I’ve survived teaching two of my children to drive.
Nobody suggested we skip the instruction because they had spent their entire lives around cars. They came home from the hospital in one. They watched adults drive for years. They knew where the steering wheel was.
We still sat beside them, explained the rules, supervised their practice, and occasionally reconsidered our life choices.
Yet with technology, we accepted a remarkably similar assumption. Kids grew up with devices, so they naturally knew how to use them. We even gave the assumption a respectable name: digital natives.
In my conversation with Serena Sacks-Mandel, who has led education technology work at Microsoft and Fulton County Schools, we discussed what that assumption allowed adults to overlook—and what districts can do about it.
We mistook speed for understanding
A student who learns an app quickly may still struggle to evaluate the information inside it. Knowing how to generate an answer doesn’t establish whether they can recognize a weak argument, protect their information, or manage their attention.
Those capabilities require teaching.
I think we failed students when we treated their comfort with devices as evidence that this instruction was unnecessary. Then, when problems appeared, we acted surprised that they hadn’t figured everything out.
For technology directors, the question goes beyond whether digital citizenship appears somewhere in the district’s plans. Where do students practice these skills? Who provides feedback? How do expectations develop as students get older?
An acceptable-use agreement can communicate rules. Students also need opportunities to understand and apply them.
Serena described the work that comes before the rollout
One of the most useful parts of our conversation was Serena’s account of introducing personalized learning at Fulton County Schools.
Teachers received devices before students. They had opportunities to learn, practice, and work through simulations. The rollout involved preparation around instruction, rather than simply distributing equipment and hoping something educational would happen.
That sequence matters.
A device can arrive ready to use. The people expected to use it may need time, support, and a clear understanding of what should change.
Serena also described a way of evaluating tools that brings different responsibilities together: instructional value, technical fit, and legal and privacy review. Each contributes something the others cannot settle.
For a technology leader, that provides a stronger basis for a decision than enthusiasm about the product alone. It also creates a reason for instructional colleagues to be involved before the equipment reaches the classroom.
Curiosity gives the technology a job
During our conversation, I shared a question my daughter asked when she was younger: where does water come from?
We went out to see a reservoir and looked at parts of the water system. Then we used videos and articles to explore what we couldn’t see.
I was willing to take her on a field trip. Taking a jackhammer to the street to explain the underground pipes seemed excessive.
Her questions led us from one resource to another. The technology helped us follow the curiosity.
That experience captures what I want us to examine in schools. What does a tool allow students to investigate, make, understand, or discuss? What thinking does the activity require?
Serena offered a classroom example involving AI: students could compare responses from different systems and critique them. The work lies in evaluating the responses and explaining the differences. Producing an answer is the beginning of the activity.
Adults are part of the lesson
We also talked about modeling behavior.
I have rules about phones at my dinner table. They apply to adults. Students notice when we demand attention while giving ours to something else.
Schools need boundaries, too. Some activities call for devices to be put away. Some products should not be available to students. Clear limits and explicit instruction can work together.
But we need to show students how responsible use looks: checking information, explaining uncertainty, choosing an appropriate tool, and recognizing when it is getting in the way.
For district leaders, the practical opportunity is to connect the technology plan with the teaching plan. Preparing staff, building digital judgment into instruction, and reviewing the tools should reinforce one another.
We gave students access to powerful technology. We still owe them the teaching that helps them use it well.
They may learn the next interface faster than we do. I hope they also learn to question what it gives them.
