This post was encouraged in part by Maria Agop’s post about the app “Headspace for Kids”. Headspace is a great app, and as Maria mentions, mindfulness can be beneficial for really, anyone. As I was reading this post, I thought about the fact that one of the things that we encourage kids (and ourselves really) to be mindful of is screen time, and for the sake of this course, more specifically mobile screen time. In some ways, it feels counterintuitive to teach mindfulness from a mobile screen. Although I haven’t spent much time using Headspace for Kids, I’d imagine that there is a section of this app that addresses the concern that I’ve shared. Through auditory based mindful activities, the issue of too much screen time could still be addressed (and I’m sure there are many other ways to do so as well).
Flipd is an app that takes on the premise of using a mobile device to lessen the use of a mobile device. Flipd integrates timers, lists, graphs, screen locks and stats among other things to help users keep track of things that need to get done, as well as to help assist with time spent focused on productively working on a specific chosen topic. The following video gives a brief outline:
As with many mobile apps, there are benefits if users pay a monthly fee, but the basic functions can be used for free with the creation of an account. Flipd is one of many mobile apps/software that are now focused on helping people spend less time on their devices. An idea that would likely sound quite silly even 15 years ago, but one that is a hot topic as mobile phone use continues to surge.
This post had a few interesting elements for me to consider, as I contemplated the different facets of Mobile Education this week. As I reflected on the theory and concepts that underpin Mobile Education, as well as the structures we are using to implement it, 2 main things came to mind in the post.
First, we have been talking about the proliferation of personal mobile devices in the classroom and other educational spaces over the past couple of weeks. These conversations have oscillated between lukewarm support for personal device use, and outright contempt for them. This post proposed that perhaps there is another middle ground we could consider – a very intentional mediation of student interactions with their devices, with an eventual goal of having learners who are more able to self-regulate their use of technology. Apps like Flipd or Headspace have become even more common in the year since this post was originally made, and the necessity to alter the ways we interact with technology have become more evident.
Second, it made me think about the affordances of an app like Flipd and how these elements could be incorporated into other tools we are using in Mobile Education. Rather than having a separate tool to moderate interaction with our devices, perhaps some of these tools could be worked into the platforms and software we use frequently. Would I be more willing to let my students use their devices in class if I knew the apps and tools they were using had some sort of mindfulness/self-awareness/autoregulation elements built in? When I teach in-person with minimal technology, I use these strategies to help encourage positive behaviours and build good habits. So why not in the digital spaces we curate in Mobile Education?
Mindful use of technology is incredibly important. Using such an app to limit screen time is helpful. Although I would make a point of limiting, not screen time in general, but ‘junk’ screen time where we are not creatively or critically engaging in content. Similarly, while espousing its usefulness, I would caution over reliance on an app for self regulation as there is a level of irony and hypocrisy in being dependent on an item to restrict said items use.
Hi Jamie, there’s an app for everything! I can see teachers demoing the app’s features and benefits, such as its ability to lock the device, track screen time, and minimize distractions, and show students how it can support their learning. This can be a good starting point when discussing digital use and overuse, and overall “digital wellness”. Teachers could use this app to help students with accountability and motivation. What functions are included with the free version?
Hello,
You raise a good point, I hadn’t thought about the potential classroom application, and how this could potentially be used for younger students (I imagine grades 7/8) who are at a point in which sustained focus becomes more and more valuable from an academic point of view.
The free version allows full functionality as far as I can tell. The paid version just seems to include more in advanced versions of everything (access to more songs, longer timers, etc.)