hkaVOICES 2018-19

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Digital Well Being@HKA by Matt Harris, E.D. In September <strong>2018</strong>, digital education expert Matt Harris visited HKA to work with our students and faculty. He also gave a presentation to parents, both from HKA and from the broader community. Dr. Harris offered to share some thoughts for this issue of hkaVoices as well. I flew into Hong Kong in mid-September just 36 hours after Typhoon Mangkhut had passed through. As I rode in my taxi through town, I marveled at the power of the typhoon to snap trees as if they were toothpicks. But I was also impressed by the progress of clean-up that had already been made to get Hong Kong moving again. It got me thinking about the wellbeing of the city and how the people of Hong Kong were committed to their protection from forces beyond their influence and towards controlling the narrative of how those forces would impact the city in the long run. I came to Hong Kong to work with the staff, students, and parents at HKA on another type of wellbeing: digital wellbeing. And similar to the typhoon, digital wellbeing revolves around forces we can and cannot influence and how we control the narrative of our actions online. Digital wellbeing, in the context of HKA, is an evolution of the idea of digital citizenship to one of being more holistically entwined in the everyday actions and interactions within the school community. Now, unlike other visits I make to schools, the concepts of digital citizenship and digital wellness were actually quite mature within HKA. The concepts of safeguarding and digital literacy have been part of the school’s academic program for years. Community standards for use of technology, for communications, life, and academics around digital citizenship had already been established and were in the process of being formalized through language and policy. So, when I had the pleasure of coming in, members of the school community and I worked together from an informed position. We built upon skills and knowledge to kickstart the next chapter of digital citizenry within HKA towards a concept of digital wellness that is lived and owned by the entire school community. During the visit we worked as a team to build digital wellness throughout the community, including students, parents and teachers. For the students, we talked about the concept of our “Digital Footprints.” Given the number of sites we visit, the content we upload, the comments we post, and the ideas we share, it is said that each of us has a Digital Footprint that follows us as we continue our online journeys. This is a critical concept for students to embrace because unlike their adults, or me for that matter, their Digital Footprints extend further back into their childhoods. Their online actions and interactions will be around for a large portion of their lives. And as we discussed this with the students, we talked about taking a positive frame of mind. Instead of viewing this Digital Footprint as a source of worry, we talked about using it as an opportunity. Students can take 6
full control of their Digital Footprints by deciding how to portray themselves online and what content to post. As we agreed, students should “Control the Narrative,” thereby owning and leveraging their online identities for their benefit. Similarly, we talked with parents about engagement. Noting that digital interaction and technology have such a strong influence on adolescent development, it is critical that students feel their parents’ influence in these spaces. To do this, parents must engage with their children in the digital world by talking on Facetime, using Snapchat, and even jumping into Fortnight. When parents are present in the digital world and engaged in their children’s interactions, they have the same positive influence as they do when sitting around the dinner table (without devices) discussing their lives, hopes, and aspirations. these concepts to make digital wellbeing not an addon to the learning but embedded across all grade levels. And we finished by identifying the key language and concepts that should plant digital wellness into the ethos of the school. And just as the cleanup from the typhoon was a group accomplishment built upon shared values and community effort, as I left HKA I could see that digital wellness would be something of real pride and impact for the school community. In the coming months and years, I expect to hear very positive things about the digital wellbeing of everyone at HKA, be they students, teachers, parents, leaders, or those fortunate to visit the school, like me. For the teachers, we tied these concepts together into an actionable program that could be used with the students in classes the following day. Using Common Sense Education and the 9 Elements of Digital Citizenship, we discussed the breadth and depth of digital wellness that is lived across the school’s academic program. We talked about the value of teaching 21st century skills as a means of building student competencies with technology to be safe and productive digital citizens. We wrote curriculum and developed learning activities that draw upon 7
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