The ACT Education Directorate is updating its policy on student use of technology at school. Photo: File.
Will the ACT follow NSW and Victoria in limiting classroom screen time and heed calls from Federal Education Minister Jason Clare for a digital detox in Australia’s schools?
That may be known soon, with the ACT Government currently updating its Acceptable Use of ICT – Parents and Students Policy, which, as the title suggests, focuses on rules for student use, not how teachers use technology in the classroom.
A spokesperson said staff and stakeholders were being asked for feedback throughout September to help shape any policy changes to be implemented for the 2027 school year.
Stakeholders were invited to provide input by 12 October, and Education Directorate staff by 28 September. The new policy should be finalised by the end of the year.
The use of laptops in schools, particularly in the primary years, is increasingly being linked to declining literacy and numeracy standards.
After last week’s PISA international testing results, in which Australia recorded its worst performance, Mr Clare said PISA data showed the more kids were online, the more their results declined.
This pointed to the need to wind back the amount of screen time in schools – a digital detox, he said.
In July, the Victorian Government announced that it will abolish bring your own device (BYOD) programs in primary schools and limit screen use to 90 minutes per day for years 3 to 6 from January next year. High schools have been instructed to enforce screen-free learning blocks for all students.
NSW followed suit last week, announcing that from Term 1, 2027, public schools will limit Kindergarten to Year 2 students to 15 minutes a day on laptops, tablets or desktop computers, increasing slowly up to a maximum of half the time per subject for senior high school students.
NSW schools will recommend limiting screen time for homework to reduce overall screen use at home, and not using digital devices for homework before Year 5.
The new guidelines will also recommend at least one hour a day of learning using pen and paper, “reflecting strong evidence of the learning benefits of writing by hand and reading from paper”.
ACT Education Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith says the Territory is always open to learning from other education systems. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
The ACT Government has made significant investments in digital technology, providing free Chromebooks to students as an equity measure. All schools allow students to bring their own personal electronic devices for learning.
The government recently inked a $6.63 million contract for 7500 Chromebooks for public secondary students.
A spokesperson said the use of these tools was age-appropriate and did not replace other approaches to learning.
“Our teachers are provided guidance on how and when technology can be used most effectively as part of learning,” the spokesperson said.
Teachers would continue to provide explicit instruction in handwriting as part of literacy teaching, particularly in primary school settings.
“Handwriting remains critical to supporting literacy development, including letter formation, spelling, and written expression,” the spokesperson said.
“Our Strong Foundations reform is focused on improving student outcomes in literacy and numeracy through evidence-informed teaching practices, high-quality curriculum resources, common assessments and greater consistency across the public school system.”
ACT Education Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith was non-committal about following the other states’ lead but said the government regularly reviewed the use of technology in public schools and was always open to learning from the experiences of other education systems.
“Evidence about brain development and the impact of screen time is critical in informing approaches to teaching and learning in our schools,” she said
“We also know that beyond the school gates, technology is central to the way we work and study, and any changes to ACT public education policy will reflect the need to prepare students for the future.”
The impacts of artificial intelligence tools in education, particularly assessment, are also raising concerns.
The ACT Education Directorate Position on Use of AI in Schools takes a cautious approach, saying teachers can use AI in classrooms to teach students how it works, its responsible use, and its social impacts, but continues to restrict student access to generative AI applications on devices within Directorate networks.
After a successful rollout of AI tools for teachers, the Directorate will now conduct a teacher-led trial of Google’s Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) with students in six high schools and colleges.
The spokesperson said the trial was focused on supporting student learning in a safe, supervised classroom environment.
Gemini Notebook responses were grounded in teacher-selected, curriculum-aligned learning materials, and it was not an open-source tool.
“The trial is designed to evaluate educational benefits, risks and safeguards associated with the use of generative AI, including how these tools may support learning, critical thinking, research skills and AI literacy,” the spokesperson said.
“A key focus of the trial is helping students learn how to critically evaluate AI outputs.”
It did not include student assessment tasks or homework, and student data would not be used to train AI models.
Findings from the trial would inform future decisions about using AI tools in public schools.
