In today’s K-12 classrooms, technology is more accessible than ever—bringing new opportunities for engagement, collaboration, and personalized learning. But with increased screen time, digital distractions, and the challenges of managing devices, educators and families are asking: Is technology truly enhancing education, or is it making it harder for students to focus?
In this episode of the KSDE Insight Podcast, The Tech Dilemma: Enhancing Education or Hindering Focus?, Kansas Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson is joined by guests:
- Gabrielle Evans, junior at Olathe South High School, Olathe USD 233
- Katie Allen, parent and member of the Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 board of education
- Robert Stiles, MA, MPH, director of TelehealthROCKS at the University of Kansas Medical Center
Dr. Watson posed several questions to his guests to drill further into the impacts of technology on all of us.
“What are we learning, what is this technology that we call a cell phone?” he said. “I would argue it's not a phone at all; it's a computer. But what are we seeing both in terms of the research and observationally now about what it may be doing to young kids, to adolescent kids and maybe even adults?”
Listen to the KSDE Insight Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.