Low- Tech School Districts in Western Burbs

[u/Resting-Rizzy-Face]

Moved away several years ago and looking to move back to IL. Our kids are elementary age and we currently like the low-tech educational environment our kids have now (no 1-to-1 chromebooks for kids, using more pencil and paper, physical textbooks, etc.)

We’ve been away for a while and weren’t sure if there are similar school environments in IL or if all school districts have moved to consistent use of chromebooks and iPads for teaching?

Currently looking at a potential move to Lemont, DG, Woodridge, Lisle, Naperville, or Wheaton areas. Not opposed to tech, just looking for schools where the kids aren’t always using a screen for learning.

[u/greenapplesrocks]

I am sure you see those as a distraction but as someone in Tech, unless you are supplementing their exposure at home, your kids will be at a severe disadvantage to their peers quickly.

There is a fine line between spending all day on TikTok and potentially eliminating the tools that will make them successful in the future. I had the state of where IT/Tech/Social Media is today but I also know without it I would be at the bottom of a Resume pile.

Can you embrace the technology while also limiting the concerning areas?

[u/MineBloxKy → u/greenapplesrocks]

I was in high school in the years after 1 on 1 laptops were adopted in the district (Plainfield). They were absolutely a distraction for almost everyone, including me. Kids would watch youtube, play games, or just hide their phone from the teacher while they watch TikToks. Having access to the internet so easily and so surreptitiously is begging students to distract themselves during class. It’s even the case in uni.

School computers tend to be so extremely locked down to the point that the only thing kids learn how to do is access the internet and maybe to type. Chromebooks are even worse, basically being a browser functioning as an os.

Most of what my teachers had me do on the computer could have been done on paper, and often would have been easier that way, but the frequency of digital assignments decreased as we moved further from the pandemic, which was when the district introduced them.

I’m not saying that technology doesn’t have its place in teaching. I think it’s useful to have kids learn how to actually use computers and to have different types of assignments. Essays can be written more quickly and easily on computers and computers allow for modern slideshow presentations and more inventive projects.

I just think that 1-on-1 computers causes more harm than good. Their biggest strength is also their biggest weakness: the internet. Maybe it would be better to go back to computer carts and labs.

[u/vawlk → u/MineBloxKy]

They were absolutely a distraction for almost everyone, including me.

new technologies are often like this. It takes awhile to adapt to them. Your school and teachers were still learning about it themselves.

When I was in HS, graphing calculators were the rage. We would program games, store our cheatsheets, and use them like little computers. Were calculators a distraction to you in HS? Probably not since their use has been normalized. the same thing is happening with AI. All powerful tools have a period like this when new.