Michael Mercier, President of Screen Education, today delivered a keynote address at the annual conference of the Ohio  Educational Library Media Association (OELMA).   His presentation --- Your leadership Role In Forging A Digital Wellness School Culture --- originally was to be delivered in-person, but instead was delivered virtually  due to COVID restrictions.    View a post-event recording of the presentation at Let's Regulate Social Media Companies, Teachers Say - YouTube.  Learn more about OELMA at   Home - Ohio Educational Library Media Association (oelma.org).  

Michael Mercier, President of Screen Education, delivered a keynote address to the Caring Community Collaborative  (C-3) Conference and Lakota, OH, public schools.    Mr. Mercier's address --- The Down side of Social Media --- was delivered via webinar in line with the COVID-19 restrictions.    Learn more about C-3 Ohio  here.  

Screen Education today delivered a webinar to the members of Summer Programs and Auxiliary Revenue Collaborative (SPARC).

SPARC is the premier national organization serving independent school auxiliary program leaders.  SPARC advances the professional growth and development of its members, while promoting auxiliary excellence at independent schools across the country.

Screen Education's webinar --- How Smartphone Addiction Impacts Adults At Work, And What That Means For Educating Kids Today --- was designed to help SPARC's members generate ways they could add greater value to their auxiliary programs by incorporating principles designed to mitigate smartphone addiction among their program participants.

This evening Michael Mercier, President of Screen Education, delivered a webinar titled "Addressing Your Kids' Digital Addiction", to the Loveland, OH, High School's PTSA and participating parents.  To learn more about the webinar, as well as our other webinar offerings, contact Michael Mercier at Michael.Mercier@ScreenEducation.org.
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Michael Mercier, President of Screen Education, was interviewed Cincinnati KRC's Brian Thomas Show regarding the digital addiction seminars he is teaching at Cincinnati State's Workforce Development Center. 

To listen, advance the player to 1:59:00. 

Listen here.

Michael Mercier, President of Screen Education, today delivered a webinar presentation titled "Refocusing In An Age of Digital Distraction: Developing A Plan To Mitigate Digital Distractions No Matter The Workplace" to customers of Truce Software.  

Truce Software is the maker of a smartphone app that employers can use to control digital distraction in their workplace.  The app is placed on employees' smartphone, and this allows the employer to then place limits on the use of non-work digital content during work hours. 

The webinar was hosted by Truce Software and delivered to its customers.  It is now available for general viewing at this location

In this podcast episode Michael Mercier, President of Screen Education, and Garrett Munro, Instructional Designer at Hiram College, discuss their collaborative research on digital detoxes, and their upcoming session at the Ohio Educational Technology Association conference. 

Michael Mercier, President of Screen Education, spoke today at the Ohio Camp Conference.  The Ohio Camp Conference is organized organized by the Ohio division of the American Camp Association.  Conference attendees include summer camp owners, directors, and staff who are members of the American Camp Association, and who live in and near Ohio.  The conference was held at the 4-H Center on the Campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, OH.

Mr. Mercier's was geared toward summer camps that have overnight programs, and that don't allow campers to bring smartphones and other electronic devices.  The talk addressed how overnight summer camps that don't permit phones can integrate into their existing camp culture principles of digital wellness that will enhance the benefits campers derive from getting a break from their smartphones while at camp.  The talk was based upon Screen Education's 7 research studies with campers who attended overnight camps that don't permit phones, as well as 2 studies Screen Education has conducted in partnership with Hiram College of college students experiencing a digital detox while camping. 

Michael Mercier, President of Screen Education, spoke to a group of administrators for the Northwestern School District in Kokomo, IN.  His talk focused on the rampant problem of tech addition among students, and how the district could create a digital wellness culture to mitigate this problem. 

The St. Louis Business Journal today published an Op-Ed by Michael Mercier, President of Screen Education, on Senator Josh Hawley's (R-MO) Social Media Addiction Reduction Technology Act (SMART Act).  

The purpose of the bill is to address the problem of tech addiction by holding accountable the companies that provide the addictive apps.  In the Op-Ed, titled "Why Sen. Hawley Must Toughen Up His Social Media Addiction Bill", Mr. Mercier makes suggestions for how Mr. Hawley can make the bill more impactful on the problem of tech addiction.

