«Digital media can also be a door opener»
Mrs Mathez, what is the purpose of «Flo#»?
We are convinced that developing media skills is the best way to protect children and young people from the risks of using mobile phones and the like, and we want to empower them along the way. «Flo#» is a prevention programme for primary schools, tailored to the respective age group and Curriculum 21.
It was developed by the Imedias counselling centre at the PH FHNW together with addiction prevention agencies and the youth police of the canton of Solothurn. Schools are repeatedly confronted with unwanted media use, whether because a conflict gets out of hand in a class chat or young people are constantly tired in class because they are gaming late into the night. However, there is not enough time in the school day to tackle these issues. This is where «Flo#» can help.
How?
Flo#" has its origins in a primary school. Teachers helped shape the project from the outset and tailored it to their needs and the circumstances at their schools. This means that the effort involved is manageable. At the heart of the programme are two media half-days, during which pupils attend workshops on topics such as «social media», «class chat», «body image», «games», «my data belongs to me» and «cyberbullying».
These are led by teachers who we prepare for this task during four lessons of further training and provide with all the necessary materials. Each teacher concentrates on one topic and prepares only this one - the children attend the workshops on a rotational basis. School social work, youth police and addiction prevention are also involved in the implementation, for example at the associated parents' evening.
Which schools can take part?
In principle, all of them. The programme has so far been established in the cantons of Aargau, Solothurn and Basel-Landschaft. However, schools from anywhere are welcome to apply. «Flo#» not only addresses the risks of digital media, but also their potential. In the workshops for cycle 1, for example, parents and children made films or digital picture books together. We want to show this: Digital media can also open doors for dialogue.
Further information: imedias.ch/flott
