Danish schools urged to reduce computer use in classrooms

A growing number of education experts and business leaders in Denmark are calling for a reassessment of computer use in schools, suggesting digital tools may now occupy too much space in teaching, national broadcaster DR reports.

At Tranegård School in Hellerup, students have spent the past 18 months working primarily with notebooks and pencils, with computers locked away and only brought out for specific tasks like writing longer texts, using dictionaries, or learning about artificial intelligence. The approach reflects a broader debate about balancing digital and traditional learning methods.

Lars Bo Andersen, deputy head of the Centre for Digital Technology Understanding, argues that schools must critically evaluate the role of digital tools. “We owe it to ourselves to consider what these technologies mean for our children. In some contexts, they should perhaps play a smaller role,” he said.

Jacob Brøndum Pedersen, founder of the Centre for Digital Education, agrees, stating: “We’ve reached a maturity where we can assess when computers make sense in teaching. It’s positive that professionals are addressing this.”

Business organisation Danish Industry’s head of education and research policy, Mads Eriksen Storm, warns that schools may have been too quick to replace paper and pencils with screens. “A flood of new tools arrived rapidly, and we haven’t been skilled enough at judging when digital makes sense—and when it doesn’t,” he said.

Storm advocates for more research into optimising digital learning tools, stressing that schools cannot simply abandon technology. Andersen echoes this, urging schools and politicians to invest heavily in “technology understanding” to teach students critical use of digital tools where necessary.

The debate follows years of increasing screen time in Danish classrooms, with some schools now experimenting with stricter limits to reduce distractions and improve focus.