I have been looking forward to this assignment even though my digital skills are not currently up the task of creating what is in my imagination.
Topic:
My overall topic is digital citizenship but, to narrow that down a little, specifically what we post on social media and the impact that has on ourselves and others.
Platform:
The main platform for my story will be on Google Sites but I plan to use several other tools to create and host the images, video, etc. that I need such as:
Rationale:
Despite the age requirement of 13+ for social media sites, my primary school is regularly dealing with issues stemming from student use of social media outside of school hours, with some students as young as 9 engaged in platforms like TikTok and SnapChat. Many Year 5/6 students are on the precipice of becoming deeply engaged online, particularly with social media. This means that the last 2 years of primary school is an ideal time to be teaching students about the challenges and benefits of online life (Buchannan, et. al., 2019). In response, I built Digital Footprints, which was for an ETL512 assessment. Through the site Year 5/6 students are encouraged to carefully consider what they post and look at online as it may impact other people’s view of them in real life; both now and in the future. Rethink will be added to Digital Footprints as an additional resource.
To add further weight to the topic of digital citizenship, it is part of the curriculum in NSW (NSW Department of Education, n.d.). Considering this, my story will encourage the reader to engage with a character who has had an embarrassing post shared on social media without their consent. As the story develops, students will experience the consequences of that post through the eyes of the main character. Students will have the opportunity to change one decision at the end of the story and get to read an epilogue style entry explaining the ripple effect of changing that decision.
References
Buchanan, R. Southgate, E., & Smith, S. P. (2019). ‘The whole world’s watching really: Parental and educator perspectives on managing children’s digital lives. Global Studies of Childhood. 9(2), 167-180. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2043610619846351
Curtis, J. (2022). Digital Footprints. https://sites.google.com/education.nsw.gov.au/positivedigitalfootprints/home
NSW Department of Education. (n.d.). Digital Citizenship. NSW Government. https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/education-for-a-changing-world/digital-futures/digital-citizenship
i love the sound of this John and I think it would be a very helpful tool to help students understand. I’m interested to know how you are going to organise the end epilogue? Will they receive a multiple choice type option or do they input it some how? If it is the multiple choice option then how are you going to make it so the “correct” choice of not doing it in the first place isn’t the obvious one to click on.So often with multiple choice its easy to see which one should be clicked that it isn’t thought about and therefore not retained.
I’m excited to see the finished product!
i love the sound of this John and I think it would be a very helpful tool to help students understand the importance of digital literacy. I’m interested to know how you are going to organise the end epilogue? Will they receive a multiple choice type option or do they input it some how? If it is the multiple choice option then how are you going to gauge the learning and the understanding of this topic? Heick (n.d.) states that multiple choice options changes the fluid nature of information into a basic recall situation. A topic such as this needs students to merge their old thinking styles to create new ones and therefore guide and change their future actions.
I’m excited to see the finished product!
Heick, T. (n.d.), https://www.teachthought.com/technology/problem-multiple-choice/
Digital citizenship is such a relevant and prevalent topic at present. I too work in a K-6 school and have encountered children being bullied using social media, as you say, despite the age restrictions. Even as I write this I had been helping a Year 6 student work through an issue that she had with another student on Snap Chat two days ago.
I am excited to see this resource unfold and hope that this is something that will become a useful tool for primary aged students. I am interested in how the posts will work, and what the results will be. I wonder if students will be tempted to make poor choices to see the results, rather than the best choice.
Hi John, I think it is really fantastic that you have created the resource digital footprints and will be adding rethink to it. What a wonderful way to use your knowledge from your masters to assist your job! 🙂 I even think Digital Footprints could be a fantastic resource that other schools could benefit from! Would you ever consider sharing it on TeachersPayTeachers or other sites so teacher Librarians and other schools could use it to help their school communities?
I also like how your story will have students experiencing the post through the eyes of the main character, what a fantastic way for the students to feel empathy for the main character and hopefully understand the gravity of positive behaviour on social media. I’m very excited to see your finished product!
Digital citizenship is such a relevant and prevalent topic at present. I too work in a K-6 school and have encountered bullying using social media, such as SnapChat, despite the age restrictions as you mentioned. It sounds like you are trying to simulate a familiar app. As Yokata and Teale (2014) noted in their research, many apps complement the narrative flow of the story, while others distract the reader with too many interactive features. Will you incorporate any interactive features or ways for students to engage with the text if they are of lower ability and require support with reading, such as a “read-to-me” feature? Have you considered adding pictures, memes or gifs as part of the “posts” to enhance the appearance and intrigue of the narrative (Yokata & Teale, 2014)?
I wonder if students will be tempted to make poor choices to see the results, rather than the best choice.
I am excited to see this resource unfold and hope that Rethink will become a useful tool for students in Stages 2 and 3 particularly.
Reference
Yokota, J., & Teale, W. (2014). Picture books and the digital world. The Reading Teacher, 67(8), 577-585. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1262
I think that your topic of digital citizenship aimed at Year 5/6 is very apt. Many students at this age level already have social media, even though they are below the minimum age requirement. Walsh (2010) suggests that the social elements of being online are embedded with the online reading and writing practices that are utilized in the classroom. I like that your story will be part of a larger collection of resources for students to explore.
I wonder if it would be appropriate to include a link to a google form at the end of your story where students could reflect on what they’ve learned or indicate if the story has influenced their opinion on social media in any way.
I was hoping to originally undertake a social media retelling of a fairy tale but decided that wasn’t appropriate for my year level. In my research for ways to create social media posts I was directed to a collection of tweets which you may find useful. It is mostly android apps but there are a few iOS apps mentioned towards the end as well. https://twitter.com/LitolMsMischief/status/1517419557119741952?t=RhvuZ2titcfTBri45zCf7A&s=19
References
Walsh, M.(2010). Multimodal literacy: what does it mean for classroom practice? Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 33(3), 211-239.