Register now for your
free curriculum |
 |
Digital Citizenship in Schools
Unit 3: “Calling All Digital Citizens”
Overview
This unit explores digital citizenship in schools and how it relates to the creative content commonly found on social media Web sites, how copyright laws protect content, and how Web sites’ terms of use may govern use of that content. When creative content is so easily accessed and shared online, a basic understanding of copyright becomes important. Students analyze those provisions and determine how they protect the rights of the creator. In addition, they examine their own use of creative content on social media sites.
Case Study
This unit is centered on a case study, “Beta Test gone Haywire” that involves the effect of social media on creative content. In this scenario, a high school student creates a mini software application and posts it to a social media site to share it with his friends. The next thing he knows, a friend’s sister has uploaded it to her company’s Intranet and is trying to take credit for it. In the end, the company contacts the original creator for permission to use the application, compensates the creator, and even offers him an internship in recognition of his good work.
Activities
Included in the unit are four activities, each designed with unique learning objectives, ranging from identifying the process to obtain copyright permission to classifying the four factors considered when determining fair use. Each activity contains instructions detailing the amount of time required, materials needed, learning objectives, related subject areas, and background information. Detailed steps and suggestions are provided for each. Extensions and modifications as well as additional resources are also provided.
Each activity requires from two to three 60-minute class periods, and some also require additional work be done outside of class. Students are required to complete some activities on their own, while others are designed for groups or pairs. These build to a culminating activity that incorporates everything the students have learned about digital citizenship in schools. Students are asked to voice their opinions about creative content, creative rights, and fair use related to social media by creating a video blog.
The activities are designed to complement one another. While a student can have a meaningful learning experience participating in any single activity, the coursework is designed for optimal benefit if all activities are utilized.
Assessments
The unit provides a baseline assessment for educators to use to gauge students’ prior knowledge and perceptions of digital citizenship in schools. This is supplemented with a post-unit assessment to measure changes in knowledge and perception.
Student Learning Objectives
Relate the concepts of copyright and creative content to social media, analyze how copyright issues affect the creative content on social media sites, and establish a set of rules on digital citizenship for young people that consider the rights of creators when using social media sites.
Identify the process to obtain copyright permission for a specific type of creative content, analyze the efficiency and effectiveness of common processes, and recommend changes to common permission request processes.
Draw conclusions about young people’s opinions on creative content, creative rights, and fair use related to social media; state their own opinions about creative content, creative rights, and fair use related to social media via video blog; and use persuasive language to influence their school peers.
Guiding Questions
Over the course of this unit, students will explore guiding questions related to digital citizenship in schools: How do creative rights and fair use relate to social media? Have I ever infringed on anyone’s creative rights? How is social media changing the conversation around copyrighted content and creative rights?
![]()