Seattle Schools Community Forum

Not that it's really a surprise but this story from The Guardian is making news: Allowing students to use computers and the internet in classrooms substantially harms their results, a study has found. The paper published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that students barred from using laptops or digital devices in lectures and seminars did better in their exams than those allowed to use computers and access the internet. The researchers suggested that removing laptops and iPads from classes was the equivalent of improving the quality of teaching. The study was undergrads so it's not clear if the results would be the same for K-12 students. What would help kids do better in math and English?  Apparently it's philosophy.  From Quartz:

Good wrap-up of the current teacher contract negotiations by Josh Feit over at Publicola.   I got a little more clarity on the issue of elementary school teachers and the added unpaid half-hour of work. Calling one sticking point "a longer day for less pay," Knapp said teachers objected to a district proposal to contractually increase the length of the school day for elementary school teachers from seven hours to seven-and-a-half hours without increasing pay, while simultaneously eliminating the weekly hour that's set aside for teacher planning and collaboration. The weekly planning hour is paid time, and eliminating it works out to an average 2.6 percent pay cut. Adding the daily half hour in its place is supposed to supplement teacher planning time, but in essence, it's mandating extra time without extra pay, replacing a paid hour per week with an unpaid two-and-a-half hours per week. Knapp says the micro-managey proposal "is disrespect...