Education leaders are perplexed by parents’ views on technology use: parents worry about too much screen time but say digital learning is important. This session will unpack current research on parents’ views and provide K-12 leaders with insights to address screen time concerns with effective messaging and real data.

1. Dr. Julie A. Evans
CEO, Project Tomorrow
@JulieEvans_PT
Too Much
Screen Time:
Fake News or
Real Parental Concern?

2. Getting to know each other!
Let’s tweet!!
@JulieEvans_PT @SpeakUpEd #ISTE19 #ISTE2019

3. Today’s discussion
▪ About Project Tomorrow & the Speak Up Research Project
▪ Too much screen time – fake news or real parental concern?
o Leverage national Speak Up research findings to explore what parents
really think about digital initiatives and the use of technology within
their child’s education
▪ Data-informed recommendations for more community responsive messaging
around digital learning
▪ Additional resources for you
▪ Let’s talk! Your comments, ideas and questions

4. ▪ Nonprofit education organization supporting K-12 education
since 1996
▪ Mission is to ensure today’s students are well prepared for the
future
▪ Programs and research focus on role of digital tools within the
education ecosystem – we believe in the power of
transformational teaching and learning to support student
preparation for college and career success
o Speak Up Research Project on Digital Learning: supporting
the development of new leadership capacities within K-12
schools and districts through the effective use of insights
and views from key stakeholder audiences
About Project Tomorrow

5. About the Speak Up Project
(www.tomorrow.org/speakup)
▪ Annual research project since 2003
▪ Facilitated 100% through schools and districts
▪ We design and provide education leaders with
a suite of online surveys they can use to collect
feedback from their K-12 stakeholders
▪ All K-12 schools – public, private, parochial,
charter, virtual - are eligible to participate
▪ Schools get summary report with all locally
collected data + state and national data for
benchmarks
▪ Project Tomorrow manages all data collection
and reporting for schools as a 100% free
service

6. We are very proud of our partnerships with these
organizations and many others!
About the Speak Up Project
(www.tomorrow.org/speakup)

7. ✓ K-12 students
✓ Teachers
✓ Librarians and Media
Specialists
✓ Parents
✓ School site
administrators
✓ District administrators
✓ Technology leaders
✓ Public Information
Officers
✓ Community members
About the Speak Up Project
(www.tomorrow.org/speakup)
Activities:
How are education stakeholders
implementing new learning models
especially using technology?
Attitudes:
What do they value or care about
with those new learning
experiences?
Aspirations:
What their goals or desires for
higher impact with these new
learning models?
Surveys built for . . . . To learn about their ….

8. Top 5 ways education leaders
are translating their Speak Up
data into “actionable
knowledge”
About the Speak Up Project
(www.tomorrow.org/speakup)
Teacher
Professional
Development
Community
Engagement
Evaluating
Outcomes
Decision-
making
Funding
Development

9. Key trends from the Speak Up Research
• Greater emphasis on linking technology to students’ global skill preparation
• Interest, acceptance and implementation of new learning models
• Students’ self-directed digital learning outside of school influencing their
expectations for school
• Meet the new digital parent – with their new demands & higher aspirations
• Thinking beyond engagement to understanding tangible outcomes from
digital learning
• Increasing criticality for Internet connectivity – at school and at home
• Digital connectivity as a social justice issue
• Connections between leadership and digital effectiveness
• Digital learning is really a metaphor today for education transformation

10. Key trends from the Speak Up Research
• Greater emphasis on linking technology to students’ global skill preparation
• Interest, acceptance and implementation of new learning models
• Students’ self-directed digital learning outside of school influencing their
expectations for school
• Meet the new digital parent – with their new demands & higher aspirations
• Thinking beyond engagement to understanding tangible outcomes from
digital learning
• Increasing criticality for Internet connectivity – at school and at home
• Digital connectivity as a social justice issue
• Connections between leadership and digital effectiveness
• Digital learning is really a metaphor today for education transformation

12. What do you see?
Are we all seeing the
same thing today?
Are our students, parents
and teachers seeing
things differently?
How can we use the
feedback from our
stakeholders to improve
our sight?

