Reply to Opt Out of Computer Use

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Thank you for raising this issue. You are absolutely right to be concerned about AI access on school devices and the weak technology controls in FCPS. Students absolutely know how to use proxies and workarounds (to access social media, streaming services, and AI chatbots, and the current filters are not strong enough. On top of that, laptops are out almost the entire school day, and many kids are spending far more time on screens than is healthy or academically productive. Students also bully and send harmful unsafe photos in school gmails and google drives.

Some private schools are starting to limit tech use or implement much stronger controls, and FCPS families should be asking for the same. Parents can opt out of specific platforms (like YouTube) or certain programs through the FCPS parent digital consent page. If more parents push for more intentional and safe technology use, FCPS may make healthy changes to tech use.

I would encourage everyone concerned about this to email your principal, your school board members, and the superintendent. Research continues to show that more technology in classrooms is not improving learning. In fact, academic outcomes for this generation are lower than in the past, and they are the first generation not outperforming their parents academically. We’re also seeing a significant youth mental-health crisis, and the research increasingly connects excessive technology use—and especially unmonitored AI chat tools and use of social media—to higher rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide.

A lot of the push for more tech in schools comes from EdTech companies- and well intentioned, naive parents just are not fully aware of the serious dangers and risks. But more information is available now, and the school systems need to adjust to protect our kids. If this concerns you, I highly recommend reading The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt and following his work. The “Scrolling to Death” podcast and social media account is also an excellent resource.

The light speed monitoring is well intentioned but useless. Students can sign in on another Google account and you won’t be able to see what size they’re on. They also know how to use proxies and how to disable light speed. FCPS could prioritize better tech controls and they do not.[/quote]

What are the methods they are using to get around Lightspeed or other proxy servers?

One thing to monitor as a parent is if your Lightspeed report is incredibly light on usage, that means your child is most likely (but not definitely) circumventing the rules. You can also see some of the URLs being accessed to try and shut down Lightspeed. Tell your child if you see thse types of things there will be ______ consequence.

You shouldn't be able to log onto a FCPS Chromebook with a non-FCPS email, that shouldn't be hard to implement. [/quote]

Students can login to their Chromebook with their FCPS login. Then they can switch Google users to avoid lightspeed. I don’t know how they use proxies or how they disable lightspeed, but I know they do. My child knows how and has done it, so have tons of their friends. The teachers don’t notice at all and they don’t get caught. They get on social media and streaming sites. The computers are out way too much and used for way too many things. They have block scheduling in MS/HS and get their work done early and then just get on the computers- not studying or doing work. I would love to see computers put away during teacher lessons, have students read real books instead of online books, and elementary shouldn’t need them out for much at all. Technology use in the school should be very intentional and enhance learning. It shouldn’t be there for all learning and teaching. The research clearly supports this and hopefully schools will catch up with the research and not be so influenced by Ed tech.[/quote]

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