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Technology: Bounty and Boundaries
By Oakcrest School
A re smartphones a godsend
or a danger? How can schools
incorporate technology into their
curricula without letting it dominate
students’ lives? Schools everywhere are
scrambling to ﬁ gure out the answers
to these questions. At Oakcrest, our
technology policies are informed by the
basic premise that we want students
to focus on learning, academics,
growing in virtue and forming healthy
relationships with those around them.

In practice, this means giving students
the practical resources they need while
drawing healthy boundaries around
technology use.

Since smartphones have become
such a huge part of our teens’ lives,
the most burning question is what
students should be allowed to do with
them during the school day. Oakcrest’s
general rule is that cell phones should
be out of sight and out of mind during
school hours. Students are always
encouraged to use the time before and
after school to socialize with each other
rather than be on their phones. While a
cell phone free environment may seem
counterintuitive in today’s online social
media milieu, we believe we are ahead
of the curve. By teaching constructive
use of time with others, organizational
skills for a full day of classes, study
techniques for homework designed to
develop thoughtful critical thinking and
problem-solving capabilities, it keeps
our students and faculty partnering in
not just hard work, but deep work.

Beyond phones, our students are
encouraged to learn how to use
technology in a manner that encourages
purposeful learning. Oakcrest students
take a technology class where they learn
how to explore and use technology
effectively and responsibly. The course
covers topics such as best practices for
34 November 2018
washingtonFAMILY.com research, privacy issues and concerns,
social media and impacts on digital
footprint, women’s role in technology
and computer science and light coding.

For those students who want to delve
deeper, the Upper School curriculum
offers classes in computer programming
and AP computer science principles.

Students frequently use the Microsoft
Ofﬁ ce Suite in their homework and learn
how it can be a tool for productivity
and data processing and presentation.

Technology instructor Sanaz
Noorbakhsh (Oakcrest Class of ‘00)
describes the Oakcrest vision of good
technology practices in the classroom:
“Technology in the classroom is a
privilege. Used appropriately, it can
increase engagement and enhance
teaching and learning.” “In our
classroom, we focus on the concept of
digital citizenship, which helps to learn
how to use technology appropriately,”
says Noorbaksh.

This moderate approach makes sense
in light of what we know about the
effects of smartphone use on teenagers
and the concerns that have been raised
about technology’s effects on children
in general. An article published in The
Atlantic last year reported on a number
of studies on these effects. Of particular
note was a striking survey conducted
amongst teens by the National Institute
on Drug Abuse that found, without
exception, that all screen activities are
linked to less happiness, while non-
screen activities are linked to more. In
Northern Virginia, where many public
schools use iPads, laptops and other
forms of technology as a matter of
course in their curricula, parents are
expressing concerns about their children
being on screens all day and spending
little to no time in creative play outside
or with friends. And an April 2018
Gallup poll of U.S. teachers revealed
that 69 percent of educators believe
digital devices actually hurt students’
mental and physical well-being.

As smartphones’ effects have become
clearer, other schools are following
the same general route that Oakcrest
has taken. Across the Atlantic, the
French government recently passed
a national law banning students ages
3-15 from using smartphones in school
at all. The hope is that this practice
will encourage students to engage
more with their studies and the world
outside the screen.

Here at Oakcrest we encourage our
students to take advantage of the
goods that technology has to offer,
while also recognizing that technology
is simply a means to an end — the
end being the discovery of truth and
a greater engagement with reality.

While we want our students to be
technologically savvy, our ﬁ rst and
foremost priority is to help them
participate more fully in the truth,
beauty and goodness of the world
around us and the happiness found in
face-to-face relationships. Ultimately,
we’ve found that establishing
boundaries around technology unlocks
a bounty of riches in the social,
intellectual and moral life of the entire
community. About Oakcrest: Oakcrest School is an
independent school for girls in grades
6-12 guided by the teachings of the
Catholic Church. For over 40 years, the
school has provided an exceptional
liberal arts education to girls of all
faiths while fulﬁ lling its mission to grow,
challenge and inspire its students to
thrive in college and throughout their
lives. You are invited to learn more at an
Admissions Information Session on Nov.

27 at 8:15 a.m. Visit Oakcrest.org.

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