Latest news with #TheSocialInstitute
Business Wire
10 hours ago
- Business
- Business Wire
The Social Institute Launches New Offline Lessons for K-2 to Build Foundation for Thoughtful Decision-Making
BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Social Institute announced today the launch of its new Kindergarten through 2nd grade offline lessons, expanding its pioneering modern life skills education to empower all K-12 students at schools and districts. 'As the conversation grows around how technology should be used in schools, having a curriculum that helps educators teach the skills that students will need to navigate this topic is essential,' says Dr. Jessica Anderson, school and clinical psychologist. The new screen-free lessons are designed to build a foundation for treating others with kindness, making good choices, and handling situations in respectful ways, effectively equipping young students for future success, both online and offline. This expansion comes as educators nationwide recognize the critical need to start essential skill-building at earlier ages. The new K-2 lessons focus on developing foundational skills like empathy, emotional regulation, and decision-making through hands-on, engaging activities that require no screen time or technology. 'As the conversation grows around how technology should be used in schools, having a curriculum that helps educators teach the skills that students will need to navigate this topic is essential,' says Dr. Jessica Anderson, licensed school and clinical psychologist. The developmentally appropriate lessons address the growing demand from elementary schools seeking to proactively equip their youngest students with modern life skills. The #WinAtSocial K–2 lessons are completely offline. These screen-free, hands-on experiences are designed specifically for younger learners, who benefit most from active, play-based learning on topics like balancing their time spent on YouTube versus playing outside with friends. "K-2 is such a formative time when students are like sponges, absorbing everything around them," said Laura Tierney, Founder and CEO of The Social Institute. "By starting with these foundational skills early, we're setting students up for success as they grow and eventually encounter the online world. These offline lessons create the perfect launching pad for our peer-to-peer #WinAtSocial Lessons in later grades that are designed to grow up with students." The new K-2 curriculum has been developed alongside The Social Institute's educator advisory board, internal elementary experts, and K–2 families and is designed to: Build Character from the Start: Lessons build a foundation for thoughtful decision-making that aligns with health, happiness, and future academic success. Fuel Future-Ready Skills: Activities help young students practice skills like decision-making, empathy, and emotional regulation before they start to scroll, click, or play. Inspire Fun, Unplugged Learning: Fuel confidence, creativity, and character with hands-on, screen-free lessons and activities. Connect Classrooms and Familie s: Reinforce key life skills beyond the classroom with take-home activities that build strong connections between students, schools, and families. Equip Busy Educators: Simple, impactful lessons require no extra training – just print and play. The new K-2 Lessons build the groundwork for students who will later participate in The Social Institute's #WinAtSocial Curriculum, which currently serves hundreds of thousands of students in grades 3-12 worldwide. Additionally, The Social Institute announces a brand-new experience for high school students for the 2025-2026 school year. The reimagined #WinAtSocial Lessons for grades 9-12 fuel student voice and choice with agency-building lesson topics and formats to prepare high school students for their futures. As students advance from one grade to the next, the topics evolve to cover what students care about most right now, including how to use A.I. with purpose, manage stress, and stay organized. New features include: Student-Driven Learning: Students are able to choose their next lesson topic and engage with content that reflects their goals, interests, and values. More Face-To-Face Interaction: With 80% of lesson time spent on in-person engagement and only 20% of lessons spent on device use, students foster deeper relationships and critical thinking while reducing screen time. Building Communication Skills: Prepare students for future success with lessons that emphasize eye contact, collaboration, and interpersonal skills that fuel their success beyond screens and their classrooms. Automatic Breakout Groups: Create screen-free moments to help students stay present, minimize distractions, and fully engaged without awkward pauses during class time. 'We see first-hand that students are most engaged when they have a say in their learning, so we're amplifying student agency by empowering them to take ownership of how they learn with 'Choose Your Next Huddle,'' said Tierney. 'During #WinAtSocial Huddles, students spend the majority of each lesson collaborating and problem-solving, not staring at a screen. That means more connection and deeper learning.' The K-2 offline lessons are available for the 2025-2026 school year. Schools and districts interested in implementing a complete K-12 modern life skills approach can combine the new K-2 offline lessons with The Social Institute's established and always evolving suite of solutions for grades 3-12. All lessons are created with the Understanding by Design® framework. For more information about The Social Institute's expanded K-12 offerings, visit: ABOUT THE SOCIAL INSTITUTE The Social Institute (TSI) is the leader in equipping students to navigate learning & well-being in a tech-fueled world. Through #WinAtSocial, our interactive, peer-to-peer learning platform, we empower students, educators, and families to make high-character choices online and offline. #WinAtSocial Lessons teach essential skills while capturing student voice and actionable insights for educators. These insights help educators maintain a healthy school culture, foster high-impact teaching, and build meaningful relationships with families. Our unique, student-respected approach empowers and equips students authentically, enabling our solution to increase classroom participation and improve student-teacher relationships. Through our one-of-a-kind lesson development process, we create lessons for a variety of core and elective classes while incorporating timely topics like social media, A.I., screen time, misinformation, and current events to help schools stay proactive in how they support student health, happiness, and academic success.
