The Challenge Addressed
This practice addresses a growing challenge among today’s learners: the negative impact of social media on mental health, emotional well-being, and interpersonal relationships. Students often navigate digital platforms without understanding how algorithms influence their emotions, behaviour, and self-image.
By redesigning social media for well-being, the activity encourages them to critically rethink the digital spaces they use daily and propose healthier, more responsible alternatives.
Why the Practice is Innovative
The practice is innovative because it shifts students from passive users of technology to active designers and problem-solvers.
Instead of discussing social media in abstract terms, students engage in a hands-on redesign process, imagining new features such as kindness filters, mood-based content feeds, mindful mode, reality-check prompts, and peer-support spaces. These ideas are grounded in real digital citizenship issues and show how social platforms could become safer and more supportive.
Type of Integration and Key Competences
The integration is both interdisciplinary and competence-based. It combines media literacy, digital well-being, English language skills, creativity, and critical thinking.
Students develop key competences such as collaboration, communication in a foreign language, digital competence, social and emotional skills, and problem-solving. They also learn to evaluate online risks, understand algorithmic influence, and propose responsible digital solutions—core aspects of EU Digital Competence Framework (DigComp).
Role of the Teacher/Trainer
The teacher acts as a facilitator, mentor, and guide. Their role is to provide structure, introduce the challenge, model safe online behaviour, and support students as they plan, design, and present their solutions.
Instead of leading the process, the teacher encourages independent research, teamwork, and creative expression.
Type of Learning Activities
Learning activities include brainstorming challenges of current social media, small-group analysis of user experiences, creation of mock-ups or posters with redesigned features, and peer feedback.
Students also use QR codes, surveys, and visual storytelling, which adds a multimodal and interactive dimension to the task.
The final product—a redesigned platform presented through a visually engaging poster—fosters ownership, creativity, and authentic communication.
Impact of the Practice
The impact of the practice is significant: students become more aware of the emotional effects of digital platforms and learn strategies for healthier online engagement.
They feel empowered to advocate for change and develop empathy toward others’ online experiences. Teachers report increased participation, improved vocabulary and communication skills, and richer discussions about digital ethics, mental health, and well-being.
Potential for Replication
The practice has strong replication potential. It can be easily adapted to different age groups, languages, and school subjects by modifying the tools or focus (e.g., cyberbullying, misinformation, privacy, AI biases).
It requires minimal resources—only internet access and simple digital or paper-based design tools. Because the topic is globally relevant, the activity can be implemented in any classroom aiming to strengthen digital citizenship, promote well-being, and build future-ready competencies.
Innovator: Dajana Jelavić - Jure Kaštelan high school