The Op-Ed can be read here.   

Michael Mercier, President of Screen Education, spoke today at the Christian Camp & Conference Association's annual conference in Orlando, FL.  

Mr. Mercier's session, was titled "Optimizing the Mental Health Benefits of Your No-Phone Policy".  The talk was based upon his 4 years of conducting research with kids attending phone-free overnight camps. The talk covered the following topics: it described the mental health benefits campers derive from attending overnight summer camps that don't allow phones; it suggested activities camps can offer that optimize the long-term benefits campers derive from this break from smartphones; it explained how to train staff to optimize the benefits campers receive while unplugged; and it provided practical tips to help camps market the unique benefits of the phone-free camp experience they are providing.

Mr. Mercier's appearance at the CCCA annual conference followed a webinar he conducted for CCCA membership in November, 2018.  

Michael Mercier, President of Screen Education, spoke at the Southern Ohio Educational Service Center meeting.  The meeting was held at the Southern Ohio ESC's Hope Center in Hillsboro, OH.  Mr. Mercier presented to the audience of 12 superintendents a plan for creating a digital wellness culture within their districts, and then engaged the group in open discussion and question and answer. 

Michael Mercier, President of Screen Education, addressed 36 Wabash Valley superintendents at the annual meeting of the Wabash Valley Education Center.  Mr. Mercier's talk focused on how to create a digital wellness culture at our schools in order to combat tech addiction and the many secondary problems it creates.   

Michael Mercier, President of Screen Education, today met with Dave McMahon, Principal of Crestwood High School in Mantua, OH, to learn how Crestwood's smartphone ban had been faring 2 months after implementation.  
Crestwood had instituted the phone ban for the first time during this 2019/2020 school year.  In an effort to make the launch of the ban as smooth as possible, Crestwood had invited SCreen Education to deliver seminars to students, parents and teachers at the beginning of the school year. 
Crestwood reported that the ban was going quite smoothly, with very little disruption and ready compliance by students.  Teachers reported finding that student behavior, engagement, social climate, and academic focus had all improved as a result of the ban.  

Michael Mercier, President of Screen Education, spoke to the October Loveland Educating Against Alcohol and Drugs (LEAAD) Coalition Meeting today about tech addiction --- its causes and consequences.  The LEAAD Coalition is comprised of a team of teachers, staff, administrators, and resource officers.  The meeting was held at Loveland Middle School in Loveland, OH.

This weekend Screen Education partnered with Hiram College to provide Hiram College students with a digital detox retreat experience. 
The retreat took the form of a camping trip to Ohiopyle State Park in Ohiopyle, PA.  The retreat began on Thursday, October 2, and lasted through Sunday, October 6.  Twelve Hiram College students participated in the retreat.  
On Friday participants went white water rafting, and on Saturday participants took a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic Fallingwater, a home he designed in the 1930's for the Kaufman family of Pittsburgh.  
During the retreat students were required to spend some time each day doing individual written reflection exercises, and to participate in group discussions in which they reflected on their experience of being without their phones, and the implications this had for their relationship to information technology in their daily lives.
This is the second digital detox retreat Screen Education and Hiram College have partnered on, and they will use insights gained from these events to refine their digital detox model.   

Michael Mercier, President of Screen Education, delivered a talk today to teachers and students at Woodland Middle School in Taylor Mill, KY.  The talk was held on "meet the teacher" night, and focused on the the problem of tech addiction among teens, the toxic social media environment they live within while online, and how to mitigate these problems.  

In an article published today about Crestwood High School's new smartphone ban, the Record-Courier, based in Kent, OH, also covered Screen Education's research on tech addiction among teens, and the seminars it delivered to Crestwood parents and teachers. 

The seminars were designed to support Crestwood High School in the rollout of the smartphone ban for the 2019/2020 school year by helping parents and teachers better understand the reason for the smartphone ban, and to assist them in understand their role in making the ban a success.  Screen Education will deliver similar seminars to Crestwood High School students on August 26th. 

The full article can be read here.