Less is More: Tech Integration Tips from a Former Oregon Trail Survivor
By Lisa Leali, Superintendent of Schools, Lake Bluff Elementary School, District 65
If you’ve been in education long enough, you know: the pendulum always swings. Right now, it's swinging back hard.
Technology is right in the pendulum’s path with cell phone bans and screen time concerns at the forefront of the conversation.
When I started teaching in 1999, "tech integration" meant learning how to use email (cue the AOL dial-up screech). My district even had an "iTroop" program where teachers earned their very own laptop by attending extra tech classes. We sent voice memos to the Director of Technology as proof. (Somewhere, there's a recording of me proudly explaining how I used Microsoft Publisher to add clip art to a spelling test.)
Fast forward to today: our classrooms are so saturated with technology that even our technology needs a technology break. And our students? They’re more fluent in TikTok than in text structures.
Maybe We Overshot
Last summer, I led a community book club on The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. Over 150 people from across the state joined. The takeaway was clear: we’ve wrapped kids in so much tech, in school and out, that we might have forgotten what learning without a screen looks like.
This isn’t about being anti-technology. It’s about being pro-learning, pro-thinking, and pro-social connection.
In our district, that means asking hard questions:
- Does this tech actually make learning better, or is it giving our students an excuse to opt out of deep thinking?
- Are we giving students tools or just handing them distractions?
- Are we funding better learning or just filling carts with more apps?
1:1 Doesn’t Mean 24/7
Remember when going to the computer lab was a treat? A reward? Something to look forward to? Now, handing a kid a Chromebook doesn’t even raise an eyebrow.
Maybe "1:1" should mean students have access to a device when it supports the learning process, rather than having a device glued to their hands like an extra limb.
Veteran teachers in our district are showing us the way: Tech should be a bridge, not a crutch. It's there when students need it, but it's not the centerpiece of every learning experience.
Skills That Still Matter (Maybe Now More Than Ever)
The 21st-century skill set isn't just "Can you Google something?" It's:
- Independence (Can you figure something out without a YouTube tutorial?)
- Discernment (Can you tell what's real online?)
- Evaluation (Can you decide if using tech enhances or replaces your authentic voice?)
- Initiative (Can you start something without being nudged by a screen?)
- Confidence (Can you stand up and present an idea in real life?)
Our students need spaces to develop these skills, spaces where not every moment is mediated by a glowing rectangle.
Three Small Moves To Start Tomorrow
If you’re thinking about swinging your district’s tech pendulum back to center, here’s where you can start — no strategic plan required:
- Talk with your teachers and pick one digital tool to sunset. Start small: Cut a subscription that's redundant or underused.
- Schedule a "no tech" learning block. Encourage staff to try just one hour this week where Chromebooks stay closed.
- Review your device use norms. Ask: When are devices a tool, and when are they just a habit?
We’re not turning back the clock. We’re just aiming for better balance. And honestly? After surviving dysentery on the Oregon Trail, I’m pretty confident we can survive a little less screen time, too.
Dr. Lisa Leali has been Superintendent of Schools for Lake Bluff Elementary School District 65 since July of 2020 and has served in other administrative roles in Kenilworth District 38 and Hawthorn District 73 since 2005. She is the author of the book, Leading Through Chaos: Ten Strategies for School Leaders during Crises (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2022), and is an adjunct professor at Northeastern Illinois University in the Educational Leadership Department.