LIVING IN THE

DIGITAL AGE
Digital Citizenship for High School
Students
A flipped instructional unit as part of a basic
Technology Applications course
Developed by Megan Taylor

SUMMARY
Students will learn about important topics and issues relating
to digital technology, the Internet, and citizenship in the digital
age. They will use and expand the skills learned in the course
so far to create media and products that reflect their
knowledge of the topics we discuss. This unit is intended to
help them understand your role in the digital world and their
responsibilities when using technology. It will also better
prepare them to use software to create media for academic,
professional, and personal projects.
http://moodle.lt.unt.edu/course/view.php?id=111

OVERVIEW
The state of Texas requires high school students to complete one full year credit in a technology applications
course before graduating. Some schools offer advanced courses such as Robotics, Web Design, and Game
Design, but others only offer the very basic Computer Science or Business Information Management (BIM)
class.
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) developed standards to guide technology
curriculum and help educators develop instruction that helps students learn effectively and live
productively in an increasingly global and digital world. The ISTE National Educational Technology
Standards (NETS)-S include the following strands: Creativity and Innovation, Communication and
Collaboration, Research and Information Fluency, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making,
Digital Citizenship, and Technology Operations and Concepts (ISTE, 2007). This instructional design takes
into account the standards and conditions outlined by ISTE to partially redesign a basic technology
applications curriculum for a group of Texas high school students.
In a flipped classroom, students do lower-level tasks (Blooms Taxonomy) before/outside of class
instruction. When students view lectures/presentations independently, there is more instructional time for
higher-order cognitive work. (Brame, n.d.) Where homework or projects are typically completed outside
of class, the flipped classroom moves these tasks into the classroom. Students can then work
collaboratively and with teachers assistance on projects that require their application of knowledge and
skills. Higher-order thinking-applying, analyzing, and creating- will be facilitated during physical class time
(Brame, n.d.)

Brame, C.J. (n.d.) Flipping the Classroom. Center for Teaching.Vanderbilt University. Retrieved from http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/teachingactivities/flipping-the-classroom/#theory
International Society for Technology Education. (2007). ISTE NET-S. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-s-standards.pdf?sfvrsn=2

PURPOSE
The focus of this course is to prepare students for life in the digital
world. Much of the course will focus on the issues and foundational
knowledge that students need to know to function successfully and
safely. The concepts that will be taught- etiquette, digital citizenship,
digital identity, Internet safety, and copyright- are imperative for
students to understand in addition to the acquisition of word
processing and media creation skills. Additionally, the course will
require students to operate and manipulate software and
technology to create products that reflect that integrate their
knowledge of the concepts and technology skills.

LEARNING THEORY
When learning basic technology and media creation skills it is necessary for students to apply what they
learn and use the skills concurrently with knowledge acquisition. Constructivist theory is the foundation
for learning, as students will embark on independent learning activities that help them to apply the
knowledge and skills they need to develop. Because many may have exposure to the ideas in the course,
but do not have the factual knowledge to put with it, instruction will build on students prior knowledge
and experiences. Constructivist theory contrasts to the previous instructional approach and will greatly
increase students engagement and comprehensive acquisition of skills. Constructivist theory also
correlates with the ISTE standards, and will better encourage creativity, critical thinking, problem solving,
and collaboration.
Furthermore, a Project-Based Learning approach will be used for student output. Activities will be
authentic, individualized, and encourage students to take ownership of their learning and assignments. Each
instructional unit will require the student to complete a project and consider the purpose, objective, and
audience. This will increase engagement by giving assignments a purpose, and help the learner see the
relevance and importance of the material (Larmer & Mergendoller, 2010).
Larmer, J. & Mergendoller, J.R. (2010). 8 essentials for project-based learning. Educational Leadership, 68(1). Retrieved from
http://bie.org/object/document/8_essentials_for_project_based_learning
Larmer, J. (2014, January 6). Project-based learning vs. problem-based learning vs. x-bl. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia. org/blog/pbl-vs-pbl-vs-xbljohn-larmer

