A parent receives login credentials for three different platforms—one for math, one for reading, one for communication—and isn't sure which requires attention. Another sees their child spending hours on a tablet for "homework" and wonders if it's actually educational. Another confronts privacy policies they don't understand for software their child's school requires. Educational technology has proliferated in Canadian schools, and parents must navigate a landscape they had little part in choosing.
The EdTech Landscape
Canadian schools use educational technology extensively—learning management systems, assessment platforms, communication apps, subject-specific software, digital textbooks, and countless specialty tools. The specific platforms vary by school, board, and province, but most students encounter multiple educational technologies during their school experience.
Parents typically have limited role in technology selection. Schools and boards choose platforms based on educational value, cost, integration with existing systems, and other factors. Parents receive login information and instructions, not input opportunities. The technologies that structure their children's educational experience are chosen without parent involvement.
This limited parent role has implications. Parents may not understand what technologies do or why they're used. They may struggle to support children using unfamiliar platforms. They may have concerns—about screen time, privacy, appropriateness—that no one asked about. The expertise gap between school personnel familiar with chosen technologies and parents encountering them affects engagement.
Supporting Learning at Home
Home support for technology-mediated learning requires parent capacity that varies enormously. Digital literacy affects whether parents can navigate platforms their children use. Hardware and connectivity affect whether home environments support technology-based homework. Time and attention affect whether parents can engage with educational technology alongside children. These resources are unequally distributed.
When parents struggle with technology, students receive less support. A parent who can't log into the learning management system can't see assignments or grades. A parent who doesn't understand a reading app can't help a child use it effectively. A parent who fears technology may avoid engagement that could help their child. The parent capacity gap becomes a student support gap.
Schools vary in how well they support parents with technology. Some provide training, help sessions, and accessible instructions. Others assume parents will figure things out or ask if they need help. The quality of support affects whether all families can engage with technology-mediated education.
Privacy and Data Concerns
Educational technology collects substantial data about students—performance data, behavioral data, biometric data in some cases. This data collection is often disclosed in privacy policies that parents agree to without reading (or understanding if they do read). The implications of data collection may not be apparent when consent is given.
Parents have legitimate concerns about data practices. Who has access to their children's educational data? How long is it retained? Is it used for purposes beyond immediate education? Is it shared with third parties? These questions have answers in privacy policies, but those answers may not be accessible to typical parents.
Canadian privacy law provides some protections. PIPEDA and provincial privacy laws apply to educational technology, though interpretation and enforcement vary. School boards have privacy policies governing data use. But the complexity of legal frameworks and actual practices makes informed parent consent difficult to achieve.
Screen Time Concerns
Many parents worry about children's screen time, and educational technology increases screen-based activity. Time on educational platforms adds to time on entertainment screens. Homework that once happened on paper now happens on devices. The line between educational screen time and other screen time blurs.
Research on screen time effects is more nuanced than popular coverage suggests. Not all screen time is equivalent; active engagement differs from passive consumption. Educational purposes may differ from entertainment. Quality of content matters alongside quantity of time. But parents navigating conflicting guidance may feel unclear about appropriate limits.
Schools and families may have different screen time perspectives. Schools see educational benefit in technology-mediated learning and may assign substantial technology-based homework. Families trying to limit screen time may find school requirements making limits impossible. The tension between school technology use and family preferences creates practical conflicts.
Equity Considerations
Technology navigation challenges concentrate among already-disadvantaged families. Parents with limited English proficiency may struggle with technology interfaces. Parents with their own limited education may lack confidence navigating platforms. Parents working multiple jobs may lack time to figure out technology. Lower-income families may lack home technology. The digital engagement gap compounds other educational inequities.
Schools assuming parent technology competence disadvantage families without it. When important communication only occurs through apps, families not using those apps miss it. When homework requires technology, families without reliable home technology can't complete it. Technology-mediated education, without attention to equity, can exclude families already facing barriers.
Addressing equity requires intentional effort. Multiple communication channels rather than technology-only communication. Technology support for families who need it. Alternatives when technology assumptions don't hold. These accommodations take resources and attention that technology-enthusiastic environments may not prioritize.
Making Informed Decisions
Parents have limited practical ability to affect school technology choices but can make decisions within their sphere. They can set home technology rules that apply regardless of school use. They can choose how much to supplement school technology with other learning approaches. They can advocate at school council or board level if they have significant concerns.
Information helps parents make decisions and advocate effectively. Understanding what technologies their children use and what those technologies do. Knowing their rights regarding data and privacy. Understanding what research actually shows about educational technology effectiveness. Better-informed parents are better positioned to support their children and engage with schools.
Schools can support parent navigation through clear communication about technology use, accessible instructions for platform access, support resources for those who struggle, and openness to parent questions and concerns. Schools that treat parents as partners rather than technology recipients foster more productive engagement.
Questions for Consideration
How well do you understand the educational technology your children use at school? What information would help you better support your children's technology-mediated learning? What concerns do you have about educational technology, and how might they be addressed? How should schools balance technology benefits against parent concerns?