Discover More - S.M.A.R.T Foundation

How digital technologies affect adolescent psychological well-being and mental health

Dyslexia Malvern

Interesting article by Melanie Jameson on the issue of Visual Stress and the varying approaches to remediation. Which one can we believe when all claim to hold the key to resolving symptoms and improving reading? Word Doc Download.

Self Esteem and Crime

ScreenRisk Ltd

Our sister…or is it mum?

Childline

Samaritans

Sometimes you just need to talk about it…

Real Children

I speak about a race of real children, not too wise or too good, but bounded up and down by love and hate, oh may their early joys be nature and knowledge, rightly honoured by that name, not purchased with loss of power.

Wordsworth – Prelude V.410-425

National Youthbike

Smart Foundation kids were annual entrants to the National Bike Building Competition in National Youthbike.

Digital Overload

Digital “media overload” or “cognitive overload” resulting in brain fog and reduced capacity to concentrate, stay alert or focused on the task in hand without getting frustrated by increased error rate and brain freeze?

Stand up and work!

In recent years headlines claiming that sitting is the new smoking have caused alarm among desk based workers especially in light of suggestions that regular exercise is not enough to undo sitting’s ills. http://www.hsmsearch.com/page_662205.asp

Mindshift

Since 2016, an investigative journalist in France has been on a mission to show students how they’re duped, teaching them how to tell true from false online.

IT Checks for Schools

Keeping your network, school data, teachers and learners safe is a complex task, fraught with dangers. A specialist IT partner is ideally placed to keep abreast of the latest security risks and will ensure that your infrastructure, data security and pupil access to appropriate materials are kept up to date and as secure as possible. If you have a skills gap in your IT team, an IT partner can provide this resource for you much more efficiently with a blend of on-site and remote support services.

Partnering with an IT support provider ensures your IT costs are predictable, and your technology is cost-effective and future-proofed. It also helps stop those expensive IT investment mistakes that must be avoided as we try to cope with ever-increasing budget pressures.

A complimentary IT health check is available to schools at www.rm.com/changingIT

Dyslexia Tests

QuickScan and QuickScreen – Two OnLine dyslexia tools. QuickScan is an online questionnaire which provides an insight into learning modalities and other aspects of study skills as well as dyslexia. QuickScreen is a more in-depth diagnostic-style test which looks at ability and performance in a range of literacy skills.

Eyestrain Insights

Symptoms usually begin to appear after extended computer use, reading, straining your eyes in dim lighting, or during activities that involve prolonged visual tasks.

The most common reason for strained eyes is Computer Vision Syndrome, which is caused by using a computer for a long time.

Computer Vision Syndrome

With the popularity of smartphones and tablets, we now have more exposure to the computer screen than we ever had before.

This increase in screen time comes with an increase in eyestrain and other eye and vision problems associated with computer vision syndrome.

IPSEA – Parental advice

Free and independent legally based advice about Special Educational Needs and Disability for parents and SEN specialists.

Windows 10 Night Light

Night light is a feature that reduces the amount of blue light at night time, and it displays warmer colors that can help to reduce eye strain and help you fall asleep after staying up late working on your computer.

Sleep Deprivation?

Do we really need to sleep? Dr. Thomas Neylan looks at intrinsic sleep disorders such as sleep apnea and insomnia and what to do if they affect you. Dr. Elissaios Karageorgio looks at how aging affects sleep and Dr. Rochelle Zak looks at the neurophysiology of sleep.

Circadian Stimulus

LRC Releases New Circadian Stimulus Calculator

The new calculator has greater functionality to aid lighting designers in the selection of light sources and light levels for “circadian-effective light exposure in architectural spaces.”

W10 App Colour Changes

Please note, we cannot provide any warranty that these methods work, but one thing seems to be sure – it hasn’t got easier in Windows 10 to make these kinds of change!

There are a number of possible solutions offered on this page.

Colour Changes

A BBC “HowTo” guide for changing your screen colours.

How to change screen colours

These guides explain how you can change the text and background colours in your operating system (Windows, Mac or Linux) and browser to better suit your needs.

CVS Study

A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical and engineering college students of a University situated in the suburban area of Chennai. Students who used computer in the month preceding the date of study were included in the study. The participants were surveyed using a pre-tested structured questionnaire.

Asthenopia in Children

Although asthenopia is a frequent and relevant clinical problem in childhood, with potential consequences for learning, the scarcity of studies about the prevalence and clinical impact of asthenopia hinders the effective planning of public health measures.

What is – Disability?

Definition of Disability

You’re disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. Perhaps, like Dyslexia before it, Screen Fatigue or Computer Vision Syndrome will become recognised as having long lasting impacts on peoples’ working lives.

