WATCH: The Most Compelling Argument Against Tech In Schools | Sophie Winkleman (YouTube Video Transcript)

(00:00:00) Your YouTube transcript will appear here (00:00:02) good afternoon everyone lovely to see (00:00:03) you all lovely to be here I'm going to (00:00:06) start with a slender anecdote totally (00:00:08) true from about four weeks ago it was (00:00:11) early evening and I was on a packed 19 (00:00:13) bus in London standing over a young man (00:00:16) and a young woman they were sitting (00:00:18) beside each other both gazing at their (00:00:20) smartphones nothing unusual about this (00:00:22) of course they were both attractive (00:00:25) smartly dressed professional looking (00:00:27) around the same age willfully invading (00:00:30) their privacy I subtly angled myself to (00:00:32) see what they were up to on their phones (00:00:35) they were each on dating apps reading (00:00:37) the profiles of men and women who (00:00:40) presented as extremely similar to the (00:00:42) two of (00:00:43) them our bus completely true our bus (00:00:46) reached Picadilly circus and both (00:00:48) happened to a light at this stop I (00:00:50) watched the two of them as they walked (00:00:52) away from each other one towards shury (00:00:54) Avenue and the other towards St (00:00:56) James's I don't need to labor the point (00:00:59) of what I witnessed with this couple (00:01:00) never to be they were side by side both (00:01:04) seeking companionship or love but they (00:01:06) didn't even register each other's each (00:01:08) other's (00:01:09) existence social media is described as a (00:01:12) great connecting force and it can be a (00:01:14) wonderful thing but when we stop (00:01:17) noticing people in our immediate (00:01:19) surroundings in faor in favor of the (00:01:21) swirling masses online I don't think of (00:01:24) it in quite such a warm fuzzy (00:01:26) glow whether it's my young couple from (00:01:28) the bus teens alone in their bedrooms (00:01:31) glued to hours of futile or dangerous (00:01:33) rubbish parents scrolling on their (00:01:36) phones while their babies try in vain to (00:01:37) catch their eye or toddlers given Siri (00:01:40) voice companions in nurseries none of (00:01:43) these newly acquired habits seem to bode (00:01:45) well for our Collective spiritual (00:01:48) flourishing the disintegration of adult (00:01:50) society and the loneliness of our (00:01:51) elderly population is Bleak enough but (00:01:54) the digital destruction of childhood is (00:01:56) a crisis we must face if we're to have (00:01:59) an alliance of remotely functioning (00:02:01) citizens let alone responsible (00:02:04) ones I first became interested in the (00:02:06) topic of screens and children a few (00:02:08) years ago when I was made patron of the (00:02:10) education charity School home support I (00:02:14) visited schools up and down the country (00:02:16) and too often I saw children distracted (00:02:18) in classrooms yet silent in (00:02:21) playgrounds screens were taking their (00:02:23) attention away from their teachers (00:02:24) during lessons and away from each other (00:02:27) during break (00:02:28) time I also observed children in general (00:02:31) becoming a different species the rockus (00:02:33) exuberance of Youth was being replaced (00:02:35) with an anxious irritable insularity (00:02:38) which was disturbing to (00:02:40) see from a personal point of view I know (00:02:43) that if I'd had devices in and out of (00:02:45) the classroom I would have bombed (00:02:47) academically I'd have been constantly (00:02:50) distracted thrilled by all the garbage (00:02:52) available online I wouldn't have read (00:02:54) any books and I'd have got up to (00:02:56) goodness knows what on my various (00:02:57) machines our household landline was qu (00:03:00) quite derailing (00:03:01) enough looking back I cherish the very (00:03:05) analog form of Education that I received (00:03:07) and the Very human connection with my (00:03:09) beloved teachers it's been one of the (00:03:11) greatest Gifts of my life and I want all (00:03:14) children to be able to focus to acquire (00:03:16) knowledge and to achieve their maximum (00:03:19) potential I think that should be every (00:03:21) civilized society's aim but the evidence (00:03:24) shows that we have already put this (00:03:25) Gravely at risk we left the doors to our (00:03:28) children's classrooms their bedrooms and (00:03:31) their minds wide opened to the World (00:03:34) perhaps we thought we were giving (00:03:35) children the right to access everything (00:03:38) which might be good out there but (00:03:40) instead we've given everyone else the (00:03:42) good and the bad access to our (00:03:44) children let's con consider some facts (00:03:47) and figures as Illustrated in Jonathan (00:03:50) Heights book The anxious generation the (00:03:52) great rewiring of childhood is causing a (00:03:54) plague of mental illness in our children (00:03:57) in the decade up to 2020 the suicide (00:04:00) rate for younger teens increased by 167% (00:04:03) among girls and 91% among boys Hospital (00:04:07) admissions for children with eating (00:04:08) disorders in the UK have risen sixfold (00:04:11) in a decade the contagious influence of (00:04:13) social media cited as a major factor and (00:04:17) 2022 saw a 500% increase of self Haring (00:04:20) among teens over the past 9 years in a (00:04:23) British Study last year researchers (00:04:25) found that one in three children are now (00:04:28) shortsighted myopia is predicted to (00:04:31) affect nearly a billion children around (00:04:32) the world by (00:04:34) 2050 too much screen time is the culprit (00:04:37) with blue light harming developing eyes (00:04:40) not to mention interfering with (00:04:41) children's hormones and their sleep (00:04:43) rhythms spending time outside can be (00:04:45) preventative for myopia yet screens suck (00:04:48) children indoors more than in any (00:04:50) previous (00:04:51) generation recently the technology (00:04:53) regulator ofcom reported that a quarter (00:04:56) of British children under the age of (00:04:58) seven have a smart phone increasing to (00:05:01) 97% of 12y olds this Mass buyin to (00:05:05) smartphones is resulting in a lost and (00:05:08) deeply damaged childhood with screen (00:05:10) addiction displacing nearly every (00:05:12) wholesome activity you can think of as (00:05:15) Douglas Gentile puts it time spent on (00:05:18) screens is time not spent (00:05:21) elsewhere a healthy childhood should (00:05:23) involve lots of free fun drawing running (00:05:27) reading writing stories make belie (00:05:30) kicking a football around even just (00:05:32) staring out of the window and wondering (00:05:35) these are all housian images in a sepia (00:05:37) tint because they scarcely happen (00:05:39) anymore health professionals for safer (00:05:42) screens recently issued guidance that 11 (00:05:45) to 17y olds should have no more than one (00:05:47) to two hours screen time per day this (00:05:49) includes everything iPads School laptops (00:05:53) smartphones it's all just screen time to (00:05:55) the brain and yet children aged 8 to 18 (00:05:59) are on average spending seven and a half (00:06:01) hours per day on screens outside of (00:06:04) school hours out and about the reality (00:06:07) is starkly visible the number of (00:06:09) toddlers subdued by screens on public (00:06:11) transport when they'd be perfectly happy (00:06:13) looking at the strangers around them the (00:06:15) dogs on leads the opening and closing (00:06:18) doors is to my mind tragic this (00:06:21) unthinking crossover from the analog to (00:06:23) the digital is resulting in heavily (00:06:26) impaired speech cognitive development (00:06:29) and emotional regulation (00:06:31) how will children so constantly but (00:06:33) artificially stimulated ever learn to (00:06:36) think imagine create or just be still (00:06:40) the short answer is that they won't (00:06:43) excessive consumption of screen based (00:06:45) Technologies is damaging developing (00:06:47) developing brains in ways too seismic (00:06:50) yet to fully (00:06:51) comprehend the battle on the smartphone (00:06:53) front is being waged with ever more (00:06:55) power thanks in no small part to Jee (00:06:57) tweni and Jonathan height who've (00:06:59) established that the harms of a (00:07:01) front-facing camera addictive social (00:07:03) media platforms and 247 dopamine (00:07:06) ignition are incontestable from the (00:07:08) damage to focus to self-esteem to deep (00:07:12) thinking to the ability to read books to (00:07:15) be patient to sleep well to interact (00:07:18) healthily in real life to think of (00:07:21) others as opposed to one's own brand to (00:07:23) Pure opportunity cost the list is (00:07:27) Relentless and these harms are at the (00:07:29) more minor end of the spectrum the (00:07:31) enhanced facilitation of knife crime the (00:07:34) enticement to radicalization and (00:07:35) terrorism and the repulsively violent (00:07:38) porn