Importance and significance of the subject:
Nowadays it is quasi-impossible for young people to avoid the digital universe. The only questions are:
- when they first enter it,
- how much help they receive in navigating it
- what relationship they develop with the digital innovations
- how prepared they are when they encounter
Those, who are left alone in this world can easily become little Mowglis, their behaviour, way of thinking, identity and communication would be governed by the laws of the digital jungle, since they grow up seeing that one’s worth is equalled by the number of likes they get, that online you can do whatever you want and get away with it, and that psychological needs can be satisfied online without any consequences or effort. This may have many consequences, from online bullying to addictive behaviour, just to name a few.
In this course we will explore how we adults, teachers may help them the best way we can.
This course is for you if:
- you want to understand the digital universe, the world of social media, video games, smart tools, and their effects on us,
- you want to understand todays’ youth, their motivation, and needs,
- you want to help young people become conscious, responsible, well-mannered digital citizens,
- you are ready to treat young people in this process as equal partners, accepting that in many ways students are better informed than you, and you are ready to use this knowledge to your and their advantage.
Topics covered by the course:
- The course is built around the digital universe (internet, games and smart tools) and the experience one (especially young people and you) may have there.
- Drawing attention to those aspects which may help in identifying those young people who need help and are either at risk or who – as an effect of the digital world – are already showing symptoms of problematic usage.
- Broadening your knowledge about this world by acquiring new skills and methods. The course aims to show steps which may be taken as prevention and to prepare you to handle arising problems.
- The course emphasizes student focused approach and the bigger connections of digital world related problems.
Outcome of the course:
At the end of the course the participants will
- understand better young people’s online behaviour and trends,
- see young people’s colourful individuality in their online behaviour as well,
- learn about the basics of the digital world and its psychological specialties,
- be able to talk to young people about online topics, previously unknown for them,
- develop their methodology skillset,
- become conscious users themselves, and be able to pass this on to those young people they will be working with, and motivate them in this way,
- be able to pinpoint the tell-tale signs when young people need help with digital problems
- be able to tell the difference between whether young people need prevention, intervention or other kind of help,
- be able to tell when to involve other professionals, such as psychologists.
Why should you choose this course?
The course is held by a lecturer, who is renowned in the field, who possesses both theoretical knowledge of the subject and has vast practical experience as well. He is up-to-date in his knowledge of the digital world and its aspects, works with young people who are affected by the problems, challenges of the digital world, and helps them achieve great results along with a balanced lifestyle.
The course significantly relies on participants’ own experience, observations about the digital world in everyday life, professional knowledge, experience with working with students and of course their active participation. The content of the course will be tailored according to the participants’ needs, questions and requests.
One of the main focuses of the course is how to decrease the generational gap between the participants and their students by examining different digital phenomena like video games, social media through participants’ own personal experience, brainstorming, role playing, situation exercises, games in pairs or groups – these all help bringing closer digital phenomena and understanding them. Before all exercises there is first a theoretical introduction, then a structured discussion in groups, maximizing thus the efficacity of the exercises and stressing the conclusions and the lessons learned.
Schedule
1st day: Generations on the internet
- Participants from different countries and cultures will share their experience and knowledge
- Practical overview of the different digital generations (X, Y, Z and what are they used for?)
- Generation mapping (in the course of your work which generations are you in contact with?)
- Psychological bases of the digital space (hyper personality, anonymity and online facelessness, etc.)
2nd day: Games back then and nowadays
- Recalling own game memories, reminiscing about our own playful self
- Fundamental differences between offline and online games
- From Tetris to Fortnite aka History of video games, the different types of video games (RPG, FPS, RTS, MMO, etc.)
- Positive and negative aspects, both in the short and long-term (from development of cognitive skills to addiction)
3rd day: Good or Bad aka Reasons of the effects, what determines whether the positive or the negative aspects will prevail?
- How much time is healthy to spend with digital entertainment?
- What is best to spend time on?
- The importance of individual motivation
- Healthy vs. unhealthy patterns
4th day: Dangers on the net – from the obvious to the less obvious ones
- External dangers: hackers, cyber offenders, predators
- Own experience
- External vs. internal dangers
- Online aggression (trolls, harassment, bullying)
- Online sexuality (sexting, sexchat, porn)
- Digital addictions
5th day: Opportunities and positive outcome
- Gamification and what we can learn from games
- Digital way of life and career choices
- New digital culture
- Digital policy
Planned courses and registration deadline:
- 15 – 19 May 2023 / registration deadline: 14 May 2023
- 6 – 10 November 2023 / registration deadline: 6 October 2023
For general information (prices, administration, additional services, etc…) please check this page: https://arbortalent.hu/en/general-information-about-arbor-talent-courses/
