Digital Wellness Toolkit

Digital wellness begins with open dialogue. Ask questions, share experiences, and explore digital spaces together.

APS encourages families to:

• Use conversation starters to discuss online experiences.
• Ask “why” and “how” questions about digital content.
• Create space for reflection and shared learning.

Resources to Support Family Dialogue About Digital Life:

• Digital Wellness Lab – Family GuideTips for starting meaningful conversations about tech use and digital habits.
• VDOE Parent ResourcesGuidance for engaging families in student learning and wellness.

Students need tools to evaluate what they see online. Help them question sources, identify bias, and understand how algorithms shape their digital world.

APS supports families with:

• Media literacy resources aligned to instructional goals.
• Activities that promote fact-checking and source evaluation.
• Guidance on recognizing misinformation and persuasive design.

Resources to Help Students Evaluate Online Information and Think Critically:

• Media Literacy Now – Resource Library – Tools for teaching media literacy at home and in school.
• Checkology by the News Literacy Project – Interactive lessons to help students spot misinformation and analyze sources.

Healthy digital habits are built through shared expectations. Involve students in setting boundaries that reflect family values and support learning.

APS recommends:

• Creating a Family Tech Agreement together.
• Establishing screen-free times and device-free zones.
• Using tools to manage time and focus without shame or punishment.

Resources to Help Families Set Shared Expectations for Tech Use:

• Center for Online Safety – Family Tech Agreement – A customizable agreement to guide screen time and device use.
• Common Sense Media – Family Media Agreement (PDF) – A printable agreement that helps families establish shared rules for privacy, communication, and respectful digital habits.

We want students to be more than passive consumers of digital content—they are creators, collaborators, and contributors. Support them in using technology to express ideas, solve problems, and make a difference.

APS promotes:

• Opportunities for students to create digital stories, podcasts, videos, and code.
• Platforms that support safe collaboration and creativity.
• Resources for exploring digital activism and civic engagement.

Resources to Support Student Creativity and Digital Participation:

• Common Sense Education – Engaging Families in Digital Citizenship – Family strategies for promoting creativity and responsible tech use.
• ISTE – Digital Citizenship Resources – Tools to help students become creators and collaborators in digital spaces.

Digital tools and trends evolve quickly. Stay curious and learn alongside your child to model lifelong learning and adaptability.

Resources to Help Families Keep Up With Digital Trends and Platforms

Digital tools and trends evolve quickly. Stay curious and learn alongside your child to model lifelong learning and adaptability.

APS supports families by:

• Providing Platform Spotlights (like the one below) with updates and guidance on commonly used student applications like TikTok, Roblox, Instagram, Snapchat, and others.
• Sharing trusted resources from organizations like Common Sense Media, ISTE, and Digital Wellness Lab to help families stay informed and critically engaged.

APS provides:

• Internet Matters – Social Media Safety Guides -Expert advice on TikTok, Roblox, Instagram, Snapchat, and more.
• ConnectSafely – Parent Guides – Easy-to-read guides for popular apps and digital safety tips.

APS provides school-issued devices to ensure that all students have access to a consistent, secure, and supported learning experience. These devices are configured with district-approved tools that support instruction, protect student privacy, and meet technical requirements for learning platforms and assessments.

Using school-issued devices allows:

• Equitable access to digital learning tools and resources.
• Built-in safety features, including a secure testing environment.
• Student devices offer multiple layers of protection, including a K–12 content filter that blocks inappropriate websites and monitors online activity.
• APS uses a rigorous vetting process to approve digital tools that align with instructional goals, meet safety and privacy standards, and can be deployed equitably across all student devices.
• Reliable support from school and central office staff, who are trained to troubleshoot and maintain district devices.
• Compatibility with curriculum tools, ensuring students can fully participate in classroom activities.

School-issued devices help create a consistent and safe digital learning environment for all students.

Recommended Resources:

🔹 Common Sense Media

Offers age-specific guides, app reviews, and conversation starters to help families make informed choices about movies, games, apps, and digital habits.

🔹 Digital Wellness Lab – Family Guide

Provides research-based strategies for teaching empathy, online respect, and privacy awareness, with guidance tailored to different age groups and developmental stages.

🔹 ISTE + ASCD Digital Citizenship Lessons

Includes grade-level activities that help students identify trusted sources, engage in digital storytelling, and balance online and offline experiences—ideal for families supporting learning at home.

🔹 Virginia Department of Education – Digital Learning Integration Standards

Outlines competencies for embedding digital citizenship, creativity, and critical thinking into K–12 learning, helping families understand how technology supports student growth.

Understanding Screen Time: Perspectives for Families

There are many perspectives on screen time, and families often ask:

What’s healthy? What’s harmful? And how do we find balance in a digital world?

