Education, Skills, Youth and Information Minister, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, is urging parents to maintain a balanced and responsible approach to technology use in the home, warning against over-reliance on devices as a substitute for engagement.
“We’ve learned, we’ve watched the data, and we understand that some of our children are around too much technology, especially at home, where they are on the tablets and the phones,” she said in an interview with JIS News at a Read Across Jamaica Day event at Brompton Primary School in St. Elizabeth on Tuesday (May 5).
She pointed to research indicating that excessive screen time at an early age can be detrimental to development.
“Children 0 to 2 should not be on any device. They should not be watching television. They should not be on a phone,” the Minister stated.
“So, parents, if you are looking at getting the brightest future for your child, you can’t use the phone as a babysitter. You have to engage with the children,” she emphasised.
Dr. Morris Dixon said that the Ministry is carefully calibrating its approach to technology in education, ensuring that it serves as a catalyst for progress without undermining essential developmental needs.
“We are learning that technology, no matter how beautiful it is, it is good, but it also has negatives to it, and at the Ministry of Education, we’re working to find that right balance, so that we are able to propel our children forward,” she pointed out.
She outlined ongoing efforts to modernise classrooms through increased access to digital tools and infrastructure, noting that students are responding positively to the interactive learning environments.
“We’re introducing a lot more technology in our schools through our labs and through even having our smart boards in our classrooms. A lot of our children like the technology, and they like to engage with it, and we’re doing more of that,” she said.
She noted that these tools are being carefully integrated to support, not replace, traditional teaching methods.
“Technology is important but technology alone is not a solution. Technology is a tool,” Dr. Morris Dixon said, noting that these tools are most effective when used to deepen understanding and bring lessons to life for students.
“It’s not technology for technology’s sake. It’s to supplement the learning. So, if a teacher is teaching a topic, they can go and they can show a video on that particular topic, and it enriches the entire class. That’s how we see it working,” she pointed out.
She told JIS News that the Ministry is developing an artificial intelligence (AI) learning assistant designed to support students beyond the classroom.
The initiative is intended to reinforce classroom instruction and strengthen independent learning, she said.