Technology has been part of the learning experience at Quaker Valley for more than two decades. But as devices and digital tools become increasingly ingrained in the day-to-day workflow of both education and industry, the conversation around educational technology is changing.
Today, the question is less about how much technology students have access to and increasingly about something more fundamental: Does this technology make the learning experience better?
This guiding question is shaping an evolving approach to instructional technology across Quaker Valley School District. Together, leaders and teachers are considering new tools and emerging technologies while also protecting the relationships, interactions, and foundational skills at the heart of learning.
Keeping Learning Human
Perhaps the most important consideration in QV's evolving philosophy has little to do with devices at all.
“When done well, [technology] can bring people together and create more humanized learning experiences,” said Quaker Valley's Director of Innovation Brett Slezak. “However, when used without a clear purpose, it can actually pull kids away from each other.”
A classroom filled with students doing the same activity on separate devices may look like a great use of technology, but it can miss important opportunities for students to communicate, work together and learn in ways that meet their different needs. Simply putting the same task on a screen does not always make learning better. Technology adds value when it helps meet human needs by connecting people, giving students different ways to learn and show what they know, or providing support when they need it. Put students together around a device to research, design, create or solve a problem, and the experience changes.
That distinction connects directly to Quaker Valley's Portrait of a Learner and its competencies of Empathize, Communicate, Explore, Persevere and Engage. Technology can support those competencies, but it should not replace the human skills they are designed to develop.
Technology will continue to change. The devices, applications and artificial intelligence tools QV students encounter today may look very different by the time they enter college or the workforce. Preparing students for that future means developing the judgment to use those tools effectively while preserving the communication, creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills that technology cannot replace.
“As we think about how we’re planning technology and AI, we’re also thinking about how this is used in service to people and not people in service to the tech,” Slezak said.
From Technology Integration to Technology Intention
That human-centered approach represents an evolution in how QV thinks about technology integration.
There was a time in K–12 education when being innovative was often associated with putting more devices and digital tools into classrooms. As technology became increasingly available, educators were encouraged to find ways to integrate it into instruction.
Today, the conversation is more nuanced.
“More technology does not always equal more innovation,” said Slezak.
Instead, he describes innovation as an iterative process of examining the strategies and techniques adopted by the District, why these things are being used, and whether there may be a better way for students to learn and grow.
“Tech is meant to support strong instructional practice, and strong instructional practice is what Quaker Valley is good at,” he said. Technology, he explained, should serve as “a catalyst for the good instruction that is already happening, as opposed to just using tech for the sake of tech.”
K–12 Technology Coach Kieran Vora remembers a time when technology integration could feel like a requirement to be checked off during the lesson-planning process.
“We’re trying to move away from seeing technology integration as a checkbox within each lesson,” Vora said.
Instead, he encourages teachers to start with what students need to learn.
“What is the outcome? What are we really trying to get at? What do we want our students to accomplish?” Vora said. “And then, if technology helps in that scenario, great. If not, then maybe the answer is we don’t use technology this time.”
Choosing the Right Tool
That shift is also reflected in instructional guidance being provided to QV educators.
“If you’re going to use some type of technology, you think about: Is it really enhancing what I’m doing? Is it adding to it, as opposed to just an alternate way to do it?” said Quaker Valley's Director of Instruction and Learning Susan Gentile.
Technology might allow students to collaborate on a project, create a podcast or video, interact with multimedia content, receive immediate feedback or access instruction tailored to their individual needs. Digital tools can also provide teachers with formative assessment data that helps determine what students need next.
But moving an activity from paper to an iPad does not automatically make it more effective.
The District is particularly interested in the ability of technology to differentiate instruction and provide additional support for students who need it while extending learning for students who are ready to move further.
“If it’s not adapting or differentiating for different students, then you really might want to reconsider whether or not you should be using it,” Gentile said.
The right tool also changes as students grow.
At the elementary level, QV is placing greater emphasis on nondigital experiences and print materials, particularly as students develop foundational reading and writing skills. The District's instructional guidance calls for technology to be used more selectively with younger students and when it offers a clear instructional benefit.
