{"id":16532,"date":"2026-09-03T16:24:58","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T16:22:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/turkeynews24.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/03\/american-psychological-association-calls-for-higher-ed-tech-standards-not-screen-bans-in-new-report\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T16:24:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T16:24:58","slug":"american-psychological-association-calls-for-higher-ed-tech-standards-not-screen-bans-in-new-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/turkeynews24.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/03\/american-psychological-association-calls-for-higher-ed-tech-standards-not-screen-bans-in-new-report\/","title":{"rendered":"American Psychological Association calls for higher ed tech standards, not screen bans in new report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sign up for <a href=\"https:\/\/ckbe.at\/3BpzvQw\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Chalkbeat\u2019s free weekly newsletter<\/a> to keep up with how education is changing across the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>Badges, tokens, and flashing lights: The widespread gamification of education technology harms learning and harms children, the American Psychological Association said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.apa.org\/pubs\/reports\/children-adolescent-learning-educational-technology\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">new report out Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>While the organization is calling for much higher standards for widely used learning apps and platforms, outright bans on screens or arbitrary time limits are not the answer, the report says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is much easier for a school district to say we\u2019re putting an all-out ban on something than do the harder work of actually vetting to make sure that learning is happening,\u201d said Nicole Barnes, the APA\u2019s executive lead psychologist for education. She said science supports the idea that technology \u201ccan be a very powerful tool to support learning, and it can be one that harms it at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The report comes as debates about education technology in general <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chalkbeat.org\/2026\/09\/02\/state-ai-guidance-schools-skirts-cheating-teachers\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">and AI specifically<\/a> are roiling American classrooms, school boards, and state legislatures. New York City\u2019s school system just adopted what might be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chalkbeat.org\/newyork\/2026\/09\/02\/what-to-know-about-nyc-public-schools-generative-ai-ban-screen-time-limits\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">the most restrictive AI policy in the country<\/a>. Los Angeles Unified School District, meanwhile, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/08\/11\/nx-s1-5913745\/screen-limits-begin-la-schools\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">banned laptops and tablets for young learners<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lamag.com\/education\/lausd-bars-ai-use-in-schools\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">prohibited the use of AI tools on school-issued devices<\/a>. Other school districts are following suit.<\/p>\n<p>The APA report aims to inform that debate with the science of how children learn and develop, to help people make decisions \u201cfrom a place of evidence and not a place of hysteria or fear,\u201d Barnes said. <\/p>\n<p>People on all sides of that debate may find evidence in the report to support their position. <\/p>\n<p>Key findings include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Time spent on learning apps, student enjoyment, and completion rates are often mistaken for learning.<\/li>\n<li>Features designed to maintain student attention can district from learning.<\/li>\n<li>The amount of time students spend on learning platforms is not as important as what those platforms may be replacing, such as interaction with teachers or classmates.<\/li>\n<li>Learning platforms can be good for practicing specific skills, but claims about improved critical thinking are rarely supported by evidence. <\/li>\n<li>AI can improve student performance while reducing learning \u2014 a more polished finished product or higher score doesn\u2019t necessarily mean the student learned more.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The report includes recommendations for educators, policymakers, and parents on what questions to ask and how to evaluate learning platforms. <\/p>\n<p>Schools should ask for independent evaluations of the effectiveness of learning tools, not studies commissioned by ed tech vendors, the report says. They should also pay attention to which students benefit and which students continue to struggle when using certain tools, rather than looking at broad averages. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chalkbeat.org\/pages\/chalkbeat-media-kit\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Become a Chalkbeat sponsor<\/a><\/p>\n<p>There are tools with a proven track record, Barnes said, including tools that have made learning more accessible for students with disabilities and English learners. <\/p>\n<p>But too often, children are regularly exposed to technology that replaces human connections and productive struggle with the illusion of better scores and student engagement, Barnes said.<\/p>\n<h3>Be the first to know how policy and politics will shape America&#039;s schools.<\/h3>\n<p>The decisions that will redefine public education before they hit the classroom. Delivered weekly.<\/p>\n<p>By signing up, you agree to our<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chalkbeat.org\/pages\/privacy-policy\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"> Privacy Notice<\/a> and European users agree to the data transfer policy. You may also receive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chalkbeat.org\/dedicated-emails\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"> occasional messages from sponsors<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClose the app. Ask the student to explain. Ask the student to solve a new problem, or to apply the skill in a different setting,\u201d Barnes said. \u201cThis success that you might be seeing, this performance that you might be equating with learning, might just be that the student is really skilled in navigating that platform.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The origin\u2019s of the report predate the current ed tech debate and go back to pandemic-era online learning.<\/p>\n<p>Barnes recalled looking over her son\u2019s shoulder in 2020 and asking why he was playing a game rather than doing his homework. But the game was his homework.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI only had to look at it for a minute to see that it wasn\u2019t resulting in the type of learning that I\u2019m sure it was being sold or marketed as,\u201d she said. \u201cIf your child is spending more time dressing a character than doing a problem, that app is probably not resulting in learning taking place.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Barnes\u2019 first piece of advice to parents is to take that minute to pay attention to what apps and platforms their children are using for school. Then, if something doesn\u2019t seem right, take another minute to ask the principal what evidence there is that the program supports learning. <\/p>\n<p>She acknowledges this isn\u2019t a silver bullet. Her conversation with her child\u2019s principal didn\u2019t lead the school to ditch the app. The longer-term solution would involve school systems and governments agreeing to hold ed tech vendors to a higher standard.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll we\u2019re really saying is, if you\u2019re going to claim learning, you should prove it,\u201d she said. \u201cTo me, that doesn\u2019t seem too much to ask.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Erica Meltzer is Chalkbeat\u2019s national editor based in Colorado. Contact Erica at emeltzer@chalkbeat.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sign up for Chalkbeat\u2019s free weekly newsletter to keep up with how education is changing across the U.S.<br \/>\nBadges, tokens, and flashing lights: The widespread gamification of education technology harms learning and harms children, the American Psychological Association said in a new report out Thursday.<br \/>\nWhile the organization is calling for much higher standards for widely used learning apps and platforms, outright bans on screens or arbitrary time limits are not the answer, the report says.<br \/>\n\u201cIt is much easier for a school district to say we\u2019re putting an all-out ban on something than do the harder work of actually vetting to make sure that learning is happening,\u201d said Nicole Barnes, the APA\u2019s executive lead psychologist for education. She said science supports the idea that technology \u201ccan be a very powerful tool to support learning, and it can be one that harms it at the same time.\u201d<br \/>\nThe report comes as debates about education technology in general and AI specifically are roiling Americ..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16577,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,28,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-technology","category-tie-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/turkeynews24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/turkeynews24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/turkeynews24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/turkeynews24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/turkeynews24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16532"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/turkeynews24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16576,"href":"https:\/\/turkeynews24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16532\/revisions\/16576"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/turkeynews24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/turkeynews24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/turkeynews24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/turkeynews24.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}