In times when smartphones and tablets are used for schoolwork as well as for leisure activities, in the family or with friends, the boundaries between different areas of life are becoming increasingly blurred. This not only applies to children and young people, but also continues into adulthood. Here, an increasingly digitalized (working) world demands the successful navigation of different roles, tasks and areas of life through the competent use of digital items. This makes it all the more important for young people to learn how to consciously structure their digital living and learning environments. This is exactly where DigiBound comes in.
The aim of the project is to promote so-called boundary management skills - i.e. skills for self-regulation, action control and decision-making - in pupils from secondary school level I onwards. Based on competence-oriented teaching and learning formats, a training course will be developed, tested and evaluated 1. academic (allg.). The training will then be embedded in the curriculum, used in the classroom and made publicly available as an open educational resource in order to benefit as many children and young people as possible.
After an intensive period of preparation, the joint launch of "DigiBound" officially took place on April 1, 2025. The project draws on expertise from psychology, IT didactics, E-Learning and Media Competence in Education and video production. Prof. Dr. Regina Kempen from the Business Psychology degree programme at Aalen University of Applied Sciences and her team are responsible for the needs assessment survey of students and for the consist of the training. Professor Karsten Müller from the Chair of Work and Organizational Psychology at the University of Osnabrück is responsible for the overall coordination of the project. The Chair of Computer Science Didactics at the University of Osnabrück and the Technical Information Library (TIB - Leibniz Information Center for School of Engineering and Natural Sciences) in Hanover are also involved.
"Preparing children and young people for a digitalized working world is an important concern for us in order to strengthen the generation of tomorrow for dealing with the diverse demands from different areas of life," says Professor Regina Kempen, "the self-determined use of digital items and their conscious use to manage these demands are an important resource for strengthening resilience and mental health."
To ensure that the contents developed reach as many children and young people as possible, DigiBound is focusing on a broad communication strategy: in addition to traditional handouts, digital roadshows, social media content and other innovative formats are planned. The aim is to involve and empower not only pupils, but also teachers, school authorities and parents/guardians. DigiBound is a research project that aims to provide children and young people with concrete assistance in dealing confidently with the digital world.
Further information can be found here.
