Monday, May 13, 2019

Elementary Students Focus on a Healthy Balance of Screen Time


It seems like just about every day there are headlines about our use of media and a growing awareness of the need to find a balance. Digital Health and Wellness is moving to the forefront, and it’s great to see that organizations like Common Sense Media are adjusting their digital citizenship curriculum to reflect these changes and new understandings. In each of our elementary schools, media specialists teach students about digital citizenship and use resources from Common Sense Media.

This past year, Common Sense Media revised their grade 3-8 curriculum and it now includes Media Balance & Well-Being. These lessons are designed to have kids reflect on their own media use. Students are encouraged to monitor their emotions when using media and work to figure out what balanced use means. The lessons help students understand the importance of analyzing the quality of the content on their screens and the role it plays in their lives and relationships. (Related: The Difference Between Educational and Entertainment Screen Time)
Recently Scenic Heights Media Specialist Melinda Barry used Common Sense Media's curriculum with her fifth grade students. She also used PearDeck, an interactive tool that allows all students to participate in the lesson, contribute to the learning, and answer questions to share with the instructor and class during the lesson. Students reflected on what makes a healthy media choice. They thought about the media they consume/create, how long, where, and how it fits in to their overall life balance. Students then develop a plan for their media use, such as the one pictured.

Melinda also brought in the use of Apple’s Screen Time tools built into iOS12 and had the students turn on this monitoring tool on their own iPad. She shared her personal Screen Time analytics report to discuss with students, too. At the end of the lesson, students were asked to describe what they would tell a classmate who was absent that day. This closing activity works as a way for the teacher to check the students' understanding of the lesson. As you can see from some of the students’ responses pictured below, they learned a lot!




Elementary school is a great time to start these conversations and equip students with the skills of self awareness and regulation of their media use. Hopefully as they get older they will be more aware of media’s role in their lives. They should also become better users of tools like social media, smart phones, and the internet for personal, educational and entertainment purposes.

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