WA schools ditching ‘bring your own device’ schemes to help prevent secret gaming and screen addiction

A growing number of schools are ditching “bring your own device” laptop programs in a bid to cut down kids’ screen addictions and prevent problems such as secret gaming in the classroom. They include all seven schools in the Swan Christian Education Association, which from this year is requiring students to lease school-managed devices instead of bringing their own personal devices from home. Chief executive Graeme Cross said in a video for parents that schools had reported numerous problems with BYOD schemes, including concerns about creating screen addiction, difficulties with providing IT support and students downloading distracting games and programs. He said SCEA’s new strategy — which will take three years to fully implement — was based on two years of research. In primary schools, all devices will be kept in classrooms and never sent home. “Because we don’t want to set up a situation where students actually become so reliant on these devices it creates some form of addiction,” Dr Cross said. While secondary students will be able to take their devices home, gaming and social media will be off-limits, with scheduled shut-off times built-in from 9pm for Years 7 to 9 and 11pm for Years 10 to 12. Dr Cross told The West Australian that under the new scheme, students would be restricted to using devices for learning only, both at school and home. “Contemporary research is showing that young people are often associating computers and tablets with gaming and entertainment, rather than as tools to support learning,” he said. “Our hope is to shift this perspective.” Dr Cross said students would have fewer distractions in the classroom because teachers would retain control over the devices. “When a teacher says ‘eyes to the front’, they can press a button and all those machines will be shut down,” he said. “Since announcing details of the program with parents, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.” WA Primary Principals Association president Niel Smith said some public schools which had embraced BYOD schemes to help students develop computer skills were now scaling back. A number of primary schools were shifting away from BYOD initiatives because of parental concerns about costs, student safety or over-exposure to screens. “Increased awareness and parent fear around what kids might access during school hours on their devices drives some of the push back,” Mr Smith said. One of those schools is Newborough Primary School in Karrinyup. According to documents on its website, teachers at the school requested $23,445 funding from its Parents and Citizens group to buy class sets of Chromebook devices for Year 3 and 4 students so they could phase out the Year 4 BYOD program. Reasons included a desire to reduce cost of living pressures, difficulties with disruptive desktop images and students’ personal gaming accounts popping up in class. WA Council of State School Organisations president Pania Turner said parents had been raising concerns about BYOD programs for some time. “But in the last couple of years, we’re seeing better understanding about the cost impact to families and other considerations such as security, equitable access and managing those devices as school-based devices instead,” she said. A spokesperson for the WA Education Department said public schools were funded through their annual budget to provide computers for students. “Schools are best placed to make local decisions about purchasing computers to meet the educational needs of students,” they said. “The decision to implement a student BYOD program is made locally by school leaders, in consultation with the school community.” It comes as Victoria is phasing out all BYOD schemes in primary schools from next year, with a limit set on classroom screen time to no more than 90 minutes a day for students in Years 3 to 6.