Using digital resources to enhance health education is a beneficial method of engaging learners, helping them to retain health content, and creating a significant healthy learning environment. Digital resources used while educating help to give learners an authentic learning experience where they can use their voice, have choices, and have ownership of their learning. There are a variety of digital resources that can assist in the physical, mental, and social aspects of healthy blended learning. I would like this article to inspire health educators to incorporate the use of digital resources as they assist learners to become healthier versions of themselves. 

Incorporating digital resources into healthy blended learning is favorable because these digital resources can be used to maintain students' health long after their health class ends. One lesson that I’ve learned is that modeling the effective use of digital resources to enhance health education can make it easy for learners to use these digital resources at home or whenever needed. Incorporating the use of Youtube, Google Documents, MyFitnessPal, Health Unlocked, and Eportfolios can be valuable to students' achievement and success while receiving health education and building healthy lifestyles. 

YouTube is a widely used digital resource that can be very helpful when teaching students about health education. Youtube has videos from credible sources on health content, physical fitness videos, videos that can be used for healthy brain breaks and mindfulness moments, and also videos on guided meditation and ways to cope with anxiety and emotions. There are many videos uploaded from the Center of Disease Control, various health organizations, and different news outlets that can be used to keep students up to date on the latest health trends and disease prevention. 

Seesaw can be very beneficial for healthy learning because it can be used to communicate with student’s guardians. Seesaw can be used to send healthy newsletters, health resources, and reports on classroom progress home. Communication with guardians is important because it equips guardians with tools to assist students in health studies. Through healthy resources and information sent, guardians can better help their students put what they are learning about their health into practice. Implementing the use of Seesaw helped a large number of my students to become successful at learning health content  and reach their health goals both inside and outside of my classroom.

MyFitnessPal is a wonderful digital resource to incorporate into health education because a big part of the health curriculum is nutrition and physical fitness. MyFitnessPal helps learners to be mindful of what they are eating by counting their calories and it also helps them to track calories that are burned through physical activity. Tracking physical activity is easier because a learner can sync their apple watch or fitbit to this app for an accurate count of calories burned. After installing this app, it asks the learner about their health goals and gives them a target to meet every day, making achieving health goals easier. A digital resource that can be used to help students understand coping methods for mental and emotional health is an app called Health Unlocked, which is a social network community for assistance with anxiety, depression, and other mental issues. Students can greatly benefit from a place that has support groups and resources for mental health. Health Unlocked could be a great supplement for a mental and emotional health unit.

Google Documents can be beneficial for student’s success because the living documents can be used to track a student's progress in class and in their health journey. Google Documents can also be used for a wide range of things and assist students in completing projects and assignments. Eportfolios are beneficial digital resources for health education because they give students ownership over what they are learning. As students create something that is truly theirs, they have a choice and can use their voice, which makes their learning experience unique and significant. Students also have a space to blog about health content they’ve learned about in class and anything health related that matters to them.

There are many digital resources that can aid in the journey to overall health and wellness if used effectively and efficiently. These digital resources can also keep students engaged while learning in  health class. Although they may take a minute to learn to use, these resources can be very beneficial to any person who is learning about health or may be struggling mentally, physically, and socially. Having the right wellness digital resources, a growth mindset, and putting forth effort can be the catalyst to any learner succeeding and reaching significant health and wellness goals.

References:

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Finegan, J. (2021, May). 5 keys to success in hybrid learning. Retrieved from Edutopia: https://www.edutopia.org/article/5-keys-success-hybrid-learning

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Rodriguez, E. (2021, October). Using technology to support 10 executive functioning skills. Retrieved from Edutopia:

https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-technology-support-10-executive-functioning-skill