National eSmart Week – ‘Be Your Best Self Online’

This week, Monday 22 May to Sunday 28 May, is National eSmart Week, with this year’s theme being ‘Be Your Best Self Online’.

We want to encourage our students, and their wider support network, to take some time to think about how to be their ‘best self’, using the following topics as a guide:

Being an upstander
How do you ‘stop, think, act’ online in scenarios where others are being unkind and you want to be an upstander? What do you do and say to be positive online?

Go behind the screens – taking back control
How does today’s technology guide the information we are given? How do algorithms, echo chambers and customised messaging impact our view of the world?

Balancing our technology usage – how to self-regulate
By using technology purposefully, users can exhibit integrity and adhere to goals in terms of screen time. What mindful and self-regulated measures do you have in place to maintain self-care and positive relationships?

Student agency – your voice matters
In the 21st century, young people are more invested in, excited about and reliant on digital technologies for learning, recreation, social connections and wellbeing supports. What approaches can you take to design solutions that ensure users are treated as equal collaborators?

The big picture – become an advocate for change
When children and young people come together, they can lead and influence change on issues that matter to them. For which cause do you wish to be a change advocate? Do you want to be someone who brings people together and influences a positive change in a specific area?

We all have a voice; it’s how we use it that matters. In this modern online world, being the best versions of ourselves must stand regardless of whether we’re talking to someone sitting beside us, or someone on the other side of a screen.