FAQs
About DigiAbhyas
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How can I get in touch if I have any questions or want to be part of this initiative?
Please write to us at contact@digiabhyas.org if you wish to be part of the workshops. We will evaluate and take the conversation forward.
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Who will conduct the workshop for parents?
The teachers who get trained in this workshop will go back and train parents during PTMs and through communication materials shared by DigiAbhyas. Additionally, few handholding sessions will also be conducted where both trainers from Learning Links Foundation and trained teachers will also hold short sessions for parents.
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Who will conduct the workshop for students?
The teachers who get trained in this workshop will go back and train students and other teachers. Additionally, a few handholding sessions will also be conducted where both trainers from Learning Links Foundation and trained teachers will also train students.
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Who will conduct the workshop for counsellors?
The workshops for the counsellors will be conducted by Dr Avdesh Sharma (Consultant Well-Being Psychiatrist) and Dr Sujatha D. Sharma (Consultant Clinical Psychologist) from Better Minds
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Who will conduct the workshop for teachers?
The workshop for teachers will be conducted by certified trainers from the Learning Links Foundation (LLF), one of the consortium members of DigiAbhyas.
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Are there qualifying criteria for a counsellor to attend the workshop?
The qualifying criteria for counsellors are as follows:
1. Has been working as a school counsellor for a minimum of 1 year
2. Has a psychology degree and formal training as a counsellor (degree or diploma)
3. If not a formal degree, then has at least been operating as a counsellor for a minimum of 2 years
4. Interacts with students and parents frequently as part of their job -
Are there qualifying criteria for a teacher to attend the workshop?
The following are the criteria for teachers to attend the workshop:
1. Secondary or higher secondary subject or class teacher
2. Not meant for IT subject teacher since it’s not a technical training, however, can be part of the workshop if nominated by the school
3. Teachers who have undergone formal training
4. Have been teaching secondary or higher secondary classes for at least 2 years
5. Teachers who also need to connect with parents on a frequent basis will be an added bonus -
How long is the Counselors workshop for?
The counsellors’ workshop is for a duration of 6 hours. Workshops are held both online and offline. Invitations are sent to relevant stakeholders for attendance
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How long is the teachers’ workshop?
The teachers’ workshop is of a duration of 3 hours. Workshops are held both online and offline. Invitations are sent to relevant stakeholders for attendance
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What are the key learning objectives of the DigiAbhyas workshops?
By the end of the workshop the participants will know and learn about:
1. Techniques and Resources to train educators and school students on using technology in an empowered and mindful way to promote WellBeing
2. Developing healthy agreements on technology use to improve wellbeing among peer groups and families.
3. Important tools to digitally monitor/set limits to ones use of technology -
Who is the DigiAbhyas initiative for?
In the first year, DigiAbhyas brings together teachers, counsellors, parents and students to reinforce the importance of quality time, and techniques to focus on and incorporate this time into our increasingly technological lives.
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What is the DigiAbhyas initiative?
Developed by experts to address the needs of students and families, it is designed for building awareness, sharing tools, and helping families and friends to focus on the quality of their time offline, balancing it with their use of technology in daily life.
Through this education and skilling initiative, our endeavour is to impact 1.5 million + Students, 15K Teachers, 900+ Counsellors, and 2.5million Parents from across the country.
About Digital Wellbeing
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What tools and techniques can help achieve this balance?
There are many ways to achieve a balance to attain digital wellbeing. Most of the smartphones have pre-installed in-app features and apps like Google Digital Well Being for this purpose. There are others that can be downloaded from the app store. Apart from apps, there are other activities that parents can also undertake to create a balance.
At DigiAbhyas, it’s not just about giving individuals tools, but also giving families and friends ‘offline’ tools to manage their use of technology, while keeping alive the groups sense of cohesion — therefore helping the Wellbeing of the group, and by extension, also the individual.
The program is built in partnership with a number of expert organisations in the field of education and wellbeing, who have worked on the curriculum design that uses a series of engagement programs to train teachers and empower parents and students with the tools they need to develop a better relationship around technology within their social groups.
DigiAbhyas brings together teachers, counsellors, parents and students to reinforce the importance of quality time, and techniques to focus on and incorporate this time into our increasingly technological lives.
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What is a mindful balance as users of Technology?
To achieve a mindful balance as users of technology, we need to look at the state of wellbeing from not just the perspective of technological solutions but also from the perspective of how do we ensure that we are able to form a relationship with technology and the devices around us that enriches our life and our relationships rather than distract from it.
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Who is Digital Well Being for?
We shouldn’t look at Digital Wellbeing simply as a problem of individual choices and behaviour. It’s important to look at technology usage, in the social, cultural, economic, context in which it is used. Digital technology we use every day (phones, apps, and the Internet) is also a social technology – used as much for ourselves as to connect us to others.
What needs looking into is our interaction with digital devices and the impact of this interaction on our personal lives. Therefore any program for Wellbeing needs to empower the social group dynamics, not just the individual. -
What does it look like to be in a state of digital wellbeing?
A state of wellbeing is where there is a mindful relationship between Life,Technology and Each Other. Technology is an integral part of our lives and it is here to stay. It has enriched our lives in many different ways, right from entertainment, to information, to learning, to being in touch with friends and family as well as accessing public services easily.
There is nothing wrong with technology itself, but using it more mindfully will ensure that technology is improving life, and not distracting from it. Therefore it becomes very important to assess one’s usage of technology and create a balance between one’s life online and offline to make the best of both.
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How do we understand digital wellbeing, with technology being increasingly empowering and central in our lives?
Digital Wellbeing is not just one app or one feature. It’s an entire idea. It’s a lifestyle change. It’s identifying and accepting the problem that mobile technology can and does command a ton of our attention in ways that can be unhealthy.
As technology becomes more and more integral to everything we do, it can sometimes distract us from the things that matter most to us. Technology should improve life, not distract from it. Creating a mindful balance between technology, relationships and life is important to develop one’s own sense of digital wellbeing. So that life, not the technology in it, stays front and center.