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Retired teacher urges Monongalia County to eliminate Chromebooks, cites research on screen time
Summary
Jennifer Srio, speaking during public comment at the March 24 board meeting, urged the board to consider eliminating Chromebooks in classrooms, citing international examples and research about screen time’s effects on learning and mental health.
Jennifer Srio, introduced as the delegation speaker, urged the Monongalia County Board of Education to consider eliminating Chromebooks from classrooms during the public-comment period on March 24. Identifying herself as a retired teacher who substituted in elementary schools this year, Srio said her classroom experience and a review of research convinced her that heavy classroom device use harms learning and behavior.
Srio cited international trends and specific research, including work by Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, and told the board she had emailed members ahead of the meeting. “The worst thing you can do for learning is multitasking,” she quoted Dr. Cooney Horvath as saying. Srio said countries such as Sweden and Finland and some U.S. parents are reducing student device use and argued the county should measure whether students are “actively thinking, discussing, writing, and interacting” before continuing widespread Chromebook use.
Board members listened but did not engage in a back-and-forth with the speaker during the public-comment period; policy 0169 (public participation) was read in advance to remind speakers of the five-minute limit and that the board will not answer questions during public comment.
Srio requested the board consider county-level policy changes; the board did not take immediate action on the request during the meeting.
