Most schools and districts don’t have a tech problem.  They have a decision-making problem.  Digital Captives is for school leaders who have made the decision to put educators- not tech companies- back in charge.

The rapid adoption of digital technology in schools- individualized screens, programs and platforms-   has transformed what schooling looks like for millions of students, with negative repercussions in academic achievement, ability to focus, read deeply and communicate well. 

The accelerated transformation of instruction in American schools hasn’t paused to check for effectiveness or its impact on students. It’s just happened, pushed along by the swell of a broader digital immersion in which smart phones and the internet became the primary method of communication, of commerce, of entertainment, of friendship.  Similarly, individualized screens have become the central figure in many classrooms across the country.

Digital Captives is a step in regaining balance between the tools and the users.  Developed through research, interviews and hundreds of classroom observations, Digital Captives guides educators and policy makers through five broad steps with embedded actionable components.  It invites a necessary re-thinking of what schooling looks like, balancing the incredible tools of digital technology, with the personal, intentional instruction and human interaction that students need and deserve.