Liz Kolb, Ph.D

University of South Florida research, 1500+ students, and phone bans, and their impact on mental health. www.the74million.org/article/surv...

Boys in the Digital Wild: Online Culture, Identity, and Well-Being From social media to gaming, apps, and more, adolescent boys spend hours each day online. Our new research reveals how this relates to their identities, relationships, and emotional well-being.

Insightful research from CommonSense on boys and their online experiences and mental health. www.commonsensemedia.org/research/boy...

Why young brains are especially vulnerable to social media www.apa.org/news/apa/202... via @APA

Enjoyed being part of this summer webinar from @ascdofficial.bsky.social

4 Tips For Using AI Chatbots For Student Mental Health Support More and more students are turning to AI for mental health help. One district found a way to make those interactions safer.

How is everyone feeling about students using AI chatbots to support their mental health? It's already happening... What type of education should we provide around this to ensure it's healthy for our students? www.techlearning.com/how-to/4-tip...

New study on the impact of cell phone policies and student mental health. www.the74million.org/article/surv...

AI Companions Decoded: Common Sense Media Recommends AI Companion Safety Standards Popular platforms such as Character.AI should not be used by children and teens under 18

CommonSenseMedia and Stanford reporting that AI companions are NOT safe for kids under 18. This includes AI tools like Characterai and Nomi. www.commonsensemedia.org/press-releas...

Parents or teachers of children ages 3-13, please take 5 minutes to complete our essential survey.
Parent/Caregiver Survey: lnkd.in/exHrjzQt
Teacher/Educator Survey: lnkd.in/ePCquP2q

For research project @umich.edu

Smartphones may be beneficial to children – if they avoid social media In the ongoing debate over the benefits and harms of smartphone use in children, initial data from a US survey suggests the devices can actually improve well-being and social connections, but social m...

New Findings: Smartphones may benefit children---if they avoid social media. “These are really nuanced findings that I hope encourage parents, educators, and politicians to think more of education for children on smartphones and social media, not bans,”
www.newscientist.com/article/2473...

School Districts Lost Federal Funds. Will Students Lose Digital Access? - EdSurge News With federal relief dollars gone and few states planning to step in with more money, will schools lose digital access gained during the pandemic?

92% of school districts used federal relief dollars to provide digital access to their students. Now that money has dried up, schools are struggling to provide access to their students. www.edsurge.com/news/2025-02...

Bar chart titled "Nearby laptops divert student attention." When students goof off on a laptop, the academic performance of nearby classmates suffers, research shows. The students seated next to classmates taking notes have 73% test scores, and the students seated next to classmate browsing social media or web have 64% test scores.

In a 2020 study, for example, students who sat next to classmates who were browsing social media or the web had a harder time focusing on the lesson, leading to a 9-point drop in test scores.

https://buff.ly/4jAqchL

4/8

7 Research Findings About Technology and Education Here’s what research shows about the effectiveness of technology for learning and when less tech can be more productive.

“Just having a laptop screen open or a cell phone next to a student (but not being used) is enough to distract their brain from fully focusing on the class activities,” writes @kolbl.bsky.social , a Univ. of Mich. professor of education.

2/8

Writing letters by hand leaves clearer memory traces in the brain than typing them does, indicating deeper learning. ✍️

Brain scans of preliterate children reveal crucial reading circuitry flickering to life when kids hand-printed letters and then tried to read them.

#k12 #literacy

www.coolcatteacher.com/how-to-use-t...

95% of American Teens (13-17) have access to a Smartphone. This is the digital device that most teenagers have access to. www.pewresearch.org/internet/202...

YouTube video by WXYZ-TV Detroit | Channel 7 U-M program pairs college students with middle schoolers on a digital wellness program

#DigitalWellness to support the convergence of personal devices and personal relationships is something we all need to dig deeply into. We have been lucky to partner with the University of Michigan Schools of Education, Social Work and Information. youtu.be/jy6skNI8lAs?...

New PEW research on Teens and Social Media use. One interesting change from previous years is that boys are now using Snapchat just as much as girls. Snapchat has really become the "texting" of this new generation. www.pewresearch.org/internet/202...

Scholars debate whether writing notes instead of typing is better for learning A widely cited neuroscience study is contested

A tiny Norwegian neuroscience study argued that you learn more when you write by hand instead of typing. It ricocheted around the world last year. But it didn't ask students to learn anything. hechingerreport.org/proof-points...

Kids & Screen Time: How to Use the 5 C's of Media Guidance The "5 Cs" offers easy-to-remember, age-based media guidance tips for parents. It's based on research and what we know supports family relationships, social-emotional development and mental health. Le...

www.healthychildren.org/English/fami...

Thank you!

Teaching Better Screen Habits Learn what works and what doesn’t when teaching students responsible and healthy device use.

ascd.org/el/articles/...