What happens when a tech-savvy teacher embarks on a full week of digital detox? As we were wrapping up our interview, we had one last open-ended question for Mrs. Yasmina Drabik, a fourth-grade teacher at Olympe de Gouges School.
An Experience That Gives Food for Thought…
Did she have an experience, anecdote, or reflection she wanted to share that our questions had not covered? Yes—she wanted to tell us about an experiment conducted at the school that had a concrete impact on her teaching: the digital detox week.
Our Report on Interactive Displays
at Olympe de Gouges School, Marseille
📺 Watch Yasmina Drabik’s testimony on the digital detox week..
“A Digital Detox Week for the Whole Class”
And then there’s the digital detox week.
“We participated in a kind of movement, if I may say so, a few weeks ago. We introduced the challenge to our students: for five days, they were not to use any digital tools or screens at all. No TV, no tablets, no phones—everything was off-limits.”
A Personal Challenge
Our teacher took the plunge herself, joining her students in the challenge. A bold move, as she accepted the discomfort of being deprived of her usual work tools for an entire week. Would any employee in any company today willingly go even a single day without their computer and internet connection?
“To set an example, the teacher had to follow the same rules. So, it was a full week of digital detox for the whole class. Four classes participated, and during that week, I was deprived of this amazing tool and my computer.”
The challenge was even greater for her because, unlike some of her colleagues who had initially been skeptical about interactive displays (ID), Mrs. Drabik had enthusiastically adopted the technology and integrated it into her daily teaching:
- For writing, by generating Seyes grid paper on the Note whiteboard software.
- Across almost all subjects: arts history, history-geography, science, etc.
- By launching math applications like Mathador, which students find highly engaging.
- By providing specialized content for students struggling academically (such as 10 Doigts by Marbotics).
Teaching with Technology: What Do We Lose, What Do We Gain?
Once the experience was over, what remained? This week, which disrupted her routine, made her realize how valuable these tools were to her teaching. Her conclusion was clear: once you’ve experienced an interactive display in the classroom, it’s hard to go back.
“It made me even more aware that I couldn’t do without it—that I was losing a lot of time just preparing materials, for example, making posters and using lots of paper. Now, we don’t use paper anymore because displaying things is so easy. So, I became even more convinced that this tool is essential in our profession.”
👉 Key Takeaways from the Digital Detox Week
- The digital detox week offers an opportunity to reflect on our use of technology and adjust our practices for a healthier integration of digital tools into our daily lives.
- It also highlights and acknowledges the undeniable benefits of technology—such as interactive displays, as emphasized in this teacher’s testimony. The nostalgic belief that “things were better before” doesn’t always hold true.
- Among the benefits of using an interactive display in the classroom are time savings and reduced paper consumption for teachers, access to an immeasurable wealth of free content, and educational apps that spark students’ interest, curiosity, and enthusiasm…
Posted on 13 March 2025
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