Creating Phone Free Spaces with Graham Dugoni Transformative Principal 608

Transformative Principal

• Vital in an education setting to experience what life is like without a phone
• How you develop character through whether you’re using a phone or not.
• How to help teachers not be phone police.
• Support throughout the whole process
• Common complaints about schools
• Resetting expectations about structures
• School taking a constructive approach to support student growth and development
• How to do a rollout.
• Classroom vs. School phone free spaces.
• Tier 1 support worked better, but needs more communication.
• Accompanied by a strong and clear policy and then following through.
• More and more students are open to the idea of being phone free.
• Kids are aware that being connected all the time may not be beneficial.
• Yes, you can teach, but they need to actually do.
• Clarity and community buy-in.

Graham Dugoni is the founder and CEO of Yondr. Since starting the company in 2014,

he has been a leading voice in the emerging conversation about the effects of phones

on society and mental health. Graham coined the terms “phone-free spaces” and

“phone-free schools.” He is the product designer of the Yondr pouch and the Home

Tray. His mission-driven mindset keeps the company focused on meaningful ways to

help educators, artists, and organizations worldwide create distraction-free

environments where focus and creativity can flourish without technology. Graham is a

former professional soccer player and a graduate of Duke University.

Please add questions that we would ask here, and you can add anything that you would like to add as well.

• How did you come up with the idea?
• How did you convert this idea into a business?
• How many schools/students use Yondr, and in how many countries?
• Was there any particular moment which stood out to you early on, when it became very clear that phone-free spaces would become incredibly important in the future?
• Tell us about the different spaces that Yondr makes phone-free.
• Why do you think phone-free schools are important?
• What do you say to people who say that banning phones in schools does not teach young people how to become responsible digital citizens?
• Yondr is a program and not a product. Why is this an important distinction, and can you explain how this works?
• What do students say about Yondr?

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL.

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• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

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