Unplugged Village® Educator’s Playbook

Welcome to Unplug Collaborative -- Home of Global Day of Unplugging

You are now a part of a world-wide community filled with people from all walks of life who want to have a healthier relationship with technology. Once you get the bug to unplug, we know you will want more. This toolkit is a place for you to start. It is a living document that will be updated with new ideas for activities and events. In it, you will find tips to help you, and those you are trying to educate, unplug.

Who we are

Global Day of Unplugging (previously referred to as National Day of Unplugging) is an awareness campaign that has been around for over a decade and is now a project of Unplug Collaborative, a non-profit, membership organization formed in February 2020. Learn more about the awareness campaign and Unplug Collaborative on our website HERE. 

Why should students unplug, anyway?

We all increasingly miss out on the important moments of our lives as we pass the hours with our noses buried in our devices. Students may get caught up watching YouTube videos, TikTok challenges or comparing themselves to others on Instagram. Every move is chronicled on social media and earphones help people create a bubble of silence.

Taking a break from technology can help students maintain the balance necessary to be productive and successful in their daily lives. Unplugging together with others on a school campus can make a powerful impact as we are surrounded by friends and feel each others support.  Communal unplugging encourages good old fashion conversations, eye contact, mindfulness and true community connection.

Some research and trends

U.S. Adolescent and Adult Suicide Rates (Ages 10-59), 1981-2021. (Source: CDC WISQARS Fatal Injury Report, and data from 1981-2000). (spreadsheet with graphs and data points). 

Common Sense Media 2022 - Infographic

Teens Social Media and Technology 2023 - Pew Research Center

Have you checked your screen time?

Most devices now have a feature that tracks how much time we spend per day overall and on specific applications. Thanks to countless studies, we now know that increased screen time directly affects levels of anxiety and cortisol in the body, quality of relationships and sleep, and overall productivity, creativity, and mood and can lead to behavioral issues, musculoskeletal and vision problems. Luckily, there are numerous ways to reverse these effects and take charge of your well-being.

 Breaking Ground with Your Educational Program

There are many options to make your unplugged gatherings and events a success. Whether you are looking to make this a one-time event or to turn your community into an Unplugged Village®, we hope this list will get the wheels turning in terms of planning and options to consider. Each school or program will have different offerings but below you will find a list of resources and tips to help you unplug together and build a sense of community. If you have questions or want to bounce around ideas, feel free to reach out to us info@unplugcollaborative.org.

Finding School Support for Your Program 

If you have a traditional school, you will want to talk with the Principal about what you have in mind for celebrating the day. There are several different groups that might get involved at your school and help fund and spearhead your efforts. Approach your Student Technology Specialist or School Counselor to see if they are interested in celebrating Global Day of Unplugging and/or at other times of the year such as CyberSafety Month (Oct.) or Mental Health Awareness month (May).

PTA/PTO’s are often supportive and can really be helpful to put together a program for students, especially if the school is short staffed and needs support. You may also find a student club that focuses on wellness or mental health that might be eager to get involved with this cause. Just a few examples are the students at Troy High School who created an Unplugged Club, Sean Killingsworth started the Reconnect program for Colleges and Emma Lembke started a Digital Wellness program called Log Off Movement.

To really make an impact, you can approach your school district and see if they will encourage all the schools in the district to support GDU. Superintendent Dr. Ken Nicely with the Roanoke School Board, adopted a resolution encouraging all schools in the Virginia School District to take a pledge to participate in GDU2023. Here is a Sample Resolution you can make a copy of and edit for your school.

Finding Community Support 

You might want to approach your local City Council to garner community support. Ask them to do a Proclamation for the Global Day of Unplugging (always the first weekend in March- sundown on Fri to sundown on Saturday) or for turning your community into an Unplugged Village®. Brainstorm with your team to see who else you might enlist for support. City Counsels are often eager to be helpful in their community! You may want to explore service organizations like the Lions Club, Rotary, Kiwanis, or Soroptimists to see if they might want to join forces.  Check out faith based organizations where they have youth groups or outreach to youth or the community.  Consider partnering with neighborhood groups, playgroups/mommy and me or nature groups.  Ask people to download and take a photo with the “I UNPLUG/WE UNPLUG” signs. They are available in several languages and businesses can add their logo and post it to social media or use it for emails/newsletters. Please share any photos (event or pre-event) with us HERE.

Find our Brand Guide deck which comes with our logos, some sample text and post ideas HERE.

Schools Timeline

Depending on which activities you decide to do, you will want to plan ahead accordingly. Some schools like to do a kick off several weeks leading up to GDU. Others plan events later in the month of March. If you want a district wide effort, you may want to plan to adopt a resolution in January and then challenge all schools in the District to encourage their students to take the pledge to unplug for the day.

Oct - celebrate Cyber Security Month

Nov - Request Districts to adopt a resolution and challenge schools to take the GDU pledge  

Jan - Districts announce Resolution and GDU challenge to schools. Schools start planning events and order SmartPhone Nap-Sacks. 

Feb - Schools to prepare activities for GDU events. Many schools kick off GDU activities the week before or weeks after. All are welcome!

Mar 1-2 Celebrate Global Day of Unplugging!!

May - celebrate Mental Health Awareness month

Unplugged Event Ideas

Once you have a plan to get support in place, you need ideas for engaging the students!

There are lots of ways to engage your school or program to explore unplugging in fun and meaningful ways. Whether you do one activity or a week full of digital wellness activities, we have a lot of ideas for you. Follow the link below!

 Unplugged Resources

Finding unplugging support online--Apps & Websites That Work

Podcasts We Love

Books/Newsletters