05 July 2023

Going Beyond The Screen: Unplugged Activities For Students

Digital technology transforms many aspects of our lives at an ever-increasing pace. Seismic, far-reaching innovation, like the rise of digital technology, drives changes in habits and creates opportunities for growth and development. On the flipside, new risks, challenges, and negative consequences also come into play.

Experts advise that 5-17-year-olds should limit recreational screen time to 2 hours per day. Excessive use can have negative effects on academic achievement, and increased sedentary habits can lead to depression, stress, obesity, and mental health concerns.

Both American and Australian research indicates that use of digital devices increases with age. Whilst digital literacy is an essential skill for young and old, engaging in non-digital activities is just as important.

Promoting non-digital ways to play, learn, and interact provides a much-needed break from screens. It develops crucial skills and teaches students that a balanced approach to digital technology is healthy. Here are a few ideas for your classroom:

Show, Teach, And Try Non-Digital Skills Or Hobbies

Ask students to present non-digital skills or hobbies they engage in or are interested in taking up. Base presentations on open-ended questions: Why do they like something? What will it bring to their life? What drawbacks or restrictions does it have?

Encourage presenters to design step-by-step activities which allow the class to try out or gain insight into the presenter’s hobby or skill. Provide feedback on presentations and ask 2 audience members to critique each presenter. Were activity instructions easy to understand? Was the talk well-organised and interesting? Why or why not?

Discuss what constructive feedback is and how to present it.

This develops critical thinking and public speaking skills and trains students to give and receive useful feedback. As a teacher, model expectations for presenters and how to give and receive feedback by presenting to the class and using feedback to improve.

 Nature Play

Giving children opportunities for unstructured play and learning in nature stimulates creativity, reduces stress and promotes physical exercise. Regular contact with nature reduces the likelihood of mental health problems, and has lifelong positive effects on growth and development.

Set aside at least half an hour a day for learning in natural settings. Nature provides opportunities to explore concepts in science, maths, arts, PHDPE and more.

• Teach students about space, time and the natural world by exploring school grounds and drawing maps of them at different times.

Consider what natural features, such as lakes or bushland, your school has and how they change over time. What animals live on the grounds? Can you identify and draw body parts like mandibles, scales, feathers, and fur? Inspire pupils to explore STEM careers or outdoor activities for pleasure.

• Encourage students to respect the environment and be risk-aware, not risk-averse. Brainstorm safe ways of climbing trees, behaving around water, and what to do in case of bites or stings. How do potentially dangerous animals react and why? How can we avoid being hurt? Providing basic first aid training promotes risk awareness.

• Carry out student-led risk assessments in different environments, guiding pupils to identify potential risks and solutions with appropriate scaffolding. What practices cause minimal harm to the environment? For example, discuss taking seashells home compared to taking photos of seashells, or touching and putting them back.

• Document nature play in non-digital ways at home and school. Discuss why it’s important to spend time in nature. Explore types of nature play to develop young children’s understanding of death, lifecycles, decomposition, ecosystems, and food chains. Death play or slow play might involve observing plant or possum decomposition over weeks and months with microscopes or magnifying glasses. Encourage children to see death and ageing as a normal part of life rather than as taboo or frightening and to express feelings about death.

• Hire forest school instructors to build student confidence when learning about and interacting with nature. Forest school programs develop self-esteem, physical fitness, emotional regulation, coping strategies, problem-solving and social skills.

See Living History, Be Living History

Living history programs and museums help learners engage with history in fun, accessible, and informative ways. They offer students the opportunity to experience life in a Victorian classroom or as immigrants during the gold rush period. Participants pan for gold, learn needlework, or listen to Holocaust survivors. Screens take a backseat as history comes alive!

Sydney Living Museums and Living History Australia are worth checking out if you’re planning incursions or excursions. Good living history experiences offer nuanced perspectives which include traditionally marginalised voices. They don’t claim to present the past as it was, but clarify that they provide interpretations of past life based on particular sources.

Ask students to evaluate living history programs after attending. What did they learn? What wasn’t covered and why? Was there anything programs missed out or could have improved?

Promoting critical thinking, deep understanding of history, empathy and human connection are key objectives.

Retirement Home Visits

Today, people of all ages report high levels of loneliness, and struggle to make lasting connections with others. Many young people don’t have grandparents and childless adults  miss out on being with younger generations. 

Why not approach retirement villages about facilitating student visits and reap the benefits of intergenerational communication?

Young ones often become more comfortable about relating to and mixing with people of different ages and backgrounds, if exposed to them early on. Student visits can be a catalyst for discussions about ageing, and how to accommodate the needs of different groups. Research shows that such initiatives increase children’s empathy and compassion for others, including minorities such as people with disabilities or immigrants, who are well represented in older age groups.

True exchange occurs when participants teach or give each other something – students can help older friends become more confident with computers and the Internet, whereas older people may have knowledge in maths, arts and crafts, or other areas to pass on.

Facilitators (teachers and aged care organisations) need to be flexible, honest, and willing to listen. These qualities ensure that both students and elders benefit from retirement visits. Organise purposeful programs and training where possible – students may develop competencies and knowledge they can use in future careers or elsewhere. Ideal matches between schools and retirement homes or program participants won’t instantly materialise. Document what works and what doesn’t, be patient, and adapt as necessary for best results.

Play, Learn, Make With Non-Digital Game Workshops

Both digital and non-digital games are important teaching and learning tools.

Games teach turn taking, quick thinking, sportsmanship, and patience. They improve memory and lock in course content. Playing a range of games, then taking what you’ve learned to create educational games for your peers is a step beyond simply playing games. Enter the Non-Digital Games Workshop, which helps learners master course content and find out what it takes to invent something new, while having fun!

When workshopping games, keep in mind the following:

• If you and your pupils aren’t experienced game players, take as much time as you need to become familiar with a range of nondigital games before diving into game design. It’s all about adapting existing games or creating original ones to teach specific concepts.

• Creating games that only work with more than two players makes gameplay more complex, particularly in situations where numbers of available players don’t match up. Creating complex setups makes set up and pack up time longer. Game setup and packup which lasts longer than five minutes discourages people from playing and doesn’t allow for quick games which fit around other class activities.

• Effective games strike the right balance between gameplay and course content. It should be educational, but fun so players don’t feel like they’re learning, even though they are!

• Find the right level of challenge. Games that are too easy or too difficult don’t engage players.

• If games don’t incorporate course content or link to specific outcomes, they aren’t educational, however fun and engaging they are.

• Test games and get feedback before hosting class or school game challenges. This ensures the games being created are engaging and educational. Feedback allows game creators (students and teachers) to tweak game design and improve.

Once you’ve workshopped games, organise competitions between schools and classes.  Playing and building games requires and reinforces deep learning. The creation process teaches students what goes into a successful final product, from original idea through to evaluation, testing and tweaking. This is a valuable transferable skill.

Investigating non-digital skills or hobbies, nature play, visiting retirement homes, starting non-digital game workshops bring non-digital learning to students. Happy exploring!

Bibliography

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