Response to 60-day Comments

Public Comments Received During the 60-day Comment Period

June 2018

Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) 109: Teachers’ Use of Technology for School and Homework Assignments

ED-2018-ICCD-0054 Comments on FR Doc # 2018-09502

Document: ED -2018-ICCD-0054-0004

Name: S D

General Comment

As a parent and information specialist with a background in child development, school counseling (K-8), and library science, I think collecting data on teachers' use of technology for school is crucial to understanding the issues with digital learning. My county has one of the largest school districts in my state, and I have seen mostly negative outcomes since the onset of the "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD) program in grades K-12. This is a poorly managed program because schools, teachers, and parents have no control over the technology (mainly personal smartphones) or the intentions of the tech industry; and they don't understand the technology well enough to make the learning environment safe for students.

In recent months, I have attended several internet safety workshops and consulted with hundreds of teachers, and/or parents. These are the comments I've received regarding personal technology in schools:

*I oppose BYOD. As a former educator, I am confused and frankly disappointed that teachers and administrators at many schools in our district would not follow current research on the developmental effects of screen time on brain development in approaching teaching and learning, particularly in the elementary grades. I hope to see more authentic hands on, community based learning in all schools in the district.

*My child's teacher assigned her students to each upload a personal video of the child stating his personal goals for the year (with name, age, face). How do we know the platform the teacher chose will protect my child's personal data. If Equifax can't protect our data, how can we be sure FlipGrid or Google will?

*I want to protect my children from all the ridiculous content out there. Anyone could show them anything on their phone during lunch and thats not okay.

*The benefits to limiting our kids exposure to screen time far outweigh the costs.

*A health teacher's assignment: "research a you tube video showing a form of aerobic exercise." Do you know what you can find on you tube when you search for aerobic exercise? Next day, half naked twerk videos were shared all over school causing a huge distraction to learning.

*Good schools in Silicon Valley have been following current research for a while now...kids learn better without devices. (https://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/silicon-valley-parents-raising-kids-tech-free-12623127.php)

*I have heard stories of bullying, accidental (or not) exposure to porn and general wasting of teacher/class time which equates to tax payer dollars. I understand that schools can't afford tech for all kids, but in my child's middle school, BYOD is poorly managed, doing more harm than good.

*My daughter is using social media all day long at school. Policies are not being enforced.

*I want the BYOD program removed for grades K-3. I am the bad guy at home because I won't let my first grader take a device to school. I want her to interact with friends and teachers at school, not a tablet. She forgets to bring her lunchbox home, why would I trust a 7 yr old with a tablet? I encourage schools to rethink the program

*At my school and I've seen kids watch multiple Netflix videos on their phones in the back of class. The teacher says nothing because the student is quiet so she doesn't have to discipline

*It's a huge safety issue as students are using devices to coordinate activities like meeting for a fight in an area of the school where there is little supervision. Or, non-students text students inside to have them open a back door to gain entry into building

*I have students who lose their phone for months from looking at porn. I rarely know how many laptops I'll need to plan a class assignment

*My student couldn't focus in class for awhile, because she received a death threat via a text message from unknown source. Apparently, there are apps that allow you to send texts from a 'dummy' number

*Kids think it's a joke to video record teachers and share embarrassing moments with friends

*I check the battery/app usage on my son's phone and he gets 2 hours of gaming time during each of his school days. That's more than I allow at home

*My son said he has several friends who are addicted to pornography and spend hours a day looking at it, or meet in groups in the school library to share videos with each other

*She gets text messages all day on her phone, I honestly don't know how she can concentrate on her work

*Teachers began assigning work on apps. I felt pressured to purchase a $300 device and now I'm paying the price in more than monetary ways

*The school didn't teach me about the technology nor the risks of accessing harmful content, and now she's addicted to social media. This has nearly torn apart our family. I'm so angry that educators aren't more informed and don't inform parents

*The kids don't exercise anymore. Just sit on bleachers texting/gaming

*Since these devices, I've seen a huge shift...less empathy by far

Attachment

Resources Regarding Porn Addiction and Sex Trafficking

Compiled September 2017

ABC Nightline Special: Teens Addicted to Pornography

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ0vuIVZyb8

Want to know why internet providers refuse to block porn?:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2136427/Steven-Hirsch-internet-providers-refuse-block-pornography.html

Additional Resources:

Antons, S. & Brand, M. (2018). Trait and state impulsivity in males with tendency towards Internet-pornography-use disorder. Addict Behav. 79:171-177. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.12.029.

Butler, M.H., Pereyra, S.A., Draper, T.W., Leonhardt, N.D., Skinner, K.B. (2018). Pornography Use and Loneliness: A Bidirectional Recursive Model and Pilot Investigation. J Sex Marital Ther., 44(2):127-137. doi: 10.1080/0092623X.2017.1321601.

