Our digital citizenship course has shaken up everything that I thought I knew! In reality, my prior view of what we should be teaching for digital citizenship was limited. Perhaps that same limiting vision is something that our students experience as well. It is easy to fall into a trap of thinking that we know more than we do. It takes new experiences to help us realize that there are broader applications and that digital citizenship extends its roots deeply into all areas of our personal and professional lives.
Since starting this class and with my “blinders” beginning to lift, I experienced shifts in my conversations with students. We began to talk about world events in Social Studies and critically question what we were seeing on media. We shared current news events with each other and discussed how to show respect and use dialectical skills in exploring alternate viewpoints.
There were three main steps that I focused on from my initial plan for my Major Project (see blogpost.) I wanted to explore other types of scope and sequence documents that might provide insights into developing one aimed at digital citizenship. What I found were some great resources like Commonsense Media. These are definitely a component of what I was trying to find. However, I was searching for more targeted lessons geared towards the units within my chosen course. This led me to the creation of a Google Form Survey that I posted on Twitter hoping to elicit responses that might guide me moving forward. (The Survey is still open, so please click on the link and add some insights!) Below are some of the responses that I have received.
Based on the responses that I received, I have started sourcing out a variety of resources that I will be able to add as resources to my Scope and Sequence. After checking these out, please fill out my Survey and suggest some more ideas. I want to provide access to realistic resources that will be interwoven throughout as relevant aspects in our daily lives.
A possible resource for Unit 2: Relationships and the Family Life Cycle and Unit 4: Health and Well-being will be Commonsense Digital Citizenship courses. Another great digital resource for adult students who may be navigating relationship changes will be Family Law at Plea.org, which has online resources on an easy-to-read website with access to online forms.
A possible resource for Unit 3: Independent Living and Consumerism is Everfi which has seven modules for high school addressing different aspects of financial well-being. A second relevant resource is an online course provided through the Canada Revenue Agency for students to learn about personal income taxes in Canada.
Wow, Patricia. You have really been digging deep into the research and finding some great tools, information, and resources. I am excited to see what you come up with, and I bet your students are loving going along for the ride with you on this journey. I love how you are able to take your new learning and creations right to the classroom to try out. Very inspiring. Looking forward to learning more about it.
Thank you! I am excited about making this and sharing it with other teachers. I plan to share it with all of the other Adult Basic Education educators that I know who teach Life Transitions 30!