
<p>Computerized technology in schools has been the biggest transformation of classrooms across the country for the past two decades. But the results now seem to suggest it may be time to go back to the old school tools in the interest of quality of education.</p>



<p>In an op-ed piece published in <em>The Epoch Times</em> (March 22), Jeff Minick discussed the inverse relationship between increase in the use of digital technology in classrooms and the learning scores of students in elementary as well as high schools in America and abroad. The article tied the time spent by young American students using digital/computer technologies for their education and the decline in their math and reading skills across the U.S. and 80 other countries, as measured by Nation’s Report Card:</p>



<p><em>Covid’s school closures undoubtedly harmed many students, but many observers tie this deterioration in learning and thinking to the use of screens in school.</em></p>



<p>Citing neurologist and teacher Dr. Jared Horvath, who testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in January this year, the article wrote that indiscriminate digital expansion has weakened the learning environment for students instead of helping make it better. Dr. Horvath has posted a series of videos on his YouTube channel explaining this connection as part of his effort to create awareness about the problem and its root cause. In one of his videos, posted last November, he explained how reading works for learners using a digital screen vs learning via paper.</p>



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<p>Minick’s article also touched on various restrictions that several countries are now putting in place to achieve better learning outcomes for school-goers. These range from outright banning minors from making social media accounts to requiring teaching via traditional pen-and-paper as the medium of teaching in classrooms. Regarding such measures in America, the article wrote:</p>



<p><em>Some school districts have a bell-to-bell policy of banning cell phone usage, others are ditching classroom computers or limiting them, and some state legislatures are proposing laws that regulate screens in school statewide.</em></p>



<p>Such awareness of the downside of digital technology is important and comes at a time when tech industry is increasingly replacing traditional tools in every sphere of life. Just last week, educators got their dose of the tech scare when First Lady Melania Trump hinted at AI androids doing the work of teachers in the future. At the Future Together Global Coalition Summit at the White House&#8221; on Wednesday (March 25), Mrs. Trump walked with an android into the room where she later said:</p>



<p><em>“Imagine a humanoid educator named Plato. Access to the classical studies is now instantaneous. Literature, science, art, philosophy, mathematics, and history. History, humanity&#8217;s entire corpus of information, is available in the comfort of your home.”</em></p>



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WATCH: Melania Trump Suggests Using Humanoid Robots as Teachers Moving Forward &#8211; 03/25/26 <a href="https://t.co/23lKPlD87k">pic.twitter.com/23lKPlD87k</a></p>&mdash; RSBN ðºð¸ (@RSBNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/RSBNetwork/status/2036826868591006000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2026</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>Connecting these visions of AI technology from people in the leadership roles to the experts’ findings on digital learning, it paints an ominous picture wherein humans are getting poor at learning while machines are marching ahead of them. In an important way, it’s dystopian fiction becoming reality.</p>

Turning Back: Poor Learning via Digital Technology in Schools