13. Leveraging Speak Up Project data to inform new
discussions and improved messaging around
digital learning plans in your school or district
“Without data, you are just another person with an
opinion …”

14. Today’s discussion
▪ About Project Tomorrow & the Speak Up Research Project
▪ Too much screen time – fake news or real parental concern?
o Leverage national Speak Up research findings to explore what parents
really think about digital initiatives and the use of technology within
their child’s education
▪ Data-informed recommendations for more community responsive
messaging around digital learning
▪ Additional resources for you
▪ Let’s talk! Your comments, ideas and questions

15. What do parents really
think about digital
initiatives and the use
of technology within
their child’s education?
Screen time vs. personalized learning

16. Let’s play “3 Truths and 1 Myth”
What is a truth and what is a myth about parents and their views on the use of
technology within their child’s learning life?
1. Parents believe that the effective use of technology in
school helps their children develop college and career
ready skills
2. Parents are very concerned about how their child’s school
is protecting personal data
3. Parents support the idea that students should be assigned
mobile devices to use for learning
4. More parents today are worried about their child’s screen
time than ever before
Truth or Myth
?
?
?
?

17. What do parents really think . . .
What concerns you about your child’s future?
1. Having to take on too much student tuition debt (59% of parents
polled nationwide)
2. Not learning the right skills in school to be successful in the future
(45%)
3. Having to compete with better educated workers around the globe
for jobs (34%)
4. Not being able to afford to live in our community (34%)
5. Needing more education than a college degree to get a good job
(33%)
Speak Up data as of March 2019 – 20,925 parents nationwide

18. What do parents really think . . .
What are those “right skills?”
Besides strong subject area knowledge, what college/workplace skills are most
important for students to acquire to be successful in the future?
1. Critical thinking and problem solving skills (85%)
2. Financial literacy (75%)
3. Ability to work with diverse groups of people (74%)
4. Teamwork and collaboration skills (73%)
5. Creativity (73%)
6. Ability to learn independently (72%)
7. Technology skills (66%)

19. What do parents really think . . .
What are the best ways for your child to develop
those “right skills?”
✓ Getting work experience (80%)
✓ Participating on a sports team or academic group (63%)
✓ Participating in school leadership activities (61%)
✓ Using technology within his/her classes at school (58%)
✓ Project based learning experiences at school (55%)
✓ Working on group projects with classmates (53%)

20. What do parents really think . . .
How important is the effective use of instructional
technology to students’ success?
95% of
parents say
tech use in
school is
important for
student
success
5%
50%
45%
4%
50%
46%
5%
51%
44%
Not important/no opinion
Important
Extremely important
Parents - Gr 9-12 Parents - Gr 6-8 Parents - K-5

21. What do parents really think . . .
Preference for students’ mobile device access in school
Mobile device access type National parents
Schools assign 1:1 devices to students 50%
Students use their own personal devices 16%
Teachers schedule devices/carts when needed 12%
Students access devices in a library or media center only 16%
Students should not use devices in school 3%

22. What do parents really think . . .
New learning model preferences
✓ 50% of parents say a blended learning environment would be best for
their child
Blended learning class: a formalized structure where the teacher provides instruction
part of the time in a physical classroom with a class of students, and part of the time the
students follow an online curriculum at their own pace at home or at school
✓ 24% would choose a flipped learning class as best for their child
Flipped class: the teacher assigns online videos of lessons, labs, and lectures for students
to watch as homework, and then the in-school class period is used for doing projects, in-
depth discussions, remediation, and individualized schoolwork help

23. What do parents really think . . .
Teaching students coding in school
Why is this valuable for my child?
1. Develops critical thinking skills (63%)
2. Helps students think logically (54%)
3. Develops new strategies for solving complex problems (53%)
4. Good preparation for a future job (53%)
5. Learns design thinking (48%)

24. What do parents really think . . .
Imagine you are designing a dream school for
today’s students. What digital tools will
increase student achievement and success?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Digital media creation tools
Mobile apps
Digital content
Online student organization tools
Access to cloud collaboration tools
Laptop/Chromebook for every student
Parents in rural communities Parents in suburban communities Parents in urban communities

25. What do parents really think . . .
As a result of how technology is used in school to
support learning, my child is …
▪ Applying knowledge to practice problems
▪ In control of their own learning
▪ Developing critical thinking skills
▪ Extending learning while at home
▪ Taking ownership of his/her learning

