ALEX Learning Activity

Students will identify their current daily usage of digital devices through a personal log or estimation. Then, students will read an article and watch the corresponding video which describes a recent report that found the average American spends more than 12 hours a day on a digital device, not including time spent on school work. Students will discuss their opinions with a classmate. The teacher will lead students in a discussion regarding the impact of this digital consumption. Finally, students will brainstorm and discuss other activities they could do in a day if they spent less time on their devices.

Students will identify the safe personal use of digital devices.

Students will discuss current events and issues related to technology/computing with their peers.

Students will describe how physical, mental, emotional, and social health are related.

Students will describe how technology can impact personal health.

Students will analyze and evaluate positive and negative impacts that technology can have on all aspects of health.

Students will analyze a text related to current events in computing/digitization and evaluate how these events impact individual health and society at large.

1. Students will identify the approximate amount of time they spend on digital devices each day (any waking hours, including during school hours). The teacher will need to define a digital device as anything we use to consume media, entertainment, and/or information such as television, cell phone, gaming console/device, laptop computer, desktop computer, tablet, etc.
   

   Option 1: Ask students to estimate the time they spend on digital devices each day by writing down the times they usually access a digital device beginning as soon as they open their eyes in the morning. 

   Option 2: Present the task, then have students keep track of every time they access a digital device over the next 24 hours. (For example, from the beginning of your class today to the beginning of your class tomorrow).

2. After students record their personal amount of digital device usage, show the video linked within this article: "How Much Time Americans Spend In Front Of Screens Will Terrify You." As students are watching the video, direct them to think about their position on the topic of digital device usage. 

3. After viewing the video clip, give students a printed copy of this article: "How Much Time Americans Spend In Front Of Screens Will Terrify You." Ask students to annotate the text in the following method.

   • • Highlight any data points/scientific research.
     • Put an exclamation point beside anything that surprised them.
     • Put a question mark next to anything that they have a question about or would like more information on.

4. Next, students will pair with a classmate to reread the text together and discuss their annotations. (For example: Did both students highlight the same data points/research? Did similar statements surprise them? Did they have different questions?)

5. The teacher will lead a whole-class discussion on the article using these discussion prompts:

   • • Does your personal use of digital devices positively or negatively affect your personal, mental, emotional, and/or social health? Give a personal example to support your answer.
     • If we decreased our use of digital devices, what could/would change in our lives?
     • If we increased our use of digital devices, what could/would change in our lives?

Students will answer the questions on this Google Doc:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Jc5fzNxPK7aYmSWLRCS-mkQo_UE_LkpcK-iWtBAA1g4/copy

The teacher will assess students' mastery of the standards during the peer and group discussion and by reviewing each student's responses to the assessment activity.

• Review the options for Step 1. If Option 2 is chosen, the students should be introduced to the activity the day before the teacher plans to teach the activity in class.
• Each student will need a pencil and highlighter.
• The teacher will need the ability to play a movie with sound for students to view, or the teacher can allow students to view the video on their own devices.
• The teacher will need a copy of the article for each student. Alternatively, the teacher could post the link for students to view online.
• The teacher will need to copy the assessment for each student or post the link to allow students to respond online: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Jc5fzNxPK7aYmSWLRCS-mkQo_UE_LkpcK-iWtBAA1g4/copy.

Rather than beginning the activity with a log of digital device usage, students could complete one of the following tests online:

Virtual Addiction Test

Digital Distraction Test

Child Technology Test

Links to Additional Activities:

The Consequences of Being Too Plugged In-- Part 2 of Unplug: The Digital Diet Plan

My Pledge to Unplug-- Part 3 of Unplug: The Digital Diet Plan

As written, the activity contains media in a visual and text format (i.e., the video clip and the corresponding article) that students then discuss with a peer. Teachers could add to their class discussion by asking:

How is your understanding of the topic affected by how you get the information? If you only watched the video, or only read the article, do you think your understanding would be different? Did discussing with a partner help you come to a better understanding of what you read and heard?

This activity also correlates to the following Career Tech Standards:

Foundations of Business Leadership

4. Identify barriers to and methods for improving the communication process in the corporate world.

STEM Technologies I 

6. Identify positive and negative ways the use of technology affects humans.

21. Engage in positive, safe, legal, and ethical behaviors when using technology, including during social interactions online and when using networked devices.

Business Skills Development

14. Identify the potential hazards that misusing social media and other technology may have on one’s future plans.