Digital Well-being in the European Digital Education Ecosystem
On April 7th, the EDEN NAP organized a webinar “Digital Well-being in Digital Education Ecosystem in Europe,” dedicated to discussing the crucial intersection of technology and well-being in education Recognising the massive impact of digitalisation, which, while offering many opportunities, poses significant challenges to our overall health, the webinar explored the multidimensional nature of digital well-being. Digital well-being encompasses not only online safety but also the physical, mental, emotional, and social health of both students and teachers or lecturers. During the discussions, the importance of integrating digital well-being into teaching practices, developing digital competencies, choosing digital tools that offer solutions for ensuring well-being, and critically evaluating the positive and negative impacts of digital tools was emphasized.
The presenters participating in the seminar discussed this topic from different perspectives. Kristina Adomaitienė, a doctoral student at the Vytautas Magnus University (VDU) Education Academy, revealed the complex and multi-layered concept of digital well-being, emphasizing that its scope is much broader than just time spent in front of a screen. The event moderator, Giedrė Tamoliūnė, a member of the EDEN NAP Steering Committee and Associate Professor at VDU Education academy, presented a new policy experimentation project WINDEE – Well-being in Digital Education Ecosystem in Europe (no. 101195779 WINDEE — ERASMUS-EDU-2024-POL-EXP), the aim of which is to foster an environment where students can achieve digital well-being and maximise the benefits of technology in educational settings. Rasmus Benke-Aberg (Stifterverband, Germany) shared valuable initiatives and actions undertaken by the European Digital Education Hub community. Finally, Justina Pluktaitė (SPSCH Pardubice, Czech Republic) presented a practical approach to digital well-being, offering tangible insights on how to implement it. This seminar is an important contribution to planning research, policies, and practical strategies aimed at fostering a healthier, more balanced, and ultimately more effective digital learning experience in the European education ecosystem, highlighting its importance for global initiatives and the future of education.
The event recording is available on the EDEN DLE website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AewLk1MalPI.
