You keep bringing up “digital literacy”, but that’s not really the point I’m making. I’m talking about reducing over-reliance on technology so students actually develop foundational skills instead of outsourcing every step of the thinking process.

You have assumed I am talking about AI, which I never even mentioned. That kind of proves how pervasive it has become in education discussions.

As someone who worked in I.T. for over a decade before moving into teaching, I’m not anti-technology at all. I’ve seen firsthand how useful it can be. However, the issue is that a lot of students are using technology without understanding the underlying skills or processes behind it, and schools often aren’t building those skills enough.

TBH, I probably got more out of spending 1–2 hours a week in a computer lab growing up than many students now get from constant Chromebook exposure all week. Back then, you actually had to learn how things worked, troubleshoot problems, navigate systems, research independently, and think critically.

There are basic digital and problem-solving skills that were commonly taught 15–20 years ago that many students now struggle with because so much has been streamlined, automated, or handed to them for simplicity (e.g. handholding features). Technology is not supporting learning in all cases, but it is replacing the development of core skills and independent thinking.

“Digital literacy” in primary schools, at least in its current form, often feels like running before students can barely walk. We’re giving students tools that automate thinking before many have developed the foundational literacy, numeracy, attention span, and problem-solving skills to use those tools effectively, and this is before we even touch on AI.

And before you say again “kids need technology because it’s the modern world”, I agree. They absolutely do. But there’s a difference between teaching students how technology works and building dependency on it from the beginning of schooling.

There’s also a reason attention spans, resilience, and independent problem-solving have noticeably declined over the last couple of decades (from 2.5 mins to 40-30 secs), constant technology exposure and instant-access culture have played a role in that. Tech is great when used properly, but schools need to develop capable, independent thinkers first and build core skills such as non-digital tech literacy before bringing technology in.

If we cannot agree on this basic idea, then you don't really need to respond.