As students progress through middle and high school, the balance changes. Digital texts, for example, may allow older students to annotate, access embedded resources or interact with information in ways that support more sophisticated analysis. Students can also increasingly choose among digital tools to demonstrate their learning through writing, video, audio, design and other formats.
The goal is not to declare digital or nondigital learning as universally better. It is to choose the tool and format that best serve the learner, the content and the task.
New Tools, With a Purpose
An increasingly intentional approach to technology does not mean Quaker Valley is stepping away from innovation. In fact, some of the District's newest tools demonstrate how technology can be introduced specifically to address an instructional need.
Among the most significant additions this school year is SchoolAI, an education-focused generative artificial intelligence platform that allows teachers to build educational spaces for students to receive additional help and/or enrichment, develop rubrics and score sheets, create and administer formative assessments, and much more.
As generative artificial intelligence becomes increasingly capable, Quaker Valley looked for a way to embrace the emerging technology while establishing appropriate safeguards for its use.
“We want staff and students to use generative AI in a way that helps them learn faster and to higher levels than they could before,” Slezak said. “We don’t want it to replace how they think or the uniquely human things they do.”
Rather than immediately opening the platform to all users, QV began its rollout with professional development for teachers, allowing educators to first explore how AI can support their own planning and instruction. As the platform continues to be assessed and teachers become more comfortable with it, student use will be gradually introduced in grades 6-12 through teacher-directed experiences.
“When we say SchoolAI for kids, I think it’s also important to know it’s not like turning ChatGPT on for kids,” Vora said. “It’s very much controlled by the teacher.”
Teachers can create SchoolAI experiences connected to specific lessons and learning outcomes. A short AI-supported exit ticket, for example, could help a teacher quickly determine which students understand a concept and which need additional instruction.
AI can also help educators differentiate materials, generate ideas and analyze information more efficiently—potentially returning valuable time to teachers.
“It has already provided some time for them to be able to do what matters, which is work with kids, rather than some of the clerical work,” Vora said.
Even then, the teacher remains the expert.
“The AI gives you information, and then you provide that professional judgment moving forward,” Vora said. “You are the last say.”
The District is also implementing Securly, which provides additional filtering on District-issued student devices and greater visibility for families. Parents can receive information about their child's online activity and establish additional controls on District devices during nonschool hours.
Inside classrooms, teachers have tools of their own. Apple Classroom allows educators to monitor student device activity, direct students to specific applications or resources, minimize digital distractions, and quickly display student work for peer modeling and discussion.
Together, these tools reflect an approach that pairs expanded technological capabilities with greater supervision and intentionality.
Looking Beyond “Screen Time”
That same emphasis on purpose is why QV's approach is not centered around a prescribed number of minutes students may spend on screens.
“Screen time” can describe dramatically different experiences: a student passively browsing content, a class examining a digital map, a child receiving targeted practice, or several students gathered around a device creating something together.
“Screen time can be positive or negative, depending on how it’s used and monitored,” Gentile said.
That does not mean the amount of time students spend on devices is irrelevant. Rather, QV educators are considering both how much technology students encounter and what students are doing with it.
When technology is used, active teacher supervision remains important. Teachers can use tools such as Apple Classroom to help students stay focused, while also teaching students how to manage the distractions that accompany constant access to technology.
Those skills matter beyond the classroom. Devices, AI and digital communication will remain part of students' lives in college, the workplace, and their communities. Preparing students for that future means teaching them not only how to operate technology, but how to determine when to use it and when it is not the best tool for the job.
“When you look at a classroom that’s doing really good instruction with technology, it is really only being used for certain times or certain ways that, without technology, that learning might not be possible,” Vora said.
For Quaker Valley, innovation is not measured by how often a device appears in a lesson or how many new platforms are introduced. It is measured by whether those tools help students think more deeply, communicate more effectively, create more freely, and learn in ways that otherwise would not be possible.
Sometimes, that means opening the iPad.
And sometimes, it means closing it.