More
school districts are allowing students to take home school-issued devices over
the summer break to reduce learning losses known as the “summer slide.”
There
is no research yet to back the success of the practice, but educators say they hope
that letting students use school laptops or tablets to extend learning through
the summer will bridge the gap between haves and have-nots by providing access
to students who otherwise wouldn’t have it.
“Summer
is the most unequal time in America,” Matthew Boulay, interim CEO of the
National Summer Learning Association, told NPR. “I think we tend to have this
idyllic view of what childhood summers are, but the reality is that for kids
living in poverty, summer can be a time of isolation and hunger.”
There
are, however, observers concerned that districts need to supply parents with
instructions on proper device use at home so the technology isn’t wasted on
games rather than educational content and so it doesn’t pull kids away from family
activities during the summer.
