Screens and AI in NH Classrooms: Educators Share their Experiences

October 2nd, 2026

An article in Education Week earlier this year proclaimed: “The Ed-Tech Backlash Is Here.” Across the country, school districts, often at the behest of parents, are exploring ways to reduce student use of screens in classrooms. New York City is starting the school year with a tech freeze while the Education Department sorts out its AI policy, and the Los Angeles Unified School District has placed limits on screen time in classrooms, fully banning screens before second grade. And this summer, the NH Department of Education launched a task force to explore the role of screens in schools.

To get a pulse on this critical issue, Reaching Higher NH asked educators for their thoughts on screens and on AI as part of our 2026 Educator Survey. The nearly 400 educators who responded believe that students spend too much time on screens, and that their social skills in particular would improve if screen time were limited. Many worry, however, about the potential unintended consequences of blanket bans, particularly in a world where students will need to know how to use technology and will need to develop the skills to manage their relationship with technology as adults. And many draw a distinction between reducing unnecessary screen use and restricting technology that serves an instructional purpose.

Key takeaways

  • 64% of NH educators in our survey said that students spend too much time on screens.

  • More than 80% of educators believe limiting screens in schools would have a positive impact on students’ social skills.

  • Educators worry that blunt limits on screen time might have unintended consequences, including making it harder for teachers to provide differentiated materials, increasing behavioral problems, generating new costs for schools, and making it harder for schools to prepare students for standardized tests and for the demands of their future careers. 

  • AI use is common among educators and among students, but 70% of educators believe that’s a bad thing for the classroom experience.

What does the research tell us?

Technology use is changing both in and outside of school. According to a Pew Research Center study, 4 in 10 teens say they are online almost all the time. This number is up substantially from a decade ago, but is actually down from a pandemic-era high of 46%. A 2023 CDC study found that about half of teenagers spend four hours or more on screens outside of school. The same Pew study found that 64% of teens say they use AI chatbots. 

A 2025 report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that around the world, technology use in school among 15-year-olds is down slightly from 2022 – likely a product of a return to “normal” after the pandemic. The same report painted a complicated picture of technology and AI in schools. It found that when students used AI to draft assignments, it was linked to performance decreases. But when they used AI to enhance learning, it increased performance. Likewise, much of the (limited) literature on screen time in schools distinguishes between passive screen time – when a student is watching a movie or scrolling social media – and active, instructional screen time. There is some research that shows educational screen time can have a positive effect, though the findings can be conflated by the fact that using a screen to do your homework is better than not doing your homework at all. Similarly, some of the research about the negative consequences of screens is really about the opportunity cost – it is not that time on screens is inherently bad, but time spent on screens is time not spent being read to by an adult or learning other developmental skills. Research has linked reading books, instead of digital devices, to stronger attention spans, but reading on a digital device may still be better than not reading at all. All to say: how students are using screens and AI may matter more than how much they are using screens and AI, but there is still a lot to learn.

How are screens used in NH classrooms now

NH educators generally agreed that screen time is too high, but how screens are used and how much they are used varies as students get older, according to our survey results. 

Middle and high school educators estimated that students in their schools spend almost half their time on screens, while elementary school educators estimated that students spend closer to 30% of their time on screens. A 2025 New York Times survey similarly found that middle and high school students spend more time on screens than elementary school students, with most teachers estimating middle and high school students spend 3 or more hours per day on screens.

Among all NH educators, 64% said the amount of time students spend on screens is too high, but that number also varied by level, with elementary school educators being more likely to say the amount of screen time is appropriate and high school educators being more likely to say the amount of screen time is much too high.

Educators reported that students use screens primarily for writing, creating, or producing projects or presentations (47%), accessing instructional content (43%), and completing assignments and classwork (43%). Again, use varied by grade level.

Exploring limits on screens

Our survey did not propose a specific limit on screen time, but we did ask educators to consider what a reduction in screen time would look like. Most saw primarily positive benefits from reducing screen time – but many worried about such a reduction coming in the form of state law. 

Educators anticipated that reducing screen time would have a positive impact on student learning, engagement, behavior, mental health, and social skills, while having a potentially negative impact on access to learning opportunities. Educators felt most strongly about the effects on students’ social skills, with 83% predicting a positive impact. Likewise, when we asked educators to name the most significant positive or negative effect of limiting screen time, the most common response was that it would positively affect students’ social interactions and ability to connect with peers and with teachers (cited by 30% of respondents in open-ended responses). 

“Students don't realize how distracted they are. They don't realize that they can't write because of predictive text. They don't realize that they can't think because of AI. They don't realize that their bodies are suffering because the tiny devices are straining their eyes and ruining their posture. And, most importantly, they don't know that they haven't learned anything because nothing exists when it isn't tangible. They need to write with their hands (as neuroscience has consistently shown). They need to see the scope of their learning in a real book. When they can be convinced to do that, I have seen tremendous progress.”
– High school teacher, North Country

 

Educators’ open-ended responses also cited the benefits of writing by hand (15%), the opportunity for students to rebuild their attention spans (19%), and the hope that limiting screens might lead to improved critical thinking skills (13%).

Educators across grade levels largely agreed on how screen limits would affect students, except when it comes to student engagement and, to some extent, student learning. Among middle school educators, 76% believe that limiting screens would have a positive effect on student learning, while elementary school students were slightly more neutral. And though 70% of high school educators and 75% of middle school educators believe screen limits would positively affect student engagement, 23% of elementary educators predict negative effects on engagement. 

