Op-Ed: Screen-Powered Learning Was a Big Mistake

Classrooms might be becoming more fun, but it's at the expense of real learning, according to history professor Molly Worthen, who contends that heavy reliance on educational technology is setting children up for failure. In a New York Times opinion piece, Worthen argues that the last decade's push to put a laptop or tablet in every K-12 student's hands—and to turn learning into a series of games, streaks, and rewards—has been a major mistake. Research is increasingly tying widespread classroom tech adoption to slipping test scores, she writes, while studies show students comprehend less on screens, are easily distracted, and cling to narrow skills that vanish once the game is over.

Worthen doesn't call for a return to quills, but for a reset, with tech as a limited aid, not the core of school. She highlights critics who say gamified apps encourage clicking for points instead of real reading or thinking, and notes that the approach may be especially unhelpful for neurodivergent students. Learning games and apps often ignore "the experimentation, frustration and struggle that real learning demands" and can teach students "that all questions have a single correct answer," so that when they face ambiguity, panic sets in, she writes. Simply being asked to read a complete book can feel overwhelming. For Worthen's full argument, including pushback to the idea that young brains have evolved to learn from screens, read the original piece in the Times.