Regional disruption in the Middle East forced many schools, including my own, to use remote learning for several weeks.

It was a smoother process, though, thanks to the experiences of the pandemic six years earlier. The technology worked, students logged in, lessons were delivered and learning continued.

Yet the experience reinforced something school leaders have observed for years: the challenge is not the technology; it’s the competition for attention.

The attention span problem

Students recognised this, too. Throughout the period of remote learning, we gathered weekly feedback through student submissions and regular check-ins with heads of year.

Time and again, students spoke about how difficult it was to maintain concentration.

They described the distractions of notifications, the temptation to switch attention to other tabs or devices, and the impact this had on remaining engaged for extended periods in front of a screen.

Staff observations echoed this, with many reporting that maintaining students’ attention was consistently more challenging than in a face-to-face environment.

This felt like a notable difference from the pandemic, when much of the discussion centred on platforms, devices and internet connectivity.

We debated Microsoft Teams versus Google Classroom, cameras on versus cameras off, and how best to deliver content remotely. Looking back, however, the most important lesson was not technological at all.

Remote learning exposed the extent to which successful learning, when technology is involved, depends upon focus, self-regulation and the ability to manage distraction.

Many students thrived. Others struggled. The difference was often their ability to sustain attention, organise themselves and learn without constant supervision.

Six years later, that challenge is even more pronounced.

Short-term hit versus long-term effort

Social media platforms have become more sophisticated. Recommendation algorithms are more effective. Content is shorter, faster and more personalised. Every notification, swipe and scroll competes for a student’s attention.

Teachers, meanwhile, still require students to engage in activities that require sustained concentration: reading a novel, constructing an argument, solving a complex mathematical problem or evaluating evidence.

The educational consequences of this are not hard to see. Across primary and secondary schools, teachers report challenges with reading stamina, sustained writing and maintaining focus on longer tasks.

The issue is not whether technology has a place in education. It clearly does. The question is whether we have become sufficiently critical about how and when it is used.

One of education’s most persistent myths is that today’s children are “digital natives”. Students are undoubtedly confident users of technology. They can navigate apps, consume content and communicate online with remarkable fluency.

However, being able to use technology is not the same as being able to use technology to learn effectively.

Learning real skills

Many students can scroll, search and consume information. Far fewer can evaluate sources critically, synthesise ideas from multiple inputs, resist distraction or sustain focus on a challenging task.

These are learned skills, not automatic consequences of growing up with a smartphone.

This is why schools must always ask not whether technology can be used, but if it should be used.

Too often, technology replaces existing practice rather than transforming it, simply because it can. A worksheet becomes a digital worksheet. A textbook becomes a PDF. Notes become typed rather than handwritten.

Yet if learning outcomes remain largely unchanged, we should be willing to ask whether screen time is justified.

Frameworks such as the SAMR model encourage educators to think carefully about whether technology is genuinely enhancing learning or simply digitising existing practice. That distinction matters.

The most effective use of technology occurs when it enables learning experiences that would otherwise be impossible, or significantly improves learning.

Outside of those moments, though, schools should feel confident ignoring technology and being confident that traditional practices remain highly valuable.

Reading physical books. Engaging in discussion. Writing by hand. Collaborating face to face. Conducting practical investigations. Participating in sport. Developing the ability to focus on one thing for an extended period of time.

Deliberate use of technology

This does not mean rejecting technology. It means using it more deliberately.

Such moves will likely also find strong support from parents, who are already wrestling with the challenge of managing device use at home. Moves by schools to reduce it in the classroom could help.

Ultimately, as educators, we will always have a responsibility to prepare students for a digital world.

But in the attention-grabbing social media world they now live in, that also means it is more important than ever to help them develop the habits technology can undermine: concentration, reflection, deep reading and sustained thinking.

Our students showed us during those weeks of remote learning that they are often acutely aware of this challenge, and want help. We should be willing to listen.

Paul Gardner is the founding vice principal and head of secondary at Ambassador International Academy Mankhool, an IB World School in Dubai