A free online course has been launched to help teachers understand how young people use social media.
The course will be delivered by the University of Birmingham’s school of sport, exercise and rehabilitation sciences and aims to help teachers understand how social media affects children’s mental health.
Course leader, Dr Victoria Goodyear, said: “We know that social media is an essential and often valuable part of life for young people. As adults we need to be sure we are equipping ourselves to engage with these resources in informed ways, and in ways that will enhance the education and wellbeing of young people.”
The course – Optimising Social Media for Youth Health and Wellbeing– is designed for primary, secondary and trainee teachers. In particular, those computer science/ICT education and personal social and health education.
In the course launch video, Goodyear said “most young people spend overs 20 hours a week online”.
On the welcome page of the course website, organisers have said the course is a way “to reach young people and understand something of their worlds and offer support”.
Teachers will also learn how to use social media as a learning resource and design a social media curriculum which will be published in a book at the end of the year-long course.
For more information on how to register for the course, visit the University of Birmingham’s Open CPD website.