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RSU 40 technology lead presents baseline screen‑time data; committee urged to prioritize quality over minutes
Summary
District technology staff presented device usage analytics showing wide disparities across buildings and grades (median first grade ~15.4 minutes/day, eighth grade ~50.6 minutes/day) and recommended a phased review that emphasizes instructional goals and teacher input before issuing districtwide screen‑time minutes.
Ian, RSU 40’s technology lead, presented baseline device‑use analytics and a proposed multi‑phase approach to a PK–12 screen‑time recommendation the district aims to complete by June 2026.
Ian told the committee the aim of phase 1 is to measure current baselines and to distinguish instructional use from recreational screen time. He reported median daily screen time by grade on active days: first grade around 15.4 minutes, second grade about 20 minutes and an eighth‑grade median of roughly 50.6 minutes, with large within‑grade spreads and notable discrepancies between buildings. Ian highlighted Lexia usage specifically: first‑grade active‑day Lexia averages were about 9.5 minutes, which many presenters said is likely insufficient to produce meaningful program growth unless used more frequently or with fidelity.
Ian urged the committee to begin with learning targets rather than minutes. He framed the approach with three instructional tools the district already uses — Understanding by Design, the Portrait of a Learner and the SAMR model (Substitution→Redefinition) — and said the goal is to use those frameworks to decide when technology meaningfully advances learning (modification or redefinition) and when it is merely a substitution for an offline task.
Committee members raised equity and measurement concerns: active‑day counts vary widely across buildings and some first‑grade classrooms average less than six minutes of specific program time, while other classrooms average far more. Ian said staff are developing crosswalks to compare program time with assessment growth and are working with an analytics vendor to build data walls that bring platform usage and assessment outcomes together.
No district screen‑time policy was approved at the meeting. Staff recommended further teacher engagement, targeted professional development, and a phased recommendation that prioritizes instructionally meaningful use and addresses platform fidelity and infrastructure barriers before prescribing district‑wide minute limits.
