Mental health and EdTech – from mental well-being to social-emotional learning

Mental health and EdTech are not two worlds apart. As a matter of fact, thepandemicstressed the importance of integratingsocial-emotional supportintoschool curricula．

First, the pandemic heavily affected younger students from theK-12 age group．日复一日，他们发现自己与同龄人隔绝，错过了生命中如此关键的两年时间。Secondly, the pandemic amplified mental distress forcollege and university studentsalike.

On the other hand, we haveteachers．他们需要用一切必要的手段来适应这一前所未有的挑战——就教学而言——同时也要关注学生的困难。

As we are apparently getting closer to normality, it’s important to treasure the lesson learnt in the past two years and make surewe leverage technology to monitor students’ and teachers’ mental health．

Social-emotional learning and EdTech in K-12

Although technology is often depicted as an enemy of mental well-being when it’s improperly used,EdTech can truly support students’ mental health．

Today, companions such as AcernotebooksandChromebookshave become students’ favourite helpers and will continue to be valuable resources. Whether in person or remotely, teachers can rely on them to deal with the long term consequences of the pandemic.

In other words, technology will still help pupilsacquire 21st Century skills, manage emotions, show empathy and foster positive relationships．And that’s the core ofsocial-emotional learning．

What most teachers have accomplished remotely in the past two years now must be reprised in the classroom. Takegamificationstrategies, for example. They engage students at different levels and keep the classroom mood high.

Moreover, engaging tools such asGoogle JamboardorMicrosoft Flipgridmake learning moredynamic and fun．创建项目并在课堂上展示，有助于学生培养自我意识和自我管理，改善他们对同龄人和老师的态度。

If you wish to integrate these handy tools in yourlesson plan, visitAcer Academy．Inside ourfree training library, you will find Tips & Tricks, webinars and tutorials that will help you master these resources in your classroom.

Monitoring mental health with technology

As obvious as it might sound,different age groups have different needs．事实上，上大学的学生比中小学生面临着各种各样的困难。

Many campuses have already builtsupport networksfor their students in the past two years. For example, thanks to anonymous online surveys, higher education leaders can identify theareas of struggle．由于统计数据，管理员可以创建量身定制的数字支持服务。

Moreover, the pandemic helped the number ofteletherapygroups to grow. A great alternative to in-person counselling, these channels will provide timely andpersonalised interventionsto treat early signs of deteriorating mental health.

Data-driven assessmentswill become a mainstay in smart campuses to address ad-hoc needs and channel the full potential of theInternet of Thingsand blockchain technology.