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screen time

Blue Light and Your Skin

by Diana Benner June 16, 2020

written by Diana Benner

Recently, I have noticed that some of my favorite skincare brands are coming out with products that protect against blue light. Therefore, I began to investigate if blue light is damaging my skin.

What Is Blue Light?

Blue light is a high-energy, short-wavelength light. It not to be confused with UVA or UVB rays. The main source of the blue light we are exposed to is the sun and indoor lights. However, we also get exposed to blue light from our computer screens, cell phones, and other digital devices.

Effects of Blue Light

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are spending more time indoors and in front of our screens. Therefore, it is important to understand the effects of blue light. According to Dr. Sheri Marchbein, blue light has been reported to contribute to eye strain as well as cataracts, glaucoma, and other eye diseases. In addition, in this blog post by Lori Gracey, you can see how blue light can contribute to sleep disorders.

For adolescents who use a device in the hour before bedtime (and what teen doesn’t?), they are three times more likely to get less than five hours of sleep, which can be greatly detrimental to their mood and learning.
Lori Gracey, “Blue Light Bad“

Your Skin

So, does blue light damage your skin? Research is ongoing, but what dermatologists know so far doesn’t look good. According to Marchbein, blue light we get from the sun does contribute to brown spots and hyperpigmentation such as melasma, and possibly the breakdown of collagen, which leads to wrinkles and skin laxity.

However, getting brown spots on your skin cannot be really laid at the feet of the blue light we get from screens until further research is done. The bottom line is that blue light’s effect on your skin needs more research before we can determine any solid conclusions.

It’s Better to Be Safe

Skincare companies are doing their own research when it comes to the effect of blue light on your skin. They are taking a better-safe-than-sorry stance since so many of us are spending more time in front of screens. Dermatologist predict that we will see more blue light-protecting ingredients emerge as more research comes out.

In the meantime, I will continue to wear sunscreen daily, even when I’m indoors, and I might even invest in some blue light skincare products just to be safe.

June 16, 2020 0 comment

Educational Trends

Ed Tech News Roundup: Screen Time, Aesop’s Fables, and Fall Foliage

by Andrew Roush October 18, 2019

written by Andrew Roush

Howdy, folks! Welcome to another in a series of biweekly ed tech news roundups. We hope you enjoy this one, and if you have a story you’d like to see included, let us know.

Branching Out with STEM

Understanding science, engineering, and technology is vital for students, regardless of what they hope to pursue in life. Educators are working to keep up with that demand, and do so in ways that benefit students with genuine learning and life experience.

Middle school tech and computer teacher Robin Corbeil was struggling to connect her students with practical STEM skills. Then they started coding robots. [Education Drive]
For students interested in science and engineering, a program in Wisconsin is helping them prepare for college and earn college credit, one of many examples across the nation. [Wisconsin State Journal]

Screening the Future

Connected devices open a world of information to just about anyone. As screens become a required part of daily life, new perspectives are emerging on the potential — and potential pitfalls — of an always-connected generation.

Technology use is commonplace in higher education, even during lectures. A new study of college students from the University of Waterloo finds that students “think it is instructors’ responsibility to ensure they don’t surf the web in class.” [Ladders]
Matthew Howell’s middle school students all had devices, thanks to a 1:1 program. Now, they’re making a point to consider their use by having regular screen-free school days. [edutopia]

Reading with Tech

Ed tech can improve many learning processes, including in non-STEM subjects. Educators are using technology to build literacy, tell stories, and even teach across subjects.

In language arts, the “old essay model” is being reinvented with technology. Here are five ways educators are inspiring literacy through tech. [THE Journal]
In Colorado, ancient fables are getting new life through students’ smart use of digital platforms. [CU Boulder]

…And Finally

The changing of the seasons governs much of the world around us. For students, it can be a prompt for learning. Whether it’s a salmon festival in California, an agriculture education day in Maryland, or a traditional fall festival in Florida, young people around the country are finding educational opportunities outdoors as the weather turns and autumn arrives.

Photo: David Anderson

October 18, 2019 0 comment

Educational Trends

Ed Tech News Roundup: Screen Time, LEGO, and Enchiladas

by Andrew Roush October 4, 2019

written by Andrew Roush

Howdy, folks! Welcome to another in a series of biweekly ed tech news roundups. We hope you enjoy this one, and if you have a story you’d like to see included, let us know.

Metrics and Measures

Every strategy, technique, or tool has an effect. To understand that effect, we use goals, metrics, and measurements. These are omnipresent tools for educators, but they are also changing.

In an effort to boost language skills in learners from disadvantaged backgrounds, Detroit is one of five cities launching a new program that gives young children recording devices known as talk pedometers. Instead of counting steps, these tools count how many words a child hears and speaks during the day, a metric tied to linguistic success. [Detroit Free Press]
There’s a decent chance that you’ve used Google’s suite of tools before. Today, Google is in nearly every school — Google, in fact, claims that 90 million teachers and students have used it. Now, the tech giant is quantifying their impact even more with a new “transformation report.” [EdSurge]

Screen Time

Almost everyone spends time on a mobile device, but that time is not created equal. Some things can be more useful than others. Even college choices are being made by students skimming social media.

A new meta-analysis of screen time in children and adolescents finds that overall screen time doesn’t change academic performance. But when types of screen usage were broken out, researchers found that “time spent on television viewing and video games was associated with poorer academic achievement.” [CNN]
When those adolescents consider post-secondary education, research indicates that students, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds, are taking to social media to check out the stats on their future schools. [Diverse: Issues in Higher Education]

LEGO Firsts

LEGO is breaking ground on projects to make the benefits of the building system available to all.

