A Nova Scotia parent was shocked to find out that her daughter had a school Google account for three years. Even more baffling was that school officials said there was no way to opt out.
Here's what to know
CBC News reported that a Nova Scotia substitute teacher, Kim Herrick, learned that her daughter, entering Grade 2, had been given a school Google account three years prior without her knowledge.
When she tried to deal with the account, Herrick said she could not access it, and school officials told her it could not be deleted or declined because educational apps depended on it as it was "a requirement" for learning.
Herrick said, "We do not need a Google account to learn."
When filling in for teachers at the high school and middle school, Herrick told CBC News that she often sees students using school technology for things that have little to do with lessons, including social media, online shopping, gaming, and even Bitcoin trading.
More background
Amid growing pushback over classroom technology, parents, educators, advocacy groups, and experts have raised concerns about behavior issues, reduced attention, and risks to children's privacy.
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Herrick also said many parents do not fully understand what their children are accessing on screens in class or the privacy terms tied to those tools.
Johanathan Woodworth, an assistant professor at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, said, "A lot of times teachers use technology in the classroom because of the novelty effect and engagement — but the novelty effect wears off. The first step is to think about 'Do I even need to use it? What is the purpose of me using it? Does it actually help me in my classroom?'"
CBC News reported that some school systems are already pulling back. In the United States, the Los Angeles Unified School District has set screen-time caps across all grades, while New York is limiting one-to-one device use for Grade 2 and younger students. Norway is returning to more physical books in its schools, and Sweden is bringing back paper textbooks while keeping younger students in screen-free classrooms.
What's being done?
For the most part, school leaders are not calling for technology to be removed entirely, but are pushing for it to be used more deliberately and in ways that better match students' ages.
Tom D'Amico, an education consultant who formerly led education at the Ottawa Catholic School Board, said schools have to prepare students for a digital world while making device use more "purposeful" and ensuring it is "not used as a distraction."
"That means regardless of the province, you're looking at the earliest grades not having a lot of device time, but still getting AI literacy. They still need to learn about digital citizenship, what it means to use a computer," D'Amico explained.
Woodworth also said teachers need clear guidance and sufficient training to use technology carefully and effectively.
D'Amico said the main goal is to always put the learning first and help students build stronger relationships with their teachers and classmates.
"What's the number one technology in a classroom? It's the student and their brain," he said.
Where can I learn more?
Questions about school-issued accounts are part of a much bigger conversation on how much technology children should be exposed to — and who gets to make that call. Elsewhere, the same tensions are showing up in Canadian policy, consumer products, and local disputes that affect kids.
• In Canada, lawmakers are weighing under-16 social media ban proposals with safety-based exemptions.
• Parents are recoiling after AI-powered toys teaching kids dangerous behavior surfaced online.
• Near a school, residents are resisting plastics company operations expansion over health fears.
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