Tårnby plans to cut classroom screen use

Tårnby Municipality plans to reduce digital teaching in its schools after years of relying on computers and online learning tools, DR reports. The move follows new information about children’s well-being, learning and sleep, the municipality’s mayor says.

At Korsvejens School in Tårnby, pupils in class 9.A put their mobile phones in a locked cabinet when lessons begin. But computers remain open in front of every pupil.

“We use the computer every lesson, and it’s almost for the whole lesson,” says pupil Josefine Olsen. Her classmate Malthe Serup says they use it for all their assignments.

The pupils say computers can help them learn, but games and other websites can also distract them. Oscar Hegelund Procter says it is tempting to play when bored, and shows the game Slope, which he sometimes opens instead of doing schoolwork.

If one pupil starts playing, others may follow, Valdemar Høj Larsen says. Serup adds that it can be difficult to stop and refocus on schoolwork.

A change in direction

Tårnby, like most other municipalities in Denmark, has for years invested in digital learning materials, including computers, online platforms and assignments. Mayor Allan S. Andersen, of the Social Democrats, says recommendations from the Danish Agency for Education and Quality, the Well-being Commission and the municipality’s own health profile have informed the change.

The health profile shows that Tårnby is among the municipalities where people generally spend too much time on screens and get too little sleep, Andersen says. He says the municipality does not intend to abandon computers, but wants less digital teaching.

The municipality plans to redirect some money previously spent on computers and digital learning platforms to books and exercise books.

The pupils in 9.A welcome the idea of using screens less. Serup says his handwriting has suffered from so much computer use, while Olsen says six hours at a computer can give her a headache. She says using paper occasionally could give their brains a break.

Research on screen use

Several school researchers told DR that digitalisation in Danish public schools has gone too far and that spending so many hours in front of screens does not benefit children’s learning. A recent PISA study also found that Denmark ranks among the world’s highest in the use of digital tools in schools.

Asked whether it had been irresponsible of politicians to give children so much screen time, Andersen said no. He said the municipality had previously chosen a digital approach, but new information meant it had to change direction.