The Avon Maitland District School Board is joining the Toronto District School Board in banning access to the photo-messaging app Snapchat.
Superintendent of Corporate Services Janet Baird-Jackson says there were a couple of reasons for the board's decision.
One was that in a survey conducted by the board's student senators, a majority of Grade 7 to 12 students, says Snapchat was a distraction.
Baird-Jackson also points out, like most boards, the Avon Maitland board relies heavily on technology in its teaching, so it's necessary to maximize its bandwidth She says the use of other apps, like Snapchat, draws on that, so the decision was made to limit access to apps that aren't related to learning.
Baird-Jackson acknowledges there are ways around the ban, but she adds that would require the students to use their own or their parents data.
She says that wouldn't impact the board's bandwidth, but it would impact the student's or their parents'.