26. What is parents’
greatest concern
about the use of
technology at their
child’s school?
What do you think?

27. Concerns about technology use at their child’s school?
Many popular beliefs are not substantiated by the actual
views of parents:
➢ Data privacy – only 26% of parents say this is an important
concern
➢ School/class websites are not updated – 21%
➢ Too much test prep for online tests – 15%
➢ Teachers are over-using online tools to communicate
information to parents – 5%

28. What do parents really think . . .
Concerns about technology use at their child’s school?
46% of parents say this is their #1 concern:
“Tech use varies too much from teacher to teacher”

29. What do parents really think . . .
▪ Technology use is important for preparing students with right skills for a
successful future
▪ Mobile devices, new learning models and coding experiences provide
optimum learning experiences for their child that reinforce personalization
and skill preparation
▪ Technology use helps students develop college and career ready skills
▪ Concerns are high about too much variety and less consistency in
technology use in school
▪ Parents value the personalization of the learning process for their child
Let’s review: parents believe ….

30. But, what about too much screen time???

31. “Parents are increasingly concerned
about too much screen time for
their child”
Truth or Myth?

32. What are parents’ greatest concerns
about their child’s use of technology
and the Internet in general?

33. What do parents really think . . .
Concerns about child’s technology use in general Parents –
nationwide
2018
Parents –
nationwide
2017
Cyber-bullying 70% 48%
Being contacted by strangers online 69% 56%
Seeing inappropriate content on websites 67% 57%
Too much screen time 64% 61%
Texting inappropriate messages 62% 47%
Sharing too much personal information online 61% 52%
Photos of my child being shared online without permission 52% 38%
Parents’ greatest concerns about their child’s use
of technology and the Internet in general

34. What do parents really think . . .
Concerns Parents under
29 years of age
Parents aged
30-39
Parents aged
40-49
Parents over
50 years of age
Too much
screen time
50% 60% 65% 65%
Concerns Home income
under 50K
Home income
50K-100K
Home income
100K-150K
Home income
over 150K
Too much
screen time
50% 63% 68% 70%
Concerns Title 1 family Non-Title 1 family
Too much
screen time
59% 69%

35. What do parents really think . . .
40%
64%
Parents
2006 2018
What factors are
driving this
increasing concern
for parents about
technology use?
Concern: too much screen time
National parents results

36. Factor: Negative media stories and inappropriate research?

37. Factor: Parents don’t view school as that different from their own experiences
“If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we
rob them of tomorrow.”
― John Dewey

38. Factor: How we are communicating value of digital learning
Educators see this:

39. Factor: How we are communicating value of digital learning
Educators see this:
Parents fear this:

40. The Great Digital Learning Debate
Is it personalized learning
OR
Is it too much screen time?

41. What is parents’
greatest concern
about the use of
technology at their
child’s school?
What do you think?

42. What is parents’ greatest concern about the use
of technology at their child’s school?
Focus on: too much screen time
Demographics Concern about too much
screen time at school
Concern about too much
screen time in general
All parents nationwide 32% 64%
By grade level of child
• K-5
• Gr 6-8
• Gr 9-12
32%
33%
33%
64%
64%
65%
By community type
• Urban
• Suburban
• Rural
29%
32%
34%
57%
66%
65%
By family income
• Under 50K
• Over 150K
24%
36%
50%
70%

43. Maybe this is the real concern with too much
screen time . . .

44. Factor: How we are communicating the value of digital learning
Factor: How are we communicating our vision to meet parents’ concerns
What messages are we transmitting
when we are talking about new digital
initiatives or investments?
Are we seeing the
opportunities/challenges through
the eyes of parents of school-aged
children today?
What can we adjust to address the
“Great Digital Learning Debate?”

45. Factor: How we are communicating the value of digital learning
Factor: How are we communicating our vision to meet parents’ concerns
Parents’ expectations for communications with school is changing
New parent perspectives 2012 2017
Have a personal smartphone 73% 97%
Prefer a face to face meeting at school 58% 40%
Prefer a personal phone call from the
teacher
49% 34%
Look up info on the school or district
website
37% 22%
Look up info on school or class portal 48% 28%

46. Factor: How we are communicating the value of digital learning
Factor: How are we communicating our vision to meet parents’ concerns
What is most important to parents in terms of communications and
engagement?
✓ Convenience
✓ Push, not search
✓ Personalized, not
standardized
✓ Timeliness and currency
✓ Realization that they are
busy
✓ High impact/high ROI
type results