Associated Press
30-01-2025
- Associated Press
New Study From The Social Institute With 1 Million Data Points Shows How Tech and Social Media Shape Students' Lives
The Social Institute, which equips students, families, and educators to navigate learning & well-being in a tech-fueled world, today released its fifth annual Student Insights Report on how social media and tech shape student experiences. This report captures the voices of more than 53,000 students and one million data points and spans grades 3 - 12 across the U.S. and abroad --- making it the largest-ever dataset exploring how social media and technology shape student experiences. 'Social media and tech are moving targets, so it's important to listen to students and understand how they are navigating them right now,' said Laura Tierney, Founder and CEO of The Social Institute. 'With the rapid rise of A.I., the pressure to always be connected, and the increasing impact of grind culture, today's students are navigating a landscape where tech plays a crucial, constant role in both their academic and personal lives. The more we understand students, the more we can empower and equip them with future-ready skills to thrive in a tech-fueled world.' Two of the biggest trends impacting education right now are the evolution of A.I. and school cell phone bans. In 2024, students embraced A.I. in and out of the classroom, including help with schoolwork and creating realistic images. Educators play a vital role in equipping students with the skills to critically evaluate A.I.-generated content and make responsible choices, and this starts with setting clear guidelines for A.I. use in their schools. Yet, when asked, only 22% of middle schoolers surveyed by The Social Institute say that their school has clear rules on how students can use A.I. Additionally, with 97% of teens reporting they use their phones during the school day according to K-12 Dive, it's clear that schools need guidelines for how and when students can use them. However, many students think that an outright ban on phone use is too far, as they rely on their cell phones to collaborate on projects, share documents, and communicate with families in case of emergencies. When The Social Institute explored the impact of stricter cell phone bans in schools with 5th through 8th graders, they told us that the most important reason for schools limiting cell phone use was to help students focus in class and get better grades. When it comes to students' favorite apps currently, the top choices are YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat. Regarding students' favorite things about social media, the top responses were connecting with friends, playing games, and watching fun and interesting videos. Other key findings include: The biggest challenge students face with social media across all ages is spending too much time on it Students also face challenges with comparing themselves to others, and understanding what is real and what is fake 76 percent of 9th graders say they get their news from social media at least sometimes 57% of 9th - 12th graders shared they feel stressed or annoyed by drama in group chats at least sometimes 58% of 4th graders use Google a few times a week to daily to search websites or look up information Nearly half of 5th graders said they rarely or never make sure a video or post is positive or helpful before they share it 52% of 6th graders reported feeling like they are missing out on something fun their friends are doing, with frequency ranging from daily (8%) to often: a few times a week (18%) to sometimes: a few times a month (26%) 66% of 7th graders say they rarely or never experience or see online bullying 85% of 12th graders say they feel stressed about making decisions about their future after graduation The majority of students are getting their first smartphone at 11 years old Schools across the country are using insights like these to inform school policies and lessons. Issaquah School District, located in Issaquah, Washington, leverages The Social Institute's peer-to-peer learning platform and the insights it provides to support student growth and well-being in and out of the classroom. 'With #WinAtSocial Insights, we can look at what problems are happening within each specific school, and then mine the lesson database to empower and equip our students with the resources they need at that moment in time,' said Erika Monroe, Middle School Instructional Technology Specialist. 'We want to ensure our students can thrive in an increasingly connected world.' To learn more and view the full 2025 Report, including more insights, click here. About The Social Institute The Social Institute is the leader in equipping students to navigate learning & well-being in a tech-fueled world through positive, gamified social media and tech education that builds life skills for the modern day. Through our peer-to-peer learning platform #WinAtSocial, we empower students, educators, and families in the classroom and beyond, both online and offline. #WinAtSocial Lessons teach essential skills and media literacy while capturing student voice and actionable insights for educators. Through our one-of-a-kind lesson development process we create lessons for a variety of core and elective classes while incorporating timely topics like social media, AI, screen time, misinformation, and current events to help schools stay proactive in how they support student health, happiness, and academic success. Jill Dykes PR 919.749.8488 SOURCE: The Social Institute Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 01/30/2025 05:03 AM/DISC: 01/30/2025 05:03 AM
