At Harrison School District, our daily work is driven by our essential mission: Building the Future - Every Learner. Every Day. Every Way. This commitment drives us to constantly review and improve our learning environments to ensure every student gets the best possible preparation for their future.
Technology: A Powerful Tool for Harrison Learners
We are very proud of our 1:1 device program. Technology is a powerful, helpful tool for teaching, giving students unparalleled access to resources, opportunities to work together, and new ways to learn that are key to their success. This was especially important after we had to rely more on digital learning during the pandemic.
But now that technology is a standard part of school and life, educators everywhere are asking a key question: How can we best use technology to get the most learning and well-being for our students?
These discussions are not about getting rid of technology. Technology is necessary to prepare our students for college, careers, and the digital world they will live in throughout their lives. It’s about creating a smart balance that does the most good for our mission to develop deep, lifelong learners.
Intentional Focus: Creating Space for Deeper Learning
Effective learning is built on two core skills: deeply understanding what you read and writing with focus. Research increasingly shows that these key skills develop best when distractions are limited and students can truly focus on the material.
Leading experts agree that students are struggling to focus—a major issue across the country strongly tied to using too much technology. Psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt argues that we must help students get their attention back so they can truly concentrate. Supporting this view, Dr. Gloria Mark, a leading attention expert, has shown that excessive screen time causes focus to shrink dramatically, making it harder than ever to stay on task. The ability to focus completely is vital for learning and for building strong thinking skills that will help them succeed.
This push for improved focus matches research on how we learn:
The Print Advantage: Reading on paper provides a calmer, deeper focus compared to the constant distractions of a screen. Researchers have found that while students often prefer reading digitally, they actually understand difficult subjects better when they read them in physical books or documents.
Focus in Writing: When students write with focus and fewer digital distractions, they are forced to slow down and process information more completely. This effort strengthens learning, builds better thinking skills, and allows them to truly grasp and share complex ideas.
Strong Skills for a Digital Future
These discussions mean that schools will, as always, have to continually monitor and adjust methods and resources used in the classroom. The long-term goal of our educational systems is finding the best ways to educate and prepare the whole child for their future lives as adults. As new knowledge and information become available, schools at all levels - preschool through college - will be challenged to find what is best for the students' growth and development, physically, intellectually, socially, and emotionally. At Harrison Schools, we are up for the challenge!