Anonymous wrote:What are my options if I don’t want my child to use computers in an elementary classroom? I am hearing about “AI” use in 4th grade and as someone who works with AI regularly and is a privacy SME I do not want my child to use computers in class.

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Anonymous wrote:It's really hard (maybe impossible) to find a school, public or private, that truly has zero computer use. They all do little presentations or type their essays. Standardized tests are almost all on computers now, no more scantron. But that doesn't mean they are using AI.

There are a couple that are virtually zero computer use. Our parochial school uses the classical model and in elementary school only uses the computers for the standardized testing they're required to do. Middle school is almost entirely paper-based, although I believe they do type their essays and do a very limited amount of research using internet databases. I'm very anti-EdTech, but I appreciate the use of the computers for standardized testing because unfortunately the SAT is computer-based now and my kids will have to get used to taking exams like that.

You probably can't find an ideologically middle-of-the-road school that has zero EdTech, so whether you go this route depends on how comfortable you are with religiously conservative schools or Waldorf.

I think you're doing your children a disservice. They will be using technology in college and when they start working - no matter what their field of work is - so it's best to get them comfortable with tech early. My 4th grader is learning how to type because my 7th grader has been complaining how hard it is to do schoolwork when she's such a slow typist.

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Anonymous wrote: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.

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.

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Anonymous wrote:It's really hard (maybe impossible) to find a school, public or private, that truly has zero computer use. They all do little presentations or type their essays. Standardized tests are almost all on computers now, no more scantron. But that doesn't mean they are using AI.

There are a couple that are virtually zero computer use. Our parochial school uses the classical model and in elementary school only uses the computers for the standardized testing they're required to do. Middle school is almost entirely paper-based, although I believe they do type their essays and do a very limited amount of research using internet databases. I'm very anti-EdTech, but I appreciate the use of the computers for standardized testing because unfortunately the SAT is computer-based now and my kids will have to get used to taking exams like that.

You probably can't find an ideologically middle-of-the-road school that has zero EdTech, so whether you go this route depends on how comfortable you are with religiously conservative schools or Waldorf.

I think you're doing your children a disservice. They will be using technology in college and when they start working - no matter what their field of work is - so it's best to get them comfortable with tech early. My 4th grader is learning how to type because my 7th grader has been complaining how hard it is to do schoolwork when she's such a slow typist.

Research does not support this. Students can still learn technology skills later in their educational careers, and tech use in school should be very intentional and safe to enhance learning. Students can also learn typing by practicing lessons each day, and not being on a computer all day at school.

I am a high school teacher and I am consistently amazed by how bad my current crop of students are with technology (compared to students 10-15 years ago) despite being raised by tablets and educated through chromebooks. They can navigate to Youtube, but technology that might actually be helpful for their future -- digital citizenship/media literacy, Microsoft Suite or even Google platforms (creating and organizing folders, moving files, basic Excel/Sheets skills, formatting, etc.), creating aesthetically appropriate presentations, keyboarding (dear GOD the slow/unwieldy typing drives me nuts)...they suck at it.

Today's kids are learning how to be *consumers* of technology and that's about it.

Anonymous wrote:Just put a note in their file that says No computer use. Tell your kid to refuse all assignments on a computer. We did that it was fine.

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Anonymous wrote:[.

I think you're doing your children a disservice. They will be using technology in college and when they start working - no matter what their field of work is - so it's best to get them comfortable with tech early. My 4th grader is learning how to type because my 7th grader has been complaining how hard it is to do schoolwork when she's such a slow typist.