Freeport to vote on social media study for 8th graders
BUFFALO TWP — Board directors in the Freeport Area School District will vote next week to implement a weekly online study aimed at educating eighth graders on responsible use of social media.
Program director Larry Robb discussed the study with board directors at a workshop meeting Wednesday, Oct. 2. The curriculum, possibly implemented before Thanksgiving, would consist of six online lessons, with three discussion questions after each lesson. Students would complete the program by Christmas.
As part of the study, students would also be surveyed before and after the program to evaluate their knowledge of social media use and assess how the program has impacted their well-being.
“We want to see whether this directed social media curriculum has an impact both on their knowledge base … and then secondly, whether it has any impact on their well-being around that, and does that help them in terms of their use of social media,” Robb said.
The study will benefit both students and teachers, Robb said, to determine whether the type of curriculum is useful. Robb said the program would be implemented for eighth graders as an age-appropriate and relevant topic before entering high school.
Student participation hinges on parental consent.
