Civics in a Digital Republic: A Transformative Curriculum

Lesson 3: Global Community: Digiteen Project

110 C.3 GLOBAL COMMUNITY DIGITEEN PROJECT SUMMARY This lesson discusses citizenship in the twenty-first century. Subtopics of this lesson can include cyber-bullying, texting while driving, identity theft, privacy, and social network etiquette. Students can also work collaboratively with peers across the country and globe. The Digiteen Project (http://www.digiteen.org/) works to make students aware of digital citizenship and etiquette. This project studies digital citizenship with students researching current topics, writing a collaborative report on a wiki, and performing and documenting offline action educational projects to promote effective digital citizenship at their local schools. The purpose of the project is to educate on and promote effective Digital Citizenship and responsible online choices as well as immersing students into an educational community for learning and collaborating. • Students will create a wiki highlighting a component of digital citizenship. • Students will discuss ideas associated with citizenship in the 21st Century. PROCEDURE Day 1 • Introduction, Grouping, and Blogs RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 110 RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE INDIVIDUAL C.3 Global Community DIGITEEN PROJECT continued 111 • Note: The formal Digiteen Project is limited in its number of applicants . However, the model of the Digiteen Project can be implemented on a more local level. • The instructor will introduce students to the collaborative nature of the Digiteen Project and assign students into four groups.The groups will include the Four Competency Areas of the Digiteen Project. These include: • Core Area A: Safety, Privacy, Copyright, Fair Use and Legal Compliance . • Core Area B: Etiquette and Respect • Core Area C: Habits of Learning: Reliable, Responsible Management of Online Activity • Core Area D: Literacy and Fluency • Students will devise a project that fits under each of the categories . The projects must include four components which include: • Blog post introduction • Students will create a blog with primary thoughts, ideas, and concerns about their topic and the project. • Students should post a KWL chart with information on what they know about the project, what they want to know, and what they would learn as a result of the project. • A written collaborative report using a wiki • Students in teams will author an original collaborative document based upon the work. • Students will provide current information relevant to news and ideas based on their digital citizenship topic. • Students will make the wiki more concise while retaining the meaning of the original author. • Action Project • The action research project is a school based project in which the Digiteen participants take action to educate the rest of their school community about Digital Citizenship. Make sure to start discussing the C.3 Global Community DIGITEEN PROJECT continued 112 RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE INDIVIDUAL Action Research Project at the beginning of the Digiteen Project. In many ways this is the most important component of this project. It is easy to get sidetracked by the technical requirements of contributing to the Ning and Wiki and lose sight of the goal of raising awareness of Digital Citizenship within your school community. • Post-Project Reflection • Students and teachers are asked to post their reflections on the project (suggested guidelines will be on the wiki). Students should tag these student-reflection and teachers as teacher-reflection. Experts, judges, and sounding boards are also asked to reflect as well. Days 2–4—Work Days • These days are reserved as student work days. Students will research their topic and write a collaborative report in their wiki and then design an action project. The role of the teacher is to guide students in their research and to keep them on task. Day 5—Presentations • Students will present their initial findings to their classmates. Peers can ask questions and offer suggestions. After presentations, the groups will reflect on their work and continue work toward the completion of their action project. Differentiated Instruction • These lessons are constructed so that teachers are able to address various learning needs in their classrooms as defined by IEPs or 504s.We encourage teachers to present material digitally, orally, graphically and textually. By using a variety of presentation styles, it is hoped that all students will learn. Time Allotment • Five class periods. One hour per class. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE INDIVIDUAL C.3 Global Community DIGITEEN PROJECT continued 113 MATERIALS & RESOURCES Instructional Materials • Students will need access to the Internet to complete their projects. Resources • One computer per student • Curriculum Toolbox STANDARDS & ASSESSMENT Next Generation Content Standards and Objectives for Social Studies in West Virginia • SS.12.C...