Tyler ISD teacher urges board to curb classroom technology, cites 'The Digital Delusion'

Kim Ormsby, a Tyler ISD parent and classroom teacher, told the Board of Trustees she is concerned that widespread classroom technology is harming students’ attention, memory and problem-solving skills and urged the board and Superintendent Dr. Crawford to make "evidence-based decisions." She said she brought a copy of The Digital Delusion by Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath for each board member and asked them to read it over the summer.

"Technology is proving to be pretty detrimental to our students," Ormsby said, adding that students "do not multitask well" and that devices increase distraction and "fracture" attention. She described focused attention as "the gateway to learning" and said digital tools can reduce long-term retention and students’ ability to transfer knowledge to real-world situations.

Ormsby told the board that the book criticizes what she called an "edtech" status quo and warns of the sunk-cost fallacy: continuing to invest in technology because of past expenditures even when evidence of harm exists. She encouraged the board to consider reversion where necessary, noting some schools have begun banning smartphones and suggesting the district evaluate whether other classroom technologies should be scaled back.

The board did not take action on Ormsby’s request during the meeting. Her remarks were delivered during the public-comment portion; trustees did not engage in a back-and-forth during the allotted time.

The district’s superintendent and trustees may review Ormsby’s materials and the book over the summer before the next regular meeting.