Digital Health and You

Preassessment
Unit Overview
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Unit Title: Digital Health and You

Author: Lauren Brantley
Subject: Digital Citizenship
Grade Level(s): 912
Duration: 4 homeroom periods of approximately 15 minutes each.

Unit Description
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A digital citizenship unit based on learning more about component 8, Digital Health, in which we
will elaborate on the definition and dangers of multi-tasking, the cognitive dangers of digital
overload, and strategies for digital balance.
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Lesson Description for Day 1

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Multi-tasking and Cognitive Effects of Overload

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State Standards Digital citizenship

Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice
legal and ethical behavior.
a. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology
b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and
productivity
c. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning
d. Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship

Goals
Unit Goals:
1. For students to become aware of the dangers of digital overload.
2. For students to change their digital habits and behavior through learning and discussing
digital health concepts.
Lesson Goals:

1. Given information, discussion, and reading opportunities, Students will discover

the adverse effects of multitasking in relation to their productivity and cognitive function.

Methods
Anticipatory Set:
Teacher: What do you think digital health is?
Student Responses
Teacher: Read some interesting and perhaps funny responses on the digital health preassessment.
Introduce and Model New Knowledge:
Teacher: Today we are going to discuss Multi-tasking.
Multi-tasking- the handling of more than one task at the same time by a single person
Show graphic of how multi-tasking is a relatively new phenomenon

Show Video
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/resources/multitasking/
Provide Guided Practice:
In Multitasking at M.I.T. Sherry Turkle says that students are doing themselves a disservice in
multitasking by not focusing enough on one thing.
Ask students polling questions. Students hold up a black playing card for agree and red
playing card for disagree for the following questions..
Questions are:
1. Multitasking is an essential skill needed to function in the 21st century.
(Observe students who raise their card for agree and those who disagree, make a
note of which opinion is more)
2. People who are multitasking are unable to stay intently focused on one thing.
3. Multitasking keeps your brain active.
4. Multitasking results in distracted behavior that can be dangerous, like texting
while driving.
5. Multitasking can have a negative effect on relationships because of the lack of
focused attention.
6. The need to multitask inhibits imagination because there is not enough
downtime for daydreaming and thinking quietly.
7. Multitasking can result in not doing each task as well as if it were done with a
singular focus.

Teacher reads and shows comments like this that other PBS users thought on the screen.
I really do believe that multitasking is a ever growing skill now, but as with everything in life you need to
find the right balance. There are times that it is ok and times that you need to focus on something.Jason
Feb 22, 2011 21:21
When it comes to my personal policy on technology, I don't have a problem with the new digital era, but i
feel that when it drives all of our attention away from the real problems we face in our day to day lives,
then technology can be hazardous to our well-being. The use of electronic devices can't take away the
power of a teacher educating a student one on one. I think that if you take the personal human interaction
from the students, then you lose the ability to teach and communicate the importance of self awareness of
and to others, being able to overcome error on your own, and encourage inner motivation in ones self.T.J.
Helming Feb 16, 2011 09:14

Provide Independent Practice:

Teacher hands out two articles copied and divides the class into two groups.
Reading and Posting Main Points
of class read article on Why we Use Digital Technology in Our lives
http://www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/resources/multitasking/technology.pdf

One student Lists on Chart Paper main points or they can summarize the article by reporting out
for their group
other reads article on Continuous Partial Attention
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/resources/multitasking/#top
Another students lists on Chart Paper the main points or they can summarize the article by
reporting out for their group

Wrap-Up
Poll Everywhere Question:
Name something you DIDN'T know about Multi-tasking and the Cognitive Effects that it may
have on you.

Assessment
Formative/Ongoing Assessment:
Polling activities with red and black cards
Poll Everywhere:
https://www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls/SsOeDZPPEydyMhY
Chart paper outlining articles
Summative/End Of Lesson Assessment:
At the end of Unit

Materials:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/11DUYJf0DrUeveeUi1BWdYUq6wiACWGGujO1ofeXQWGQ/vi
ewform
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/resources/multitasking/#top
http://gpb.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/dgn09.la.rv.visual.elements.salifeonline/life-online/

Lesson Description for Lesson 2

Health Hazards of Digital Overload and what you can do to protect yourself

State Standards Digital citizenship

Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice
legal and ethical behavior.
a. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology
b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and
productivity
c. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning
d. Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship

