Beyond Screen Time: Leading Purposeful Technology

Across the country, K-12 leaders face growing concerns about screen time, AI, digital wellness and student well-being. Too often, these conversations flatten all technology into one category, treating passive consumption, social media, accessibility tools, creative production, career-connected learning and instructional innovation as if they were the same. Based on the book Purposeful Technology, Powerful Learning: You Can't Ban Possibility, this session helps IT leaders reframe the conversation. Explore district stories, emerging research and practical leadership strategies for communicating the difference between technology as distraction and technology as possibility. See how districts are using technology to solve authentic instructional challenges and expand what students can create and experience, complete with roadmaps, key decision points and lessons learned you can adapt. You will leave with a clear framework for evaluating and explaining purposeful technology use, including what learning becomes possible, who gains access, what risks must be governed and what students may lose when technology is removed without nuance, so your district can make decisions rooted in purpose rather than panic.