While many schools are banning or restricting smartphones, many bans have met protests from students and from parents who want to be able to reach their kids. Students at the Würenloser Gesamtschule near Zürich in Switzerland put their smartphones in a wooden box for the whole school day. Würenlos parents can reach their kid’s teachers at any time through the school app. But, as the OECD notes, students who spend one to five hours per day on digital devices for learning at school score significantly higher in mathematics lessons than those who spend no time on such devices. From kindergarten, the school supplies students with tablets equipped with content filters and seniors with notebooks loaded with educational software. And Würenlos has active sports clubs, a third play an instrument, and students talk to each other in the breaks. It seems the problem isn’t the use of these devices per se, but excessive use and the kind of content students access.
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