Overview
The Alberta Teachers’ Association, in partnership with Canada’s eQuality Project, and researchers from the University of Ottawa, have launched the world’s largest #DisconnectChallenge in Alberta.
This is a self-directed activity where Alberta teachers, parents/guardians, and/or grandparents can opt-in to a two-week set of technology disconnection and reflection activities with their students and/or families. While media fasts have been growing in popularity, and different groups are entering into disconnect challenges, this will be the world’s first large-scale disconnect challenge for an entire region.
The Association is asking for your assistance to get Alberta teachers and communities involved in this activity. Details of the Alberta Disconnect Challenge are outlined in detail below, and available at: https://disconnectchallenge.ca.
What is it?
#DisconnectChallenge is a two-week activity that invites Alberta students to assess how technology affects their sense of connection with themselves and others. With support from their teachers and families, participating students will document their technology use for one week and then embark on a one-week media fast: avoiding social media platforms, nocturnal screen time, technology around the dinner table, Internet browsing (except for schoolwork), texting (except for their parents/guardians) and listening to music with headphones.
Teachers, parents/guardians and/or grandparents who sign up for the activity will receive a lesson plan with step-by-step instructions. After the media fast, students will be encouraged to share what they learned through text, video or an artistic production. To get a sense of how the #DisconnectChallenge will work, you can watch some students who completed the media fast talk about their experiences on the disconnectchallenge.ca website.
Why?
Extending and supporting findings from the Association’s GUD Project (Growing Up Digital in Alberta), and The eQuality Project (Canadian research on algorithmic bias, digital economy policies, especially privacy and cyberbullying), this activity will provide a framework to help Canadian teens explore how their media use affects their sense of connection with themselves, other people and nature.
This province wide challenge will help students, their teachers and families learn to navigate technology, privacy, health and learning. It will also further ongoing digital literacy work across Canada, and assist students and families as they seek to find a digital balance that is healthy, practical and sustainable for their increasingly digitally connected lives.
When?
The #DisconnectChallenge Alberta will run for two weeks in February 2020.
Week one: Documenting (February 10 to 16, 2020)
Documenting and Reflecting on Personal Media Use
Week two: Media Fasting (February 17 to 21, 2020 including Family Day)
Engaging in a Media Fast
Who?
Teachers and their students, as well as parents/guardians and their children, are invited to join the #DisconnectChallenge Alberta. Everyone has an open opportunity to participate. Teachers, students and families from Indigenous, rural and remote schools, or other underrepresented populations are particularly encouraged to join the challenge.
How?
The steps related to participation are:
- Sign-up to the secure registration form on or before December 20, 2019.
- Staff will follow up directly, sending an e-mail in January 2020 with a lesson plan and other key information.
- Start the #DisconnectChallenge. During week one (February 10 to 16, 2020) students will document their regular use of media. During week two February 17 to 21, 2020 (including Family Day), students will document their experiences during the media fast.
- Students, teachers, parents/guardians, and/or grandparents can share their experiences online on a digital platform (to be released) created for #DisconnectChallenge.
- Participation in this self-directed #DisconnectChallenge is voluntary and participants are free to opt out at any time.
Promoting Participation in Your Local
Please share this information https://disconnectchallenge.ca within your local and encourage teachers to voluntarily sign up for the Alberta Disconnect Challenge prior to the registration deadline of December 20, 2019.
If you have any questions about this activity, please feel free to contact Dr Phil McRae at Barnett House at phone: 780-447-9469 or e-mail: philip.mcrae@ata.ab.ca.
If others have any questions or concerns, as noted on the https://disconnectchallenge.ca website, they should not hesitate to get in touch (email links attached on the website) with Dr Valerie Steeves from the University of Ottawa or Dr Phil McRae from the Alberta Teachers’ Association.