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