ACPS Students Turn on ‘Airplane Mode’ for Tech-Free Instruction

By Albemarle County Public Schools

ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. — Students and staff across Albemarle County Public Schools’ (ACPS) three comprehensive high schools put their technology into “airplane mode” upon their return from spring break to experience some true, old-fashioned analog instruction.

The goal of going “dark,” according to Airplane Mode Day organizers, was to help students and staff alike reconnect with learning and each other in a more personal way.

“Going tech-free is good practice for our teaching, student learning and classroom community,” Bernice Brythorne, a teacher at Monticello High School and Airplane Mode Day organizer, said. “Learning is an inherently personal activity and one that benefits from connection. In a world where we can so easily feel distracted or distanced from one another, focusing on in-person learning and celebrating our connections is vital.”

Brythorne said her time on the Personal Device-Free Learning Committee renewed her belief in the importance of connection without technology and led her to become involved with planning a time in which students and staff could put down their technology for a day or two.

ACPS defines a Personal Device-Free Education as no personal technology use from bell to bell. From the start of the school day, any personal device brought to school must be stored and powered off until the final bell, including between classes and during lunch.

During Airplane Mode Days, students and staff alike put technology aside in favor of analog options for instruction, like using calculators over laptops, handwriting notes over typing or reading out of physical books rather than from a presentation, in addition to observing the Personal Device-Free Learning Policy.

“The students I interacted with on the committee recognized the positive impact on their learning of limiting the presence of screens and wanted a positive framing for a post-break reset of norms,” Brythorne said. “Being able to disconnect is a privilege and. I wanted others to feel some amount of the joy, calm, and curiosity that can come from being in 'Airplane Mode.'”

At the end of the day, the students also saw the positive impact of tech-free time, according to responses to an anonymous survey.

“I felt more engaged with my friends and classmates,” one student reported.

“I thought it was a good break,” another said. “I’m going to try to connect more in real life and in the community.”

According to Brythorne, this was exactly the outcome for students organizers were hoping for.

“I hope students have an opportunity to experience the benefits of being in ‘Airplane Mode’ and can use that to inform how they thoughtfully engage with their own technology,” she said. “I hope they can find that sense of engagement and empowerment that stepping away from technology for a while can bring.”