Goals
Unit Goals: Edit
1. For students to become aware of the dangers of digital overload.
2. For students to change their digital habits and behavior through learning and discussing
digital health concepts.
Lesson Goals:
1. Given visual and auditory information, students will understand the cultural
context of countries where digital overload is becoming a national problems..
2. Given visual and auditory information, students will list Psychiatric and Physical
consequences of digital overload.
3. Given strategies, students will be able to recall them.
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Methods
Anticipatory Set:
Q and A review on Lesson 1
Q: What is continuous partial attention?
A: It's a fancy term for the process of continually staying busy, keeping tabs on everything
while never truly focusing on anything.
So what's the problem with paying attention to everything all at once?
A: Continual partial attention is stressful. Being constantly on alert can actually impair
cognition. Our brains were not built to maintain intense monitoring for extended time
periods.
Q: What happens?
A: Many people who have been working on the Internet for several hours without a break
report making frequent errors in their work. They notice feeling spaced out, fatigued,
irritable and distracted, as if they are in a digital fog.
Q: What's the solution?
A: Awareness is the first step. Notice how much time you spend online and how much time
you're continually staying busy. Pay attention to the signals your body is sending. Take time
to stop and rest; it actually helps your productivity. Also, try focusing on just one thing at a
time and notice how that feels different.

Introduce and Model New Knowledge:

What is the most wired place on the Earth?
(some students may be surprised that it is not the US, it is South Korea)
Today we are going to look at South Korea where internet usage is becoming a problem even
the government is getting involved with.
Show Video
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/resources/multitasking/#top

Discuss Cultural Implications of South Korea as opposed to the United States that may put the
video in the proper perspective before after watching it.
Show on screen typical schedule comparing American and South Korean teenagers :
Teens in South Korea face a far more stressful experience preparing for college admission
than young people in the United States. High school is extremely difficult in South Korea.
One proverb says: "If you sleep four hours a night, you will go to college. If you sleep five
hours a night, you won't." While SAT prep courses are a booming industry in many U.S.
school districts, in South Korea, preparation for the college entrance exam is grueling and
long term, and more often than not, Korean parents spend a lot of money for extra classes
in the evening and for private tutoring.
Here's a sample "day in the life" of two teen girls, one in South Korea and the other in the
United States:
South Korea

United States

Time of
day

Su-Jin (14 years old)

Sarah (14 years old)

6:30
a.m.

Wake up and prepare to

go to school

Wake up and prepare to

go to school

7:20
a.m.

Walk to school

Ride school bus to school

7:40
a.m.

Arrive at school

Arrive at school

2:30
p.m.

Still at school (sixth class

period)

All classes end. Go to the

gym for basketball junior
varsity practice

4:00
p.m.

Leave school

Leave school

4:30
p.m.

Arrive at the educational

institute for additional
classes in Korean,
English and math

Return home, watch TV,

do some chores

6:30
p.m.

Sleep during the break at

the educational institute

Eat dinner, then watch

TV

8:00

Return home and have

Start homework

p.m.

dinner

8:30
p.m.

Use the Internet -- blog,

chat with friends, play
games, visit Web sites

Finish homework and

update Facebook at the
same time

9:00
p.m.

English tutor comes to

home; practice English
reading and writing

Listen to music, check

Facebook and other Web
sites

10:30
p.m.

Continue studying with

the tutor

Go to bed and text

friends

11:00
p.m.

Do homework from
school and the academic
institute while listening
to music

Sleep

1:00
a.m.

Go to bed

Sleep

Print A Day in the Life

Multicultural Perspective and the Importance of Real-World Experience

Make the point that
1. South Korea is a compact place; there arent alot of places to play
2. Like the schedule above, students start their college preparation in elementary
school, the culture is different. They may not have time for the leisure activities a typical
American teenager has and resort to the internet for a social medium.
3. Think About It. If you don't have a South Korean friend (or if you haven't
been to South Korea), everything you know about South Korean culture is shaped by
media messages. In fact, everything we know about the world comes from two
sources: direct, real-world experience and mediated experience. Mediated experience
includes information we learn from other people, books, TV shows, movies and the
news.When we have direct real-world experience, we are in a strong position to
critically analyze mediated representations that explore a particular group of people.
But when we lack personal or real-world experience, we depend on mediated
representations for our understanding of the people who are different from us,
whether they live close by or around the world. Seeking different points of view can
help create a more nuanced understanding of other cultures.
4. Real-World Experiences that are not mediated representations of the world or
watching a simulated experience can help us have our own opinion of the world that
is not shaped by media messages.

Provide Guided Practice:

Students write out an examples psychiatric and physical disorders resulting from the digital
overload with teacher guidance.

carpal tunnel syndrome

frozen shoulder
back pain
neck pain
muscle pain
eyestrain
poor posture
ear complications
social withdrawal
depression
Provide Independent Practice:
Google to see if you can find anymore physical symptoms of digital overload.

Wrap-Up:
Solutions: Students receive a card of solutions and strategies for avoiding digital overload
Teacher and students have a group discussion about the cards.

Assessment
Formative/Ongoing Assessment
Chart Paper Activity
Summative/End Of Lesson Assessment:
Paper or Google Forms Assessment

Materials:
UDL checklist
Principles of Instructional Design Checklist