The board of education spent part of its its June 9 meeting discussing a recent presentation about the use of technology in schools.
The presentation came from the board’s policy and legislation committee. Committee chair and board member Bridget Palmer noted that the group recently discussed app use, Chromebooks and the district’s cell phone and AI policies.
Current district policy, implemented last August, stipulates that students can’t use cell phones during class, but they can during recess, lunch and on buses. Another policy implemented in March covers acceptable use of AI in the district and how the district will create a plan for it.
Palmer said the committee discussion was a “starting point” for future policies that will be introduced as drafts in July, among them how much time students can spend on devices and what apps are allowed.
“It’s clear that we need some guidelines,” Palmer explained. “So I envision policies that are similar to the AI policy, where it’s kind of a broad stroke, big umbrella. And then administration is already working on plans to operationalize that.
“So we’ll set the parameters and then administration will set the day to day, how we manage those things.”
Board member Renee Cherfane asked if Chromebook usage was talked about at the committee session, and Palmer answered yes.
“I think the overall sentiment is that Chromebooks and different types of technology have a place,” Palmer noted. “We need to teach students how to use them. They’re unavoidable in some respects. But there is a need to implement some best practices, some guidelines, kind of control how and when they’re used …
“We need them,” she added, “but how we use them is, I think, what the policies are going to look to tackle.”
Member Dean Drizin said it could be helpful to have a presentation for the whole board about Chromebook usage, something Palmer agreed with and expects to happen in the next few months.
Other board members addressed the amount of technology students use. Township resident Luisa Badaracco said that the district has yet to implement several technology bans, such as banning cell phones during the entire school day or restricting YouTube on school laptops, something she hopes the district will do at some point.
“Respectfully, I ask that Cherry Hill builds on the momentum of our devices-during-class ban by offering greater protections from an industry against which teachers, parents and especially our children stand zero chance in the absence of swift and meaningful change,” Badaracco said.
After seeing the committee’s technology presentation, another resident, Carolina Bevad, recited to the board a list of 77 sites to which students have access, including PBS Mitigation and TripAdvisor.
“It’s not a complete list, nor does it include most of the links that are embedded in Google slideshows,” Bevad pointed out. “Nor does it include ChatGPT, which students can access on their school computers, or any of the games, the many many games that students can access at school, including Minecraft-style games and even gambling games like blackjack.”
After public comment, superintendent Kwame Morton responded to Bevad by making the point that there are many more apps of which the district is aware and that the board will shorten that list.
“We only included a portion of the actual apps that have circulated throughout the district,” Morton said. “It’s actually over 1,000 different apps that are on that list. So the work of the administration currently is to cull that back, to vet those apps, and to establish an approved list of apps that actually directly contributes to learning, and do so in the safest way possible.”
Morton said the district will expand its cell phone ban to the entire school day, and he alluded to the board’s example on cell phones during meetings.
“Additionally, and I believe we may be the only district just about in the state … whose cell phone ban is extended to the board of education as well,” Morton related. “So if you look around this table, there aren’t any board members with cell phones out because they recognize the importance of focus.”
Board members often have laptops open during meetings to cast their votes.
Carolina Bevad (left) addresses policy on apps used by township students, as well as the district’s cell phone and AI policies.
