Reflect on the User Interface (UI)
The opening background of the website is an image with mountains and water that is moving. It is a dark shade of blue and a hint of purple that automatically caught my attention along with the sound of calm moving water. When you move your cursor over the meditation selections the images of the selections pop up a little. On the left side, there are options of what you might use the website for which makes it easy to navigate. The designers were intentional about the little pop-up that the images would do when your cursor moved over it.
Reflect on the User Experience (UX)
The immediate sounds of rippling water along with the dark blue background immediately put my mind at ease. When you are staring at a bright white screen all day every day it gets old really fast and it isn't good for your eyes and can cause headaches. The UI makes me feel calm. I have always had light mode on my phone because I always felt like I would prefer that to dark mode but now I’m realizing that dark mode might be better for me. Taking a closer look at this website made me realize how much a 5-minute breathing exercise or meditation video impacts my mental health, productivity, and attention span.
Reflect on How this Resource Might Impact or Support Digital Wellness
The daily apps I use probably don't really benefit me at all besides connecting with friends. The main apps I use daily are social media apps and I do realize that sometimes I need to take a break from them because they aren't the best for my mental health. I catch myself rotting in bed scrolling on TikTok for hours when I could be so many productive things. The other thing is getting news information from any social media app is not the best way in my opinion because the way that some people on TikTok or Twitter relay information feels like fear-mongering sometimes. I can model digital wellness by not using technology for every lesson, and taking brain breaks during class using Calm or other websites.
Reflect on the Accessibility of the Application or Tool You Chose
The site is easy to read, there are videos but they are not captioned. Some videos in the “Calm Classroom” have transcripts available underneath the videos. There are multiple language options. This website is free to an extent but I think that teachers can sign up to get premium for free.
Reflect on the Ways in which Being Aware of Digital Design and Digital Wellness Could Benefit You as a Teacher?
Being aware of digital design and digital wellness can help me as a teacher by implementing my knowledge in order to prevent student burnout of technology and school. It will help me create a safe space surrounding technology in the classroom if I am aware of the effects of technology on children's brains. I will be mindful of the well-being of my students and will use resources that promote digital wellness.