these Horrors are globally (00:07:40) recognized yet still readily available (00:07:42) on children's (00:07:44) phones some lawmakers around the world (00:07:46) are taking action to limit social media (00:07:48) for under 16s Bravo to Australia for (00:07:51) taking the first (00:07:58) stand all civilized countries will (00:08:01) surely follow suit as a matter of (00:08:02) urgency in a fashion which protects (00:08:04) children without impeding and (00:08:06) controlling adults freedoms and this is (00:08:08) very important adult freedom and child (00:08:11) safety can and must be (00:08:14) symbiotic some parents do everything in (00:08:16) their power to mitigate screen harms at (00:08:18) home but then their children go to (00:08:20) school and they experience hours of (00:08:23) screen time in the guise of educational (00:08:26) technology or (00:08:28) edtech whether that's in the form of (00:08:30) iPads and Alexa Voice assistance for (00:08:32) nursery school children learning systems (00:08:35) like Power School in primary SCH school (00:08:38) or Google Classroom on Secondary School (00:08:40) devices who has proven that this Deluge (00:08:43) of screen education is what's best for (00:08:45) our (00:08:46) children no one (00:08:49) has if we step back and view this state (00:08:52) of affairs through a compassionate lens (00:08:54) it's fairly understandable let's wave (00:08:56) aside the fact that only 7% of UK Ed (00:08:59) Tech compan companies have conducted (00:09:01) randomized control trials and just 12% (00:09:04) have used third party certification (00:09:06) let's put these pesky facts aside at the (00:09:08) beginning these products seemed (00:09:10) futuristically exciting well-intentioned (00:09:12) schools spent fortunes buying and (00:09:15) implementing the latest software and (00:09:17) trained their teachers in how to use it (00:09:19) and some of the tools like no more (00:09:21) marking have been helpful for teachers (00:09:24) but now we have better data on how Tech (00:09:27) is impacting pupils so we must press po (00:09:30) and in many cases (00:09:32) Rewind The kolinska Institute in Sweden (00:09:35) recently published research concluding (00:09:37) that there's clear scientific evidence (00:09:39) that tools impair rather than enhance (00:09:42) learning Sweden has taken note and been (00:09:45) the first country to kick Tech out of (00:09:47) the classroom reinvesting in books paper (00:09:49) and (00:09:55) pens they had the courage to admit that (00:09:58) edtech was a failed experiment Bill (00:10:01) Gates himself said that devices have a (00:10:04) lousy record in the classroom Mark (00:10:06) Zuckerberg went to a tech-free school in (00:10:08) Boston Steve Jobs didn't let his own (00:10:10) children use iPads UNESCO says (00:10:13) moderation should be the key word (00:10:15) relating to classroom Tech use the oecd (00:10:18) found that most Ed Tech has not (00:10:20) delivered the academic benefits once (00:10:23) promised and that students who use (00:10:25) computers very frequently at school do a (00:10:27) lot worse in most learning outcomes (00:10:29) comes global test scores in maths (00:10:32) science and reading are (00:10:34) plummeting I've personally spoken to (00:10:36) teachers in British State schools who've (00:10:38) acknowledged that classroom Tech has (00:10:39) hampered the progress of many of their (00:10:41) pupils and the huge boom in tutoring (00:10:43) among private school children points to (00:10:46) the fact that they're not learning well (00:10:47) in school either so why are we getting (00:10:50) so over excited about edtech here in (00:10:53) Britain why are we Outsourcing executive (00:10:55) function skills to a computer why are we (00:10:58) allowing exam boards to to take every (00:11:00) subject online by (00:11:02) 2030 all the emerging research should (00:11:05) generate a pulling up of the drawbridge (00:11:07) rather than the open armed Embrace that (00:11:08) we're seeing there's currently talk of (00:11:11) AI being pumped into our classrooms with (00:11:13) children's data being harvested to (00:11:16) better improve the AI why the fact that (00:11:20) AI will soon outperform humans in many (00:11:22) areas means schools should be backing (00:11:24) away from the neurological junk food of (00:11:26) digital learning alert to the fact that (00:11:28) it's counterproductive to learn anyway (00:11:30) on one instantly aging system and (00:11:33) teaching their pupils the deeply human (00:11:35) skills which AI will