Can technology teach kindness? 5 tools that create social skills

Technology – from social media to mobile phones – is often blamed for having caused poor behavior Among the students, especially the middle school students. But when intentionally used, technology can also promote kindness, collaboration and other essential social skills.

So that students can successfully browse their digital worlds and future careers, they must learn to work in a productive way and to communicate respectfully with each other on online platforms, said Jennifer Foster, senior program coordinator of the National Training Center, a teacher training initiative at the University of Missouri.

“We often hear: children are stuck on a computer all day, they do not interact with other people, and they lose these social skills to be able to collaborate with others and get along,” she said. “But I work at a distance and interact with people all day, every day, and I have to make sure that I have good skills in collaboration, even if I do not relate to an office. There are many technological tools that are at our disposal to help students learn to improve these skills. ”

Foster was to be presented at the annual conference 25 + ASCD of the ASCD in San Antonio, from June 29 to July 2, on the way technology can help teachers promote kindness in their classrooms. She shared with education week, before the conference, her reflections on five educational tools could consider using. All of these tools can be used on most standard devices emitted in schools.

These tools, said Foster, can help teachers of all subjects to integrate socio-emotional learning exercises in their existing course plans. And they can be particularly powerful to start students who do not like to speak in class, said Foster.

That said, Experts warn teachers to look carefully In all digital tools before using them with students, and also test them before determining what will work best with students. And teachers must ensure that these technologies also have solid data confidentiality standards.

In this spirit, here is what Foster has identified as certain key areas with certain tools that could be useful:

1. Teach socio-emotional skills

Brainpop produces videos on a range of academic materials for primary and college students, but its content on Socio-emotional skillsLike conflict resolution and mindfulness, are particularly relevant to middle school students, said Foster.

“Conflict resolution, problem solving, it is (social skills) that college students must really develop so that they learn to get along and collaborate with others,” she said.

2. Encourage students to think before talking

Voicethread can help students learn to see other points of view and take a break and think before responding, said Foster. These skills are important not only to work in groups, but also to be respectful and positive on social networks and – one day – online work platforms.

“Taking perspective is a key element to be able to collaborate with others and learn that your point of view is one of the many perspectives, and college is an essential age to develop these skills,” she said.

To use Vocethread, a teacher decides an invite, such as asking students to share a story on themselves or their opinions on a assigned reading, said Foster. Students record a short story that their classmates listen to before recording and sharing their reactions and comments to the original story.

“It's asynchronous, so that children have time to treat what they are going to say,” said Foster. “They can write it, they can record what they mean as feedback, then the original student can click on and listen to all the comments on their history. It is a bit of a slower process, but that forces students to really think about what they will say instead of getting the first thing in their mind.”

3. Create a feeling of belonging

Padlet is a website that allows groups to create shared boards where students can publish and comment on the publications of others. It is a good tool for creating vision advice or so that students can draw ideas for a group project, said Foster, by practicing the digital communication skills they will need in a working environment.

Teachers can also ask students to use Padlet as a digital space so that students present themselves at the start of the school year with a photo and a short biography, which helps create a feeling of belonging, said Foster.

“We encourage teachers to do this in person, but it is not always the favorite method for some students,” she said. “They live in a digital world and sometimes hesitate to share things on themselves in front of a full class of students. But they are very comfortable to share things on social networks. ”

Similar to Voice Thread, Padlet offers students the opportunity to share thoughts and comment on the publications of others, encouraging respectful communication on digital platforms, said Foster.

4. Improve students' emotional regulation

Headspace is a useful tool for improving students' emotional regulations, said Foster. He teaches students socio-emotional skills such as emotional management and social conscience through short videos. For example, said Foster, there are lessons on how to show gratitude or the benefits for the health of the smile. Some videos are interactive, such as students to guide through a breathing exercise.

Foster recommends that teachers use videos in the same way that they would be a brain rupture when transitioning one activity to another.

“Headspace would be really great at the start of a class period or when they are about to move from group practice to individual practice or just after lunch, where children enter and are completely deregulated because things are crazy in the cafeteria,” she said.

5. Promote reflection and establishment of objectives

Canva has useful models for reflections and the goal, said Foster, both important to develop the self -awareness of students. This also gives students the opportunity to become very creative in the way they express themselves, she said.

This tool can be particularly useful for students who find it difficult to write by hand and for whom a more traditional exercise, such as journalization, can be difficult, said Foster.

“Perhaps the objectives can be a visual representation” of what they want to achieve, she said. “It can also be a reflective visual representation on their own behavior on an incident that has recently occurred.”

Although Canva can do a lot that the other tools on this list can, said Foster, the tool can also be overwhelming for students. She recommends teachers to ensure that they give advice and parameters on the models to be used in the program.