One viewpoint comes from Dr. Michael Rich, a Harvard pediatrician and director of the Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders.

In a panel hosted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Dr. Rich and other experts explore how screen time affects children’s health, play, and development. They emphasize that the quality of content, context of use, and parental engagement matter more than just counting minutes.

Watch the discussion: The Digital Lives of Children: Impacts of Screen Time on Health and Play

Dr. Rich notes that while screens can displace meaningful sensory experiences—especially in early childhood—he also encourages families to focus on intentional use and co-engagement.

Check out an AI-generated podcast summary created with NotebookLM, using insights from the video above, recorded on September 2, 2025.

Additional Perspectives to Consider:

• Common Sense Media – Family Tech Planners: These interactive planners help families set tech goals, create screen time boundaries, and build healthy digital habits together.
  • Family Tech Planners – Common Sense Media
• Balanced Use in K–12 Education: Technology, when used intentionally, can support creativity, self expression and collaboration, and access to learning. APS advocates for monitored and meaningful integration of digital tools to prepare students for a connected world.
  •  Explore balanced approaches to screen time in schools
• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Guidance: The AAP recommends creating a Family Media Plan that reflects your child’s age, needs, and values.
  • AAP Family Media Plan – HealthyChildren.org

APS encourages families to use parental controls as part of a gradual approach to building responsible digital habits. These tools help guide students toward safe, respectful, and balanced technology use—especially as they grow and take on more independence.

Here’s how families can get started:

• Use parental controls to set clear boundaries. Talk with your child about what tools you’re using and why. Be transparent about expectations and consequences.
• Adjust controls as your child matures. As students demonstrate responsible behavior and digital awareness, families can ease restrictions and offer more autonomy.
• Explore the APS Lightspeed Parent Portal. APS offers access to the Lightspeed Parent Portal, where families can:
  • View reports of their child’s internet activity on APS-issued devices.
  • Pause internet access during non-school hours.
  • Monitor usage trends and support healthy screen habits.
• Need help getting started? Visit the APS Service Support Center – Lightspeed Services for setup instructions, FAQs, and technical support.

APS takes a thoughtful and multi-layered approach to digital citizenship education across grade levels. Our goal is to help students become responsible, ethical, and empowered participants in digital spaces.

Here’s how we do it:

• APS uses Nearpod lessons based on Common Sense Education’s nationally recognized digital citizenship curriculum.
• Instruction is aligned with ISTE standards, which emphasize safe, inclusive, and informed technology use.
• Each year, students complete an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) lesson with their school’s Instructional Technology Coordinator (ITC). They complete a digital acknowledgment to reinforce responsible use of school technology.
• The Office of Library Services and Digital Learning & Innovation are collaborating to develop additional lessons which are being piloted this year. These resources are being refined based on feedback and will be made available to schools soon.

Digital wellness matters. Learn how to spot signs of digital fatigue—such as mood changes, sleep disruption, and academic decline—with this family-friendly guide from Children and Screens. It offers practical strategies to support healthy screen habits without discouraging thoughtful tech use in schools.

To understand and respond to cyberbullying, the Cyberbullying Research Center’s fact sheet provides clear, research-backed guidance for families and educators.

Snapchat’s My AI chatbot is a built-in feature that allows users to interact with an AI companion directly in their chat feed. While it may seem like a fun and helpful tool, it raises important questions about student safety, emotional reliance, and digital boundaries.

What’s Happening:

Students can:

• Rename the AI (e.g., “Bestie,” “Alfred”) and treat it like a friend.
• Customize its avatar using Bitmoji-style features.
• Chat with it for advice, entertainment, or emotional support—often in ways that mimic real relationships.

This personalization can lead students to personify the AI, forming emotional attachments and relying on it for companionship or guidance.

⚠️ Why It Matters:

While My AI is designed to be friendly and safe, experts warn that it may:

• Blur the line between human and machine interaction, especially for younger users.
• Encourage emotional reliance on a tool that lacks empathy, ethics, or accountability.
• Expose students to misleading or inappropriate content, even with safety filters in place.
• Collect and store chat data, which may be used for targeted advertising or AI training.

Common Sense Media and other watchdogs have recommended that AI companions like My AI are not appropriate for users under 18 due to these risks.

What Families Can Do:

• Talk with your child about the difference between AI and human relationships.
• Review privacy settings and consider disabling My AI through Snapchat’s Family Center.
• Encourage critical thinking about the information My AI provides.
• Monitor usage and check in regularly about how your child feels when using the feature.

🔗 Learn More: Is My AI on Snapchat Safe for Kids? – BrightCanary