have a harder time (00:11:37) replacing the skills of reading about (00:11:40) and getting to grips with the Human (00:11:42) Condition empathy concentration eloquent (00:11:46) and humorous discussion and creative (00:11:49) expression the neurology specialist (00:11:51) Christina Capel explains that the brain (00:11:53) is like a muscle which needs to stay fit (00:11:56) with sustained focus and deep thought (00:11:59) online learn learning encourages a short (00:12:01) circuitry which damages the mind's (00:12:03) ability to focus rendering it flabby (00:12:05) needy Twitchy and easily distracted (00:12:09) reading a book in contrast to all that (00:12:11) stimulation all the bells and whistles (00:12:13) of a tablet then feels like a leaden (00:12:16) demanding and deeply unattractive (00:12:18) Prospect the standard defenses of (00:12:21) convenience and having to be oay with (00:12:23) the modern world are crumbling as (00:12:26) progress rates dive downwards Plus (00:12:29) digital literacy is a very different (00:12:31) beast from digital dependency and (00:12:33) atrophy the literacy can be taught in it (00:12:36) lessons without contaminating every (00:12:38) other (00:12:39) subject easy peasy questions such as why (00:12:43) is cutting and pasting some information (00:12:45) from Google into a PowerPoint Superior (00:12:47) to reading a passage in a well- (00:12:49) researched textbook and handwriting a (00:12:52) response why is homework listed on (00:12:54) Microsoft teams better than jotted down (00:12:56) in a paper homework diary why is (00:12:58) digitally transported in a child to the (00:13:00) Egyptian pyramids better than that child (00:13:02) imagining it this kind of jazz hands (00:13:05) immersion as an engagement tool doesn't (00:13:07) work it negates the need to imagine (00:13:10) rendering the pupil a passive rather (00:13:12) than an active (00:13:13) learner parents such as myself ask these (00:13:16) questions but we do not get answers as (00:13:19) the educational psychologist Dr Jared (00:13:22) horv has said the question isn't what's (00:13:24) the best way to take arsenic but should (00:13:27) we be taking arsenic in the first place (00:13:32) that's him not (00:13:36) me there's even no consensus that (00:13:39) interactive smartboards are safe they're (00:13:41) insanely bright they're radiation (00:13:43) emitting and they're simply not as (00:13:45) effective as a teacher writing out what (00:13:47) is in that second being explained on a (00:13:49) black or white board yet we seem to be (00:13:53) marching into a world where screens are (00:13:55) replacing books edtech companies are (00:13:58) relentlessly flogging them wees to (00:14:00) schools very successfully too the (00:14:02) business of edtech is now worth hundreds (00:14:04) of billions of dollars teachers are (00:14:07) having to submit to The New Normal and (00:14:09) as mentioned exam boards in Britain at (00:14:11) least are threatening to go online for (00:14:12) all subjects which effectively forces (00:14:15) the hand of the whole profession at (00:14:17) once so where is all this coming from if (00:14:21) like social media edtech is not in fact (00:14:23) in the best interests of the children (00:14:25) but of the people who make the products (00:14:28) shouldn't we step back rather ra than (00:14:29) Gallop ahead Emily churkin former (00:14:32) teacher now screen time consultant calls (00:14:35) Ed Tech big Tech in a school (00:14:38) uniform yet the British government has (00:14:41) committed to the high-speed rollout of (00:14:42) AI experiments which could mean a future (00:14:45) where children learn via screens (00:14:47) directed by AI surveillance will (00:14:50) intensify to track pupils progress (00:14:53) classrooms will be filled with cameras (00:14:54) and listening devices voice recognition (00:14:57) devices and chatbot Shooters are already (00:14:59) already being piloted for (00:15:01) classrooms why children who have their (00:15:04) eyes on the teacher at the front of the (00:15:06) classroom learn better than they do from (00:15:08) a (00:15:08) screen why is the rush to remove human (00:15:11) beings from The Learning Experience so (00:15:14) lorded why is it considered progress to (00:15:17) render ourselves obsolete there must be (00:15:20) a hidden incentive beneath these plans (00:15:22) because all those multiple millions (00:15:24) should be spent on teachers more of them (00:15:27) more training more recruitment more (00:15:29) support more (00:15:36) retention also