Some educators said they believe students have become so dependent on screens, that limiting them would first lead to negative effects before turning to positive ones. They worried that students would act out more and engage with content less because they simply don’t know how to learn or to interact without a screen. 

“I think the overall impact would be negative as long as the screens are still being used in excess at home. Screen addiction is real and the impact on their behavior, learning and success as a student is huge!”
– Elementary school paraeducator, Southeastern region
 
“Students don't know how to be bored and we don't have time to teach them, so without any technology (since we've already attempted to eliminate phones) students would talk more and be more disruptive when they finish assignments” 
– High school teacher, Lakes Region

 

Potential unintended consequences

Though educators generally believe reducing screen time would bring positive effects, nearly 15% of the open-ended responses from educators raised concerns about potential unintended consequences of screen time limits. Concerns included:

  • Students could have negative reactions to removing screens and teachers may face challenges managing behavior. Some educators wondered whether they could manage a screen-free classroom without the addition of another adult, such as a paraprofessional, in the classroom. 

  • Many publishers exclusively release content online, and replacing learning resources could be costly. Some educators also worried about the loss of adaptive content, which matches students to exercises that are appropriate for their current level of knowledge. Such programs allow for differentiation within a classroom and can help teachers better meet students’ varying needs.

  • Standardized testing is all done on screens, and educators worried about how they would prepare students for tests if screens were banned. 

“I am not opposed to limiting screen time and being more thoughtful and intentional with screen time use. But I don't want to throw out the baby with the bathwater. There are some positive uses. In math, I use online fact fluency practice (which allows for immediate feedback and tracking), and I use programs that help fill gaps in student learning, based on a diagnostic. There would be no way to individualize lessons for all students in the way that those online programs can do.”
– Middle school teacher, Seacoast

 

By and large, educators who shared concerns were not wholly against screen limits, but they were concerned about limits being imposed from the top down. Some suggested that screen time limits could become yet another unfunded mandate from the state, forcing schools to find new learning materials and imposing more requirements on teachers.

“While I think the student phone ban is a good change, I don't want a misguided law that tries to limit screens generally as I think it is better to allow teachers the flexibility they need.  Professional development on this might be a good idea rather than an imposed limit.”
– High school teacher, Greater Concord

 

“I think teachers should have control over the amount of screen time.  Each grade level has different needs and different uses and to limit screen time could have the unintended consequence of limiting access to learning resources and opportunities for learning.”
– Elementary school specialist, Greater Concord

 

Some educators also noted that students will need digital and AI literacy skills when they enter the workforce. Limiting screens in schools, they fear, could harm students’ ability to thrive in their careers. Instead of hard limits, some suggested limits that vary by grade level, an approach to technology that includes teaching students when technology use is appropriate, and a focus on how screens are used, not just how much. 

“All of our students, no matter their career choice, will be using technology in their future careers. We must keep that in mind when making and voting on legislation. There is no coming back from where we are in technology and as a state if we mandate less or no technology use, we will put our students at a disadvantage to students of other states.”
– District administrator, Greater Concord

 

“Placing a limit on "screen time" is an overcorrection that fails to recognize that classroom devices and educational technology are not the real problem here. There's a big difference between the passive consumption of content on platforms that employ algorithms and AI to keep users engaged and addicted (like we see on phone screens and TV screens) and active engagement with technology to create something new, connect with others, solve problems, etc. Instead of forcing limits on "screen time" (which may prevent students from having access to tools that actually support their learning), we should be focusing on when and how we use technology.”
– Educator, Seacoast

 

What about AI?

Though 63% of educators told us they use AI in their work, 70% told us that AI is generally a negative in the classroom. 

Educators said they typically use AI once a week or less, mostly for drafting activities or assessments or for lesson planning. Meanwhile, they see students using it with increasing frequency, primarily for research/internet searches, homework assignments, and papers. Beyond elementary school, AI use seems to be the norm. Nearly 60% of educators across all grade levels said they see students using AI sometimes, often, or all the time. Those numbers increase dramatically as students move from elementary to middle school and then onto high school.

We asked educators what they need to know about AI in the classroom. A sizable contingent said they don’t want training because they don’t believe AI belongs in schools. Others were looking for ways to develop assignments that are “AI-proof,” or better methods for spotting AI use. Responses tended to focus more on managing the challenges AI creates — detecting inappropriate use, designing assignments that are less susceptible to AI, and establishing appropriate boundaries — than on integrating AI into instruction.

"How can we help students navigate these incredible tools while still holding them accountable for their own learning? How can we help them think critically about what AI generates for them? How can we get them to evaluate the validity of something when that takes time and investment beyond just letting the AI tool complete the work for them?”
– Middle school teacher, Lakes Region

 

Conclusion

 These survey results provide anecdotal evidence for policymakers and school leaders to consider as they work to balance the benefits of technology with the risks to students, learning, and the classroom experience. Educators’ responses suggest that limiting screens could have meaningful impacts on students’ social skills, their attention spans, and their critical thinking abilities, but limits need to consider the valuable ways screens are used in classrooms now, along with the demands students will face in their careers and the reality that students will still use screens outside the classroom. AI, meanwhile, appears to be a growing concern for educators, but already the data suggest that blanket bans may not serve all students well. A thoughtful policy approach should ensure that students are still able to access the technology they need and learn the skills the future workforce demands, while also considering the developmental impacts of technology and the implications for the classroom experience. Considering how technology is used – not just how often it is used – will go far in ensuring that any policy limiting screen time or AI yields the intended effects.