September 6, 2012
Teachers, are you meeting the visual demands of the children and teenagers in your classrooms?
It’s likely that your classroom is designed well for discussion, sharing, and book-based learning. But have you thought about how the computers in your classroom may adversely affect the behavior and performance of your students?
We have some simple recommendations for teachers as school gets back into session this fall:
- Students should follow the 20-20-20 rule when working on a computer. Take a 20 second break every 20 minutes, and focus on something 20 feet away. This can help to alleviate symptoms associated with Computer Vision Syndrome, which is affecting more and more students every year.
- Turn down your lights to match the computer screen. If you’re in a particularly bright room with lots of windows, try to close the shades a bit to reduce eyestrain.
- Check for glare on the computer screen. Other light sources should not be visible when your students are sitting in front of their monitors.
- Check to ensure that the monitor or tablet screen is at a good height for each student. A screen should be 15 – 20 degrees below eye level (that’s about 4 – 5 inches), and it should be 20 – 28 inches away from the eyes. The same goes for laptops and tablets.
- Make sure screens are clean! Forcing your students to stare at a fuzzy screen can cause strain on the eyes and also lead to unruly kids.