this roll out has (00:15:38) implications far beyond learning and (00:15:41) children's well-being it threatens (00:15:43) privacy Liberty and democracy perhaps (00:15:46) that is where the incentive lies I say (00:15:50) no way to all of this no way for the (00:15:53) reasons above and no way from a learning (00:15:55) point of view text has now been (00:15:58) clinically proven to be more profoundly (00:16:00) absorbed from a page in a book than it (00:16:02) is from a screen and handwriting (00:16:04) installs learned information into the (00:16:06) brain much more effectively than cutting (00:16:09) pasting swiping and (00:16:15) typing reading books and handwriting (00:16:18) work is a deeper not to mention a calmer (00:16:21) way to learn screens manage to be both (00:16:24) caffeinating and numbing where books are (00:16:26) decompressing and absorbing reading and (00:16:29) handwriting also harder in a good way (00:16:32) friction and struggle are a necessary (00:16:34) part of the learning process make (00:16:36) everything too easy and it's like (00:16:37) feeding 10-year-olds puree when they (00:16:39) need to (00:16:40) chew hearteningly members of the (00:16:43) teaching profession are pushing back (00:16:45) David James Deputy head of a leading (00:16:47) Independent School says the most (00:16:50) powerful learning tool in the classroom (00:16:52) is an excellent teacher and the most (00:16:54) effective way to ensure children (00:16:55) progress is to teach them to read and (00:16:57) write effectively a screen can be a (00:17:00) distraction an obstacle to learning in a (00:17:03) way in which a book paper and Pen never (00:17:06) are certainly the schools I've visited (00:17:08) where Tech is used in moderation as (00:17:10) opposed to trigger happy abandon are far (00:17:13) more successful in terms of student (00:17:14) attainment and (00:17:16) well-being Katherine BBL sing's Michaela (00:17:18) Community School is one of the most (00:17:20) triumphant schools in Britain the (00:17:22) children are discouraged from using (00:17:24) devices in and out of school the lessons (00:17:26) are taught by passionate teachers Who (00:17:28) quiz the children on facts and figures (00:17:30) in every subject the lessons are (00:17:32) electrifying the school is calm and (00:17:35) organized the children happy (00:17:37) self-disciplined and hungry for (00:17:39) knowledge Katherine is known as (00:17:41) Britain's strictest head mistress but on (00:17:43) visiting the school it quickly (00:17:45) transpires that she's in fact Britain's (00:17:47) most loving head mistress these children (00:17:49) are given every possible tool they need (00:17:51) for incredibly successful lives another (00:17:54) Oasis of screen free education is to be (00:17:57) found at the Heritage School in (00:17:58) Cambridge Jason and Fiona Fletcher's (00:18:00) Haven of focus Serenity classical (00:18:03) intellect Christian Heritage nature art (00:18:06) and beauty is a profoundly effective (00:18:08) learning space again it would not be (00:18:11) possible if the classrooms were filled (00:18:12) with screens to build on this Movement (00:18:15) we need both a parental Revolution and (00:18:17) government cooperation firstly we must (00:18:20) employ Tech as our slave rather than our (00:18:22) Master our use of it has to be (00:18:25) intentional specific and moderate (00:18:28) secondly we need transparency about how (00:18:30) much is being spent on edtech compared (00:18:32) with what's being spent on teachers we (00:18:35) must drastically reduce the presence of (00:18:37) screens and technology in our classrooms (00:18:39) and smartphones must be permanently (00:18:41) excluded from the school day ideally (00:18:43) from children's lives (00:18:45) altogether we should Empower parents (00:18:47) with a right to opt out of classroom (00:18:49) Tech in favor of paper and pen and we (00:18:52) should Inspire generations of children (00:18:54) to love honor and cherish books to (00:18:57) conclude if we want to produce a (00:18:59) generation of responsible citizens we (00:19:02) must flip the current argument on its (00:19:04) head rather than constantly having to (00:19:06) prove the screen use's blighting (00:19:08) childhood we should ask simply where is (00:19:11) the evidence to prove that it's safe if (00:19:14) we take these Brave steps I believe we (00:19:17) can Veer away from catastrophe return (00:19:19) childhood to our young and light the way (00:19:22) to a hopeful future thank (00:19:28) you for