Francophone school division to limit screen time

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This article was published 12/08/2024 (390 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s francophone teachers have received marching orders to further limit screen time in their classrooms this fall and unplug whenever possible in favour of pen-and-paper assignments.

The Division scolaire franco-manitobaine announced it was banning the daytime use of cellphones in its 24 schools this time last year. A new pilot, which will take effect after Labour Day, props up that policy.

Elementary and middle years teachers are not to allow for more than one hour of computer time on any given instructional day.

There is no formal cap for Grade 9 to 12 student use, but employees have been asked to be mindful of allowing teenagers to use laptops during class — especially at the tail end of a period when there is often free time.

“The isolation of the computer is really, to me, what’s the principal factor,” said Alain Laberge, superintendent of the division that’s responsible for teaching approximately 6,000 students.

“We need to get back to basics. School is an environment where we socialize and socializing is part of growing and it’s part of learning.”

Students who require a personal device as part of an individual education plan are exempt from the directive that was recently finalized by the DSFM administration. It will not apply to virtual school attendees, either.

The two-page directive bans the screening of “reward films” that are not directly connected to academic units and cartoons during indoor recesses.

It suggests students spend formal breaks and other down time reading, participating in clubs and playing board games. Laberge said DSFM is prepared to buy schools more hands-on games to keep students off screens as part of the 2024-25 pilot.

“We need to get back to basics. School is an environment where we socialize and socializing is part of growing and it’s part of learning.”– Alain Laberge, Division scolaire franco-manitobaine superintendent

School staff are responsible for ensuring minimal exposure to screens and that they are used solely for pedagogical reasons, per the document. They will also be required to teach about the dangers of excessive screen time.

MediaSmarts warns against youth spending three or more hours in front of a screen for non-educational purposes on a daily basis.

“It’s getting in the way of sleep. It’s getting in the way of exercise. It’s getting in the way of in-person socialization, family and school work,” said Matthew Johnson, director of education at the Ottawa-based charity that creates teacher-friendly digital and media literacy resources.

At the same time, Johnson said emerging research shows online activities and attitudes towards technology have more influence over well-being than the amount of time actually spent using devices.

His view is that device-use should be thought of as a habit rather than an addiction or something to be minimized because students need to know they have agency and learn to recognize, understand and navigate the ways apps manipulate users.

Johnson noted screen-time caps make it more difficult for students to learn about media literacy and coding, among other useful skills. He said he would hope DSFM equips its teachers with support to ensure they can still carry out these lessons with less computer time.

L’Association des éducatrices et des éducateurs franco-manitobains, which represents teachers in francophone schools across the province, deferred comment to the union’s headquarters. The Manitoba Teachers’ Society does not have a firm stance on technology bans or caps.

“It’s getting in the way of sleep. It’s getting in the way of exercise. It’s getting in the way of in-person socialization, family and school work.”– Matthew Johnson, director of education at MediaSmarts

Grades 4 to 8 are particularly important years because that’s when students get their own devices and start to gain independence, said Troy Sigvaldason, an IT director who recently became the president of the Manitoba Association of Education Technology Leaders.

Opportunities, rather than restrictions, are key to ensuring these students have meaningful screen-time experiences and are set up for success in later school years, Sigvaldason said.

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“There is a part of me that sees the want to reduce access to technology not only in Manitoba but across North America, and I get it — reducing the distractions and getting our kids moving is always in everyone’s mindset,” he said in an email.

“Balance is the tricky part, and the balance will come from opportunity.”

Manitoba’s 38 divisions, which includes the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology, are responsible for developing their own device-related rules.

A spokesperson for Manitoba Education confirmed government officials are working with stakeholders to update these documents “to be responsive to current technology-use patterns.”

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Maggie Macintosh
Education reporter

Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie.

Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.

Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.