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ABOUTCYBERCIVICSTM

In2010,JourneySchool,aWaldorf-inspiredpubliccharterschoolinAlisoViejo,CA,respondedtoasocialmedia“incident”byallocatinganhourperweekingrades6-8todigitalcitizenshipandliteracylessons—orwhatwenowcall“CyberCivics™.”HavingjustpublishedNewMediaLiteracyEducation:ADevelopmentalApproachintheJournalofMediaLiteracyEducation(JMLE),Iwasexcitedandhonoredtoputacademicresearchintopracticethroughthesein-classlessons.Hereweareyearslater...thisprogramhasyieldedoutcomes(seebelow)thathaveexceededourexpectations,ithasbeenhonoredasanInnovationinEducationfinalistbyProjectTomorrowandtheO.C.TechAlliance,hasattractednationalmediaattention,andisnowbeingtaughtinschoolsacrosstheU.S.andinternationally!WearehonoredtoshareCyberCivics™sothatallstudentscanlearntheseessentialdigitallifeskills.

ABOUTYEAR1Year1addressesagrowingneedtopreparestudentswiththeskillstobeethical,confident,andempowereddigitalcitizens.Thelessons,whichemphasizesethicalandcriticalthinking,discussionanddecisionmakingthroughhands-onprojects,problemsolving,androle-play,canbetaughtentirelywithouttechnology...that’sbecauseexpertswidelyagreethemostimportantnewmediaskillsaresocialandbehavioralskills.

“Thenewmedialiteraciesalmostallinvolvesocialskillsdevelopedthroughcollaborationandnetworking.”

-Jenkins,Henry,etal,“ConfrontingtheChallengesofParticipatoryCulture:MediaEducationforthe21stCentury”(2006)

PROGRAMOUTCOMES• Sinceimplementingtheprogram,incidentsofcyberbullying,digitaldrama,plagiarism,andothertypicaldownsidesoftechnologyhavebecomehistoryatourpilotschool.Socialmediaandotherdigitalissuesnolongerdemandadminstrativetimeorattention.(Seetestimonials)

• Thepilotschool’sAPI(AcademicPerfomanceIndex)scorerosesteadilyandsignificantlythroughoutthefirstthreeyearsoftheimplementationofCyberCivics,thehighestpointgainintheCapistranoUnifiedSchoolDistrict!Althoughit’simpossibletodrawadirectcorrelationtotheseclasses,media/digitalliteracyeducatorssaytheselessons,whichplaceanemphasisoncriticalthinkingskills,helpstudentsacademicallyacrossallsubjects.(Readmorehere)

Y E A R 1 — D I G I TA L C I T I Z E N S H I P— FA Q ’ S

ThefirstyearofCyberCivics™,recommendedfor6thgrade,focusesentirelyonDigitalCitizenship:Thenormsofappropriate,responsibletechnologyuse.ThisisthefoundationalyearoftheprogramandisfollowedbyafullyearoflessonsonInformationLiteracy(recommendedfor7thgrade),andafullyearoflessonsonMediaLiteracyForPositiveParticipation(recommendedfor8thgrade).Signingupgivesyouaschool-wide,year-longlicensetosequentialweeklylessons(about50minuteslong)thatscaffoldimportantdigitalliteracytopics.

www.cybercivics.com

SOMEIMPORTANTTHINGSTOKNOWABOUTCYBERCIVICS

• Educatorsaccesscoursematerialsonlineanddeliverthelessonslive,intheclassroom.Theyareeasyandfuntoteachandtheyencouragestudentstoworktogethertonegotiatenormstheywilltakeintotheirdigitalworld.Theprogramisbaseduponpublishedacademicresearchandisdevelopmentallyappropriateformiddleschool.

• Bypurchasingthisprogramyourschoolreceivesoneyearaccesstoweeklyhour-longlessonsintendedprimarilyfor6thgrade(thoughmanyschoolsusethemin5thand7thgradesalso).LessonscanbedownloadedasPDF’s,manyincludeworksheetsandattachments,andallvideosandotherresourcesareincluded.Somelessonshavemultipleparts,and/orcanextendoveracoupleofclassperiods.TheyaredesignedtobeflexibledependinguponthetimeyouhavetoallocatetoCyberCivics™.

• Thecostforaschool-widelicenseis$699.Uponregistrationanyteacheratyourschoolplanningonteachingtheselessonscanopenhisorherprivateaccountandgetfullaccesstolessons,videos,resources,thecommunicationsportal,ongoingsupport,andmonthlynewsletter.Annualrenewalisonly$149.Resourcesareupdatedandrefreshedcontinually.

• Someofthecurriculumiscuratedfromknown,vetted,onlinesources.Thesearecombinedwithnewlessonsinordertoscaffoldimportantdigitalliteracyconcepts.Thisisimportant,becausesomeoftheselessonscanbefoundonlineelsewhereforfree.CyberCivics™isbasedonmyexperienceteachingtheselessons,adaptingthem,re-orderingandaddingtotheminawaythatisdevelopmentallyappropriateformiddleschool,andsavingyoutimefromhavingtodothisyourself.Youareencouragedtogodirectlytothesourceofanyofthecuratedlessons,allcitationsandlinksareincluded.

• ThisprogramalsogiveseducatorstheopportunitytoaskandreceivecoachinganddirectanswerstoquestionstheymayhaveandtodiscusslessonswithothersbyusingtheembeddedDisqusprograminSkilljar.

• TheCyberwisewebsiteprovidesaTONofsupportforeducatorsandparents.Inadditiontoallthefreeresourcesonthesite,weofferafreebi-weeklynewsletterandCyberwiseCertifiedonlinecoursesthatprepareeducatorstoteachtheselessonswithconfidence.Takingournewestcourse--DigitalLiteracyforTeachersandAdministrators--youcanevenearnuniversitycreditthroughtheUniversityofthePacific.

• Thiscurriculumtookmanyyearstofind,test,organize,re-write,anduploadtothissite.Itisregularlyupdatedandrefreshedwithnewcontent.However,weneverwantpricetostandinthewayofaschoolusingthisprogram,soifcostisaconcern,pleasecontactus.

• Thisprogramisaffordableforhomeschooltoo(askus).

• Weofferin-personworkshopsandcoachingforeducators,parents,andschools(askus).

Thefineprint:Bypurchasingthiscurriculumyouagreenottocopyand/orshareitbeyondyourownclassroomorschool.Why?Becauseasadigitalliteracyeducatoritisyourresponsibilitytomodelthisbasictenetof“digitalcitizenship.”

ThankYou! DianaGraber,CyberCivicsandCyberwiseFounder

JourneySchoolCyberCivicsTeacher

www.cybercivics.com