Chuang, Janie (2006) "Beyond a Snapshot: Preventing Human Trafficking in the Global Economy," Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies: Vol. 13 : Iss. 1 , Article 5.
Available at: http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ijgls/vol13/iss1/5

Dines, G., Jhally, S., & Kanopy (Firm). (2016). Pornland: How the Porn Industry Has Hijacked Our Sexuality. (Media Education Foundation Collection.) Northampton, MA: Media Education Foundation

Fight the new drug. (2017) http://fightthenewdrug.org/ & http://fightthenewdrug.org/video-hallahs-story-how-porn-led-to-my-sexual-abuse/

Guinn, D. E., DiCaro, J., Captive Daughters Media., & DePaul University. (2007). Pornography: Driving the demand in international sex trafficking. Los Angeles: Captive Daughters Media.

Hald, G. M., Malamuth, N. M. and Yuen, C. (2010), Pornography and attitudes supporting violence against women: revisiting the relationship in nonexperimental studies. Aggr. Behav., 36: 14–20.

Hilton, D. L., & Watts, C. (2011). Pornography addiction: A neuroscience perspective. Surgical Neurology International, 2, 19.

Love T., Laier C., Brand M., Hatch L., Hajela R. (2015). Neuroscience of Internet Pornography Addiction: A Review and Update. Behav Sci (Basel), 5(3):388-433. doi: 10.3390/bs5030388.

Moffit, Mitchell and Brown, Gregory. (2013). The Science of pornography addiction. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ya67aLaaCc

Morgan E.M. (2011). Associations between young adults' use of sexually explicit materials and their sexual preferences, behaviors, and satisfaction. J Sex Res., Nov-Dec;48(6):520-30.

O’Leary, Amy. (2012). So how do we talk about this? When children see internet pornography. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/garden/when-children-see-internet-pornography.html

Park, B.Y., Wilson, G., Berger, J., Christman, M. Reina, B., Bishop, F., Klam, W.P., & Doan, A.P. (2016). Is Internet Pornography Causing Sexual Dysfunctions? A Review with Clinical Reports. Behav Sci (Basel), 6(3): 17. doi: 10.3390/bs6030017

Peter, J. & Valkenburg, P.M. (2016). Adolescents and Pornography: A Review of 20 Years of Research. J Sex Res. , 53(4-5):509-31. doi: 10.1080/00224499.2016.1143441.

Struthers, William M. (2009). Wired for intimacy: How pornography hijacks the male brain. Downers Grove, IL. IVP Books.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children & Families (2012). Fact sheet: Sex trafficking. Retrieved from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/resource/fact-sheet-sex-trafficking-english

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (2017). Human trafficking: North Carolina. Retrieved from http://humantrafficking.unc.edu/resources

Weitzer, R. J. (2011). Sex trafficking and the sex industry: the need for evidence-based theory and legislation. The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology. 101, 1337-1369.

Westen, John-Henry. (2015). Want to Stop Sex Trafficking? Look to America’s Porn Addiction HuffPost. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johnhenry-westen/want-to-stop-sex-traffick_b_6563338.html

Wilson, Gary. (2012). The great porn experiment, TEDx Talks. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wSF82AwSDiU

Wilson, Gary. (2015). Your Brain on Porn: Internet Pornography and the Emerging Science of Addiction. Margate: Commonwealth Publishing.

Zillman, D. (2000). Influence of unrestrained access to erotica on adolescents' and young adults' dispositions toward sexuality. J Adolesc Health. 27(2 Suppl):41-4.

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NCES RESPONSE:

Dear S D,

Thank you for your feedback posted on May 10, 2018 responding to a 60-day request for comments on the Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) 109: Teachers’ Use of Technology for School and Homework Assignments – Preliminary Activities. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) appreciates your interest in the FRSS survey, and for taking so much time and care in providing very thoughtful comments.

We agree that the topics you mention are important ones to explore. As your references indicate, there is a lot of good research going on in the areas of concern that you raised. This survey has a very specific focus and mandate that differ from those research questions, however. This FRSS survey is being conducted as part of the NCES response to the Congressional request in the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 to provide information about student access to digital learning resources such as computers and the Internet outside of the classroom. The FRSS survey will collect nationally representative data from public school teachers about their knowledge and beliefs about their students’ access to digital learning resources outside the classroom, and how this affects the homework assignments they give and the assistance they provide to students with limited access to technology outside of school. The survey focuses on information that can best be provided by teachers from their perspective and direct interaction with students.

I do want to bring to your attention that NCES, in general, regularly includes questions in its various surveys (https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/; and https://datainventory.ed.gov/) related to technology in education, and continually researches and evaluates what questions should and can be included in each of our data collections. The ultimate decision is driven by the utility of the resulting data, the availability and cost feasibility of collecting these data, and the space on the survey given data needs across all domains of interest.

Thank you again for your well considered input.

Sincerely,

Chris Chapman

Associate Commissioner

Sample Surveys Division

National Center for Education Statistics

U.S. Department of Education

Phone: (202) 245-7103