Digital Smarts - Tech Has Teachers and Students Struggling to Disconnect

While this article is intended for teachers it makes a good read for parents who need to understand the kind of tech induced stress that teachers and students are under. The abundance of technology can make both teachers and students feel as though they are "always on" and cannot disconnect from school, according to a study by Caroline Murphy, a researcher at the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick. Murphy says the constant presence of devices, especially cell phones, compels teachers to spend more time outside of school hours planning lessons and responding to nighttime emails and text messages – making them feel as though they are on all call hours of the day. Murphy encourages school leaders to establish and adopt policies to support healthy technology use, including encouraging time to disconnect.