Video content—whether viewed on cellphones, laptops, or interactive whiteboards—has become so ubiquitous both inside and outside classrooms that educators may not stop to think about the effects on their students, particularly adolescents.
While there’s much discussion around screen time, this particular offshoot of that issue is one educators should pay special attention to, recommends a recent report from the American Psychological Association.
The report summarizes the major research to date on how watching video affects youth and offers valuable information for educators as they shape their classroom practices and school policies, said Richard Culatta, the CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, or ISTE+ASCD. Teaching students the skills to use video content and other digital media when it’s helpful—and recognize when it’s not—is crucial, he said.
