Today’s Technology & Communication™

Today’s youth are growing up in an age of rapidly advancing on-screen technology. The world is literally at their fingertips. It’s evident that in today’s society of mobile technologies, the media environment has become increasingly pervasive and an important teacher for our children. Most of the time children spend using “on-screen” technologies is time spent alone without guidance of an adult to mediate the images, cultural biases and conversations, or to help make sense of what is being seen, heard, and read. The cumulative effect of this passive interaction is that children grow up ill-equipped to communicate face-to-face, understand non-verbal communication, and think critically about on-screen content.

Todays Technology & Communication™ (TT&C™) is a S.T.E.A.M program that helps young people build their media literacy and interpersonal communication skills. Students become critical thinkers of cultural media messages and improve their abilities to self-regulate the time they spend communicating using on-screen technology. All participats work as a team as they produce Public Service Announcement (PSA) videos that educate the community how the overuse of on-screen technology is affecting face-to-face communication.

 To aid in the self-regulation of communication using on-screen technology, students and their families will review and sign a Family Contract for Technology Usage. This contract will hold family members accountable for the time they spend using on-screen technology and will have them focus on building their interpersonal communication skills.

Click on the links below to download and use with your family

English Version 

Spanish Version

Creole Version

A community forum is held at the end of the program to showcase student media productions. Preceding this event, the PSA’s are posted to YouTube and YSO INT’s website. This media accessibility will give the local and global communities an open forum to comment and evaluate the student media projects, long after the program has ended.

Student Created Videos

Testimonials:

” Today’s Technology and Communication program has helped me to put down my technology and spend quality time with my friends. “Elementary School Student, (12 years old) Boyton Bch,Florida, USA

“When my friends are on their technology when we are hanging out I ask them to put it down and be present. “
High School Student, (16 years old) West Palm Bch,Florida, USA

“Your program has helped my family to regulate the time we spend on our technology. Thank you for caring.” Parent, Delray Beach, Florida, USA