47. Factor: How we are communicating the value of digital learning
Factor: How are we communicating our vision to meet parents’ concerns
Are we talking too much about “engagement” and not enough about “learning?”
What metrics are you using to evaluate the impact or outcomes of your
digital initiatives?
69% of district administrators say their #1 metric is:
Student engagement levels
Much further in the rankings:
Student skill development – 38%
Depth of student collaborations – 38%
Quality of student projects – 30%

48. General Recommendations:
How to message to parents about learning using digital
content and tools
1. Promotes workplace skill development (45% of parents worry that their children are
not learning workplace skills in school)
2. Provides differentiated learning - one size learning does not fit anyone – every child
learns differently
3. Increased motivation to learn results in greater student ownership of learning
4. Using data derived from digital tools helps the teacher pay closer attention to each
child’s needs
5. Digital tools enable students to become creators of content, not just consumers
6. Extends learning beyond the physical world – demystifies what we cannot see
Digital learning …..

49. Source: Project Tomorrow’s recent 2 year evaluation of the tangible outcomes of blended
learning within 9 parochial schools in Los Angeles
School messaging about blended learning – what worked & what did not:
“every child will have a Chromebook to use all day at school”
“we are now a technology school”
“teachers will provide your child with personalized attention”
“your child will learn skills to help them in high school”
Sample messaging exercise – blended learning vision

50. 1. Getting beyond mythology and understand
the factors really driving parents’ views and
concerns – using local data from
stakeholders really matters!
2. Districts should re-calibrate their digital
learning value statements to align with
parents’ values and concerns
3. Be concrete and explicit about the changes
in the learning environments
4. Focus on learning benefits and outcomes –
not just the increased engagement of
students using technology
Recommendations for creating responsive
community messages about digital learning

51. Let’s play “3 Truths and 1 Myth”
What is a truth and what is a myth about parents and their views on the use of
technology within their child’s learning life?
1. Parents believe that the effective use of technology in
school helps their children develop college and career
ready skills
2. Parents are very concerned about how their child’s school
is protecting personal data
3. Parents support the idea that students should be assigned
mobile devices to use for learning
4. More parents today are worried about their child’s screen
time than ever before
Truth or Myth

52. Let’s play “3 Truths and 1 Myth”
What is a truth and what is a myth about parents and their views on the use of
technology within their child’s learning life?
1. Parents believe that the effective use of technology in
school helps their children develop college and career
ready skills
2. Parents are very concerned about how their child’s school
is protecting personal data
3. Parents support the idea that students should be assigned
mobile devices to use for learning
4. More parents today are worried about their child’s screen
time than ever before
Truth or Myth
Truth
Myth
Truth
Truth

53. Today’s discussion
▪ About Project Tomorrow & the Speak Up Research Project
▪ Too much screen time – fake news or real parental concern?
o Leverage national Speak Up research findings to explore what parents
really think about digital initiatives and the use of technology within
their child’s education
▪ Data-informed recommendations for more community responsive messaging
around digital learning
▪ Additional resources for you
▪ Let’s talk! Your comments, ideas and questions

54. More resources available at
www.tomorrow.org
National Speak Up reports and infographics
Targeted and thematic reports
Educational Equity
School communications
Mobile learning
Blended learning outcomes
Coding and creativity
Presentations, podcasts and webinars
Services: consulting, workshops, evaluation and efficacy studies
✓ We have expertise in the evaluation of mobile implementations, new
classroom models and digital content usage
✓ We facilitate leadership development workshops such as:
• Workshops to help districts develop responsive messages and visions
Workshops that help districts interpret feedback data from stakeholders

55. Online surveys available for:
o K-12 students – individual +
group
o Parents – English and Spanish
o Teachers
o Librarians/Media Specialists
o School Site & District
Administrators
o Technology Leaders
o Community Members
Invitation for your class, school or district to
participate in the Speak Up Research Project
❖ Surveys open from August through June
❖ Two formats: Speak Up 360 or Speak Up Snapshot
❖ 100% free – with full data reports for you!

56. Your questions,
thoughts,
comments,
ideas
Let’s talk!

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Thank you!

58. Thank you for joining me today!
Dr. Julie A. Evans
CEO, Project Tomorrow
@JulieEvans_PT
Too Much Screen Time:
Fake News or
Real Parental Concern?
Have a great conference!