Managing Digital Distractions: Strategies for Students and Teachers

Description

Digital distraction is all around us. Research from all over the world has confirmed that it has detrimental effects on students’ learning and mental health.

It can be a great challenge for students not to peek at a notification or fight the urge to scroll through some posts while studying.

Not only students, but we’ve also all been there finding ourselves losing several hours without remembering what we wanted to do in the first place.

While digital devices and platforms make learning and collaboration happen anywhere and anytime, they are also harmful to our concentration and productivity. Being able to manage attention and concentration is having growing importance in the 21^st century.

This course aims to provide you with practical and useful hacks that help you and your students regain control over your concentration and mental health in the digital era.

You will recognize how digitally distracted we are and the impacts of digital distractions on us, particularly on the vulnerable brains of our young people. You will also explore how the digital landscape has developed to compete for our attention and debunk the myth of multitasking.

The good news is that there are plenty of ways to minimize digital distractions! You will look into how the design of physical and digital environments can minimize distractions and achieve cognitive ergonomics.

You will practice some digital hacks and simple mindfulness exercises that are suitable and practical for both students and teachers to apply during the school day.

Moreover, while neuroscience serves as an important foundation of these techniques and practices, you will discover how our brains work with concentration, memory, and habit building, which are all important elements to facilitate effective learning.

Last but not least, with all the knowledge and techniques you learn from the course, you will devise an action plan to be implemented in your school to promote better attention management competence among students and teachers.

By the end of the course, you will take away deeper knowledge and techniques to address digital distraction and attention management.

You will gain plenty of new ideas, practical tips, and an action plan to help your students strengthen their attention management competence, thus enhancing their digital well-being in this age of digital distractions.

Learning outcomes

The course will help the participants to:  

• Recognize how digitally distracted we are in this day and age;
• Identify the impacts of digital distractions on the vulnerable brains of young people and us;
• Discuss the development of the digital landscape for growing digital distractions and the myths of multitasking;
• Recognizing attention management as an important 21st-century skill;
• Design physical and digital learning environments to minimize digital distractions and achieve cognitive ergonomics;
• Practice various digital hacks and mindfulness exercises to enhance attention;
• Explore neuroscience about memory, learning, and habit-building;
• Practice techniques to enhance memory, habit-building, and learning;
• Create an action plan to promote attention management competence in school.

Tentative schedule

Day 1 – Course introduction

• Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
• Icebreaker activities;
• Presentations of the participants’ schools.

How distracted are we?

• Tools to recognize how digitally distracted we and our students are;
• Impacts of digital distractions on the vulnerable brains of young people.

Day 2 – Attention management as 21st-century skills

• Understanding the digital landscape for the growing digital distractions: e.g. attention economy;
• The myths of multitasking;
• Attention management as 21st-century skills.

Day 3 – Creative hacks to enhance attention

• Physical and digital learning environment design for cognitive ergonomics;
• Various digital hacks to manage attention while using digital tools;
• Easy mindfulness exercises for everyone to enhance attention.

Day 4 – Practical techniques and exercises for better memory skills and habit-building

• Neuroscience about memory, learning, and habits;
• Practical techniques and exercises to enhance memory for all learners;
• Create an exercise for your students to better memory and build good learning habits.

Day 5 – Creating an action plan for your student/fellow teachers

• Create an action plan to implement attention memory-enhancing and habit-building techniques for your students or fellow teachers;
• Share and give feedback on each other’s action plan.

Day 6 – Course closure and cultural activities

• Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
• Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
• Excursion and other external cultural activities.

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