Digital Accessibility

Accessibility

Hooray – the time has come the Walrus said for many things and eye-strain (Asthenopia) Computer Vision Syndrome or Screen Fatigue as a disability which has, for far to long, been dismissed as temporary yet, as an everyday uncomfortable even painful impairment to performance and productivity in the majority of DSE workers contributes 20% or 30 days to the total 57.2 days lost productivity in the UK. Maybe now, whilst recognised as a Global Pandemic elsewhere we can do something to raise awareness in the UK by revisiting the 2007 HSE Better Display Screen RR561 that subjectively reported 58% of user operators experienced symptoms

Work with purpose…

Work with purpose

Three-quarters (78 percent) of thriving employees in the UK, those who feel fulfilled personally and professionally, say their company has a strong sense of purpose. To find purpose, employees crave movement, learning, and experimentation.

Stress

Stress and Absenteeism

Stress-inducing situations are one of the biggest reasons for why employees are unable to go to work, according to research.
A survey of 500 HRs by Group Risk Development (GRiD) found stress and stress-inducing situations as the main reason for short-term absences of up to 26 weeks.

The research also found more than a quarter (27%) of HRs believe work-related stress contributes to a higher-than-average absence rate in their organisation.

Dealing with staff shortages (29%), poor work/life balance (20%) and low morale (19%) were also given as reasons for high staff absences.

Lazy eyes everywhere?

50 to 90% of the general population WILL suffer from Asthenopia, the WHO ICD medical term for eye-strain that, is significantly exacerbated by display screen use or operation in the workplace where it is more commonly known as Computer Vision Syndrome or Screen Fatigue.

Primary School Counselling

An estimated one in 10 children and young people in the UK have a mental health condition. Without effective intervention, these conditions can have a significant impact on their life chances and result in significant long-term costs. Source: Andy Haldane, the Bank of England’s chief economist and co-founder of Pro Bono Economics

DSE Regulation

Insurance against DSE injuries

Lower back and neck pain are the most common problem areas and they quite often require changes in equipment, such as using an ergonomic chair, in order to reduce pain levels and prevent lost working hours. But the policy will cover any kind of problem, injury or disability that is making it difficult or uncomfortable to work.

Lazy eyes

Asthenopia

Lifestyle Choices

Lifestyle choices

Dr Anouska Carter, a principal researcher from the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University says: “Poor lifestyle choices in an aging population is crippling the NHS, due to an increased incidence of such conditions as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.”

Genetics?

Is crime a matter of genetics?

Even the researchers note that with “positive learning experiences” the exacerbating stress related negative affect on their personalities could be minimalised breaking the foreseeable even potentially predictable cycle of outcomes as described.

They also suggest that improving school experiences “might prevent genetic influences on crime from unfolding.”

International Ergonomics

When working across multiple regions in a global environment, safety managers will want to understand the key regulations related to MSDs so as not to fall foul of the compliance bodies and to reduce employee injury and workers’ compensation costs.

My computer…

MY way!

Let AbilityNet help you set up your computer your way!

My computer, my way.

Score my screen.

How fast can your screen ergonomics deliver text to your eyes?

Score my screen

Mental Health Challenge

of the digital world.

The mental health challenge of the Digital World

Is there is…?

or is there ain’t Computer Vision Syndrome…

It actually all depends on who you speak to and how long they have had to or how well they have visually adapted to using and operating display screen equipment, how long and/or often, they are on screen, in a typical day including outside of work hours, and whether or not they are off-screen at least an hour or two before, not just going to bed but, going to sleep.

Like many other conditions, mostly with names ending in an ‘ia’ and, that are, more or less by and large “subjectively” reported, there are as many opinions as there are professional, academic and/or self-proclaimed experts on the subject either for or against “ it “.

Visit Parliament

Book a free school trip to Parliament

Apply for a tour and workshop through our online form.

A transport subsidy is available for schools coming from further afield.

Get Kids Reading

What works for getting kids reading

If, text is easily and fluently accessible then, anyone is happy to read.

Remove the main fear, disadvantage, anxiety, barrier, handicap, disability to reading for leisure, pleasure and, worst of all, school/work on-screen or otherwise……

Digital Accessibility

The National Center on Accessible Educational Materials and PACER Center have developed a brief video in easy-to-understand language that provides an overview of accessibility features to look for in digital learning materials. This open-captioned video is intended to increase awareness of: 1) features that can be designed into digital materials to increase broad usability and accessibility and, 2) the importance of considering accessibility features in the selection digital educational materials. We invite you to view and share this video with colleagues, students and families. For more information about accessible educational materials, visit http://aem.cast.org.

C21st Classroom

Characteristics of 21st Century Classrooms include accessible technology and accessible instructional materials that transform learning for every student. In Fayette County Georgia the system incorporates various classroom technologies and an online interactive network that educators and students can access from a variety of technology devices to communicate about lessons and resources. Examine how this system supports the learning of all students including Bailey.