With the help of FIRST Robotics League, LEGO is launching the FIRST LEGO League Junior, a new competition for four-to-six year-olds using LEGO’s Duplo bricks to learn about architecture, civil engineering, infrastructure, sustainability, and urban planning. [STEAM Universe]
LEGOs are a simple toy to use, but LEGO sets aren’t always universal. People with special needs may not be able to access instructions that they can use. Now LEGO has made their toys more accessible with Braille and audio instructions for the visually impaired. [Washington Post]

…And Finally

The enchiladas served on Wednesdays in San Antonio’s North East ISD are beloved by students and alumni. NEISD showed their own appreciation with a digital video to connect with Tex-Mex mavens by sharing their recipe in a Facebook video.

Enchilada Recipe – North East ISD

For years we have been getting asked about our famous enchilada recipe and today in honor of ENCHILADA WEDNESDAY, we are releasing a step-by-step video guide so you can enjoy them any day of the week. Now, EVERY DAY is ENCHILA-DAY! #theNEISDway

Posted by North East Independent School District – NEISD on Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Photo: Kendall Ruth

October 4, 2019 1 comment

Educational Trends

The Good and Bad of Screen Time

by Lori Gracey December 13, 2018

written by Lori Gracey

There have been a lot of stories in the news lately about the dangers of screen time. Everyone is talking about how kids today don’t know how to have a conversation with someone or to focus on something because they are too busy staring at their technology’s screen. Experts warn about the addictive danger of social media, and those who work in the technology industry are not allowing their own children to use the devices. So what are educators to think about the use of technology for learning?

The Bad

Athena Chavarria, who worked as an executive assistant at Facebook and is now at Mark Zuckerberg’s philanthropic arm, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, said “I am convinced the devil lives in our phones and is wreaking havoc on our children.” Tim Cook, the C.E.O. of Apple, said earlier this year that he would not let his nephew join social networks. Bill Gates banned cellphones until his children were teenagers, and Melinda Gates wrote that she wished they had waited even longer. Steve Jobs would not let his young children near iPads.

screen time

We can all agree that tech can be taken too far. Have you seen the potty training iPad station? And what about the USB Pet Rock? screen time

And it’s definitely true that technology can become a mindless babysitter if used in the wrong way. Too much time spent staring passively at a screen is bad for anyone, young or old. There’s also the argument that being able to quickly find answers to simple questions with our devices is making us dumber and less patient. All of these points have some validity

The Good

But, to be fair, isn’t anything carried to the extreme bad for us? Coffee has been found to have some positive health benefits, but not if you drink 25 cups of it a day. Walking is good for you unless you walk 50 miles daily. Too much of anything is bad. That means that it’s up to us to monitor and, when necessary, limit how much time we spend staring at our devices.

The better question may be how much screen time is too much. “According to Common Sense Media, a nonprofit focused on children’s interactions with media and technology, kids under the age of eight average two hours and 19 minutes a day on some form of digital media, which is similar to TV habits going back decades for this age group” (source). So younger kids aren’t really spending any more time staring at their iPads or smartphones today than they did staring at the television in the past.

Technology connects us. It empowers each of us to find our own answers, to pursue our own dreams. It can help those of us who need a little more time or assistance to learn something to achieve that goal. It can remove the barriers of poverty, disability, and lack of opportunity. It can make the world a smaller, friendlier, and safer place. And it can inspire us as we use it to create, compose, innovate, communicate, and collaborate.

What we must understand is that technology is a tool just like any other tool. It has specific purposes and best practices for its use. Just as you would not use a hammer 24/7 to do all of your activities, so technology should not be used for everything. But what technology can help us to accomplish is something that no other tool can do. And that is where its true power lies and where we must use it most.

What We Should Do

First, we have to admit that the technology is not going away. We will not be going back to the “good ole days” when no one owned a cell phone. The latest study of market-research group Nielsen found that American adults spend more than 11 hours per day watching, reading, listening to, or simply interacting with media on devices (source).

Second, we have to acknowledge that too much of anything is bad for us and may be especially bad for the youngest of us. Parents should set limits as to when their children should have access to devices, as well as to what they may do on those devices. This is no different than parents limiting access to candy and sweets.

Third, educators must make sure that we are not using technology just for technology’s sake. As stated above, technology is AMAZING for empowering us to do higher-order thinking and creating. But it should most definitely not be used for passive consumption. That means that, when thinking about a lesson or activity, we actually spend time considering whether technology will add to the learning and, if so, what is the best way for that to happen. It is a conscious choice that should be balanced with all of the other pedagogical decisions that we make each day for the betterment of our students.

The devil does not live in our devices, but he may be able to convince us to use them inappropriately. It is up to each of us to ensure that time spent with technology adds richness to our lives and doesn’t take away from our sharing with each other, being in the world, or seeking to make each day a little better for everyone.

Updates

The Canadian Pediatric Society in June of 2019 has released new screen time rules which are of interest. They include no screen time at all for infants and toddlers under two and less than an hour a day for kids two to five. The guidelines for kids and teens, however, focus more on how and when screens are used rather than how long. “We really wanted to highlight that content, context and kids’ individual traits are as important as specific screen time limits,” says Michelle Ponti, chair of the CPS Digital Health Task Force and lead author on the statement. “It’s not the screens themselves that are inherently harmful,” says Ponti. “It’s how we use them. As long as they are not taking over our lives and complementing our lives, that’s OK. That’s what we’re trying to focus on.”

This blog was updated with additional content on June 9, 2019.

December 13, 2018 0 comment