Author: Dr. Stacy Hawthorne (CETL, Board Chair of CoSN)
Overview
Across the country, state legislatures and school boards are engaged in heated debates over screen time, device rollbacks, and technology bans in education. While much of this legislation stems from a genuine concern for children’s well-being, the loudest national narratives surrounding classroom tech are often rooted in fear rather than possibility.
Join us for the official book launch of Purposeful Technology, Powerful Learning: You Can’t Ban Possibility by Dr. Stacy Hawthorne. This event reframes the conversation from “How much screen time?” to “For what purpose?”, shifting the spotlight from fear-based policy to real-world, research-backed evidence from America’s public school districts.
What You Will Learn & Key Takeaways
During this virtual launch event, Dr. Hawthorne will share key insights gathered from personal interviews and on-the-ground documentation across 13 diverse public school districts—from rural communities in Indiana and Illinois to large regional districts in Arizona and Colorado.
Key highlights include:
-
Intentionality Over Prohibition: Why bans and screen-time caps often strip away life-changing opportunities for marginalized, emergent bilingual, neurodivergent, and rural learners.
-
Real District Stories: Case studies showcasing students co-authoring district AI policies, using virtual reality to unlock language concepts before knowing English terms, running mobile maker-buses across tribal communities, and building cross-continental musical ensembles.
-
The “4-Part” Blueprint: How each chapter combines human stories with peer-reviewed research, actionable implementation blueprints, and workforce skill alignment.
-
Practical Policy & Leadership: Guidelines for school leaders, policymakers, and parents on setting up “innovation with guardrails” that prioritize active creation over passive consumption.
Who Should Attend?
-
School & District Administrators: Superintendents, CTOs, instructional coaches, and principals looking for sustainable implementation blueprints.
-
Educators & Instructional Designers: Teachers seeking practical strategies to shift tech usage from passive consumption to active creation.
-
Policymakers & School Board Members: Decision-makers who need evidence-based perspectives before voting on screen-time or device policy.
-
Parents & Community Advocates: Anyone wanting to understand the crucial difference between screen misuse and purposeful, empowering learning.
“We are not in a tech conversation. We are in a trust conversation. Powerful learning is a design choice, not a device count.” — Dr. Stacy Hawthorne
