areas on campus as being “screen-free” is a great way to give students a break from screens and derive full enjoyment from play and other interpersonal interactions—which also reinforces their social and emotional learning.
5. Use tech for longer projects involving multiple other kinds of experiences and learning practices. This is another recommendation that can help educators avoid the type of transactional, passive use of technology that we want to avoid in elementary classrooms. Creating projects that combine online and offline activities is a great way for young learners to explore how technology can support their learning.
During complex curricular units, students can do a variety of tech-free projects (once again keeping the “four Cs” in mind): sketching out their ideas on paper, building dioramas, working in groups and so on. These tech-free projects can culminate in a recorded presentation using enabled tech tools. This gives students a mix of experiences as they move through new material and ideas.
As time goes on, teachers and district leaders will only have more opportunities to use tech to enhance students’ educational experiences. This is why it’s so important, now more than ever, to figure out how to strike the balance between online and offline learning, so students can have an education they truly love.
