On Saturday, January 18, I received the following email from Sara Trettin of The Digital Well-Being Challenge Team, congratulating us. As you can imagine, we were thrilled to be chosen, and ready to take on the challenge.

Subject: Congratulations - Digital Well-Being Challenge Next Steps

Dear Kip,
We are delighted to inform you that your team, the Mountain View Tech Interns, has been selected to participate in the Digital Well-Being Challenge!

Your innovative proposal stood out among many strong applications, and we're excited to work with you on bringing your ideas to life.

Next Steps:

1. Participation Form Completion by Friday, January 31st

• Please distribute the Participation Form to each member of your core team. This is the team of school leaders, educators, and students that will be participating in the Co-Design Summit and other Digital Well-Being Challenge activities.
• Each team member 18+ and the parents or guardians of student team members under 18 will need to complete the form.
• The team’s primary point of contact should collect all completed forms and email them in an encrypted or password-protected format to Sara Trettin, [email protected], by January 31st.
• Suggestions for encrypting or password-protecting the forms will be sent early next week.

This is a crucial step that must be completed before we can proceed with the Challenge activities.

2. Pre-Orientation & Summit Date Selection
Please select your preferred Pre-Orientation and Summit dates by submitting this form as soon as possible: https://forms.office.com/g/713mLBCkkT. One submission per team, please.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to Sara Trettin, [email protected].
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Once again, congratulations! We look forward to supporting your team's journey in co-designing innovative solutions to promote digital well-being.

Thanks!
The Digital Well-Being Challenge Team

There were several questions that we had to answer, but there were two specific questions that we had to answer. Below are the questions and answers crafted primarily by Dhruv Vijay.

11. Please describe the problem statement related to digital citizenship and well-being that your school- or district-based team would like to address in the next 6-12 months. 

This year, we launched the Tech Internship Program to provide technology support for our school community. Through this initiative, we identified a significant gap in our school's digital landscape: the absence of a comprehensive, student-friendly artificial intelligence (AI) policy. As AI technologies like ChatGPT become increasingly prevalent in education, it is essential to establish clear guidelines to ensure ethical, fair, and safe use of these tools.

The lack of an AI policy has led to confusion among students and educators. For example, teachers often emphasize AI guidelines before assignments, and students express concerns about what constitutes appropriate use versus misconduct. Instances of students being "caught" using AI tools, without clear guidelines to frame those incidents, highlight the pressing need for a shared understanding of expectations. In an article in our school’s newspaper, students and educators discussed both the benefits and challenges of integrating AI into classrooms, further underscoring the importance of clarity and consensus in this new domain (see: MVHS Oracle Article).

Our goal is to co-design an AI policy that is not only robust and forward-thinking but also easy to understand and apply. This policy will empower students to use AI responsibly while equipping teachers and administrators with clear guidelines for enforcement. By aligning this effort with our school's strategic goals of fostering digital citizenship and well-being, we aim to create a safer, fairer, and more informed school community.
We will leverage the resources and infrastructure provided by the Tech Internship Program to spearhead this effort. The $1,000 in funding will support materials, workshops, and outreach efforts to engage students, teachers, and administrators in the co-design process. The program's structure also provides a unique platform for collaboration, enabling us to create a policy that reflects the diverse needs and perspectives of our school community.

12. Explain how the main ideas of co-design outlined in the definition above relate to your team and how your team plans to use them in your work.

Co-design is at the heart of our approach to developing an AI policy. We believe that building strong relationships, ensuring inclusivity, and fostering trust are essential for creating solutions that resonate with all stakeholders. Our Tech Internship Program provides a proven model of co-design in action. Through this program, students have collaborated with administrators to address technology-related challenges, demonstrating how collaboration between administration and student can lead to meaningful change.

Our team plans to apply the principles of co-design by creating a partnership between students, teachers, and administrators to draft the AI policy. We will engage diverse stakeholders through workshops, surveys, and focus groups to ensure all voices are heard. This process will allow us to capture the perspectives of students with varied experiences, including those from different extracurricular activities, academic interests, and cultural backgrounds. For instance, our team includes members involved in robotics, water polo, baseball, and Spanish-speaking communities, reflecting the diversity of our school. As we expand the team, we will continue to recruit members from underrepresented groups to ensure the process is inclusive and representative of our campus.

We also recognize that co-design is an opportunity for growth and learning. By involving students and educators in the policy's development, we aim to foster a shared understanding of AI's potential and risks. The result will be a policy that not only addresses immediate concerns but also equips our community with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate future advancements in technology responsibly.

This Challenge provides an ideal platform to deepen our commitment to co-design. Through collaboration with experts and mentors, we will refine our approach and build capacity for sustained engagement in our school community. Our ultimate vision is to establish a culture of shared responsibility for digital well-being, where students, educators, and administrators work together to create a safe, equitable, and innovative learning environment.

Applications Now Open: Digital Well-Being Challenge

Are you a student aged 13+ or an educator passionate about improving digital citizenship and well-being in your school community? This is your chance to make a difference!
 
The Digital Well-Being Challenge invites schools and students to tackle pressing topics like healthy social media use, digital citizenship education, and responsible technology policies. This exciting initiative is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology (OET) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
 
What’s in it for you?

• Collaborate as a school or district team to develop actionable solutions for local digital well-being challenges.
• Attend an exclusive virtual summit in March-April 2025 to connect with specialists in social media and youth mental health, safety- and privacy-by-design, and responsible technology use.
• Work with expert mentors to refine and implement your project ideas.
• Get at least $1,000 in prize funding that can be used to support implementation of your team project.
• Contribute to a Digital Well-Being Toolkit for national impact.

 
Don’t miss this opportunity to shape the future of digital well-being in education.
 
Apply by January 9!
 
Together, we can empower school communities to thrive in the digital age.
 
Learn more and submit your application today! 
 
APPLY NOW