Hamilton trustees spurn call to rein in use of school-issued iPads

Mountain public school trustee Dawn Danko says she isn’t giving up on her bid for tighter rules regarding the use of board-issued iPad minis, despite little apparent support from her colleagues.

Members of the trustees’ policy committee rejected all three of Danko’s proposals to revise the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board’s 21st century learning policy, including to limit the use of digital devices in elementary schools to “purposeful education uses.”

She also sought to no longer allow older elementary students to use the iPads during unsupervised lunches and recesses, and to give teachers the discretion to collect digital devices during lessons.

Stoney Creek trustee Jeff Beattie said those rules would be confusing, potentially doing more harm than good.

Board chair Todd White said he strongly opposes limiting the iPads to purposeful educational uses because it treats the digital and non-digital worlds differently.

Danko, who was unable to attend the meeting, said the committee interpreted “purposeful education” too narrowly and she’s willing to revise the wording of her proposed changes.

“It’s not about banning,” she said. “It’s about the right time, the right use. It’s about teaching responsibility. It’s about making sure students are having time to relax, get their lunch in, get some play in before they get back into the classroom, and making sure they’re not hijacked by what’s really an addictive device.”