A growing coalition of Australian parents and teachers are calling for laptops and iPads to be removed from Australian classrooms, arguing schools are too reliant on the technology that they claim does little to improve learning.

Leading the charge is Victorian teacher and mother Stephanie Challis, who believes screens have transformed classrooms for the worse.

She said devices have become a major distraction, with students playing games, shopping online and messaging friends during class.

After nearly a decade of teaching, Challis has ditched laptops in her own lessons and believes her students are more engaged with traditional pen-and-paper learning.

She’s part of a group backing a new petition to limit devices in schools. Parenting group Heads Up Alliance launched the campaign this week, calling for a blanket ban on devices in primary schools, and for high schools to only use them when there’s a clear education benefit.

Founder and father-of-five Dany Elachi said many families were working hard to limit screen time at home, only for children to spend much of the school day on iPads or laptops.

But not everyone believes an outright ban is the answer. Mental health and education experts say technology still has an important role to play in preparing young people for the modern workforce, but argue it should be used intentionally rather than becoming the default teaching tool.

As schools continue to balance digital skills with traditional learning, the debate over just how much screen time belongs in the classroom is only becoming louder.

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