AUDIENCE
The target audience for this instructional design is high school students
who are enrolled in a basic/regular technology course to fulfill their
required technology credit. Currently most students take a basic desktop
publishing course for the mandatory credit. The flipped classroom
instructional format is intended for these students who do not exhibit
great interest in technology for non-social purposes (and therefore do
not choose to take the more advanced and specialized classes). All of
these students have experience using technology; they use Facebook,
Instagram, and other social networking sites regularly. The majority has
smart phones and access to computers at home. Despite this exposure to
technology many still struggle with basic desktop publishing and media
design.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

G.1 Students will know and use netiquette
1.1 Students will understand and describe netiquette guidelines (C)
1.2 Students will use appropriate netiquette (P)
1.3 Students will analyze communications for proper netiquette (C)

4.3 Students will assess their online safety (C & A)

4.4 Students will examine importance of staying safe online (C)
4.5 Students will implement measures to increase online security (P)
4.6 Students will practice safe online behaviors (P)

G.5 Students will understand copyright issues and fair use policies
G.2 Students will understand the meaning of digital citizenship
5.1 Students will recognize and describe importance of adhering to copyright laws
2.1 Students will exhibit characteristics of good digital citizens (A)
(C)
2.2 Students will discuss issues of appropriate technology use (C)
5.2 Students will follow copyright laws when choosing materials (P & C)
2.3 Students will practice safe and appropriate online behavior (A & P)
5.3 Students will justify their choice of acceptable materials (C & A)
2.4 Students will explain the negative impact of inappropriate technology
5.4 Students will utilize the Internet to find information and media (C)
use (C)
5.5 Students will correctly cite information and media used (C & P)
2.5 Students will compare digital citizenship to regular citizenship (C)
5.6 Students will differentiate fair use from copyright (C)
2.6 Students will describe their roles and responsibilities while online (C)
5.7 Students will create an original work and utilize copyright measures to protect
2.7 Students will analyze their own online behaviors (C)
their work (C & P)
2.8 Students will analyze and critique a situation for good digital practices
(C)
G.6 Students will use Microsoft Office software to produce documents,
2.9 Students will use web-based applications to create graphic
spreadsheets, and presentations
representations of digital citizenship issues (C & P)
6.1 Students will develop a plan for completing project (C)
G.3 Students will understand the issue of cyberbullying
3.1 Students will discuss personal experiences with cyberbullying (C & A)
3.2 Students will compare bullying and cyberbullying (C)
3.3 Students will identify ways to deal with cyberbullying (C)
3.4 Students will apply decision-making skills to deal with cyberbullying (C & P)
3.5 Students will develop and create a presentation against cyberbullying (C & P)
G.4 Students will understand digital identity and Internet safety
4.1 Students will express the importance of ones digital identity (C)
4.2 Students will analyze their own online identity and footprint (C)

6.2 Students will apply problem solving and decision making skills to make
informed decisions (C & A)
6.3 Students will create graphic representations of information (C & P)
6.4 Students will integrate two or more technologies to create a new
digital product (C & P)
G.7 Students will participate in online collaboration with peers
7.1 Students will describe appropriate online behavior for collaboration (C & A)
7.2 Students will exhibit proper netiquette in online interactions (A)
7.3 Students will contribute to online discussions (C)

COURSE HOMEPAGE
Course message boards, as
well as a board for posting
announcements and reminders,
are located at the top of the
home page

Introduction module that

students will access before
the unit begins
Course description
Syllabus
Orientation to Flipped format

MODULE ONE
Module One focuses on Netiquette. Netiquette is not only important for
students to learn to help them be better digital citizens and students. But it is
also imperative that students are prepared to work in the online course. Explicit
instruction is needed here because many students do not have experience with
non-social interactions online

Introduction to the
module and what to
expect.
Quiz 1 gives students examples/
excerpts of online communications,
and they must tell if it follows
Netiquette guidelines. If not they are
asked to correct.

MODULE ONE
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

MODULE TWO

Module two begins discussing the

concept of digital citizenship.
Surprisingly, many HS students
are not familiar with the idea of
being digital citizen and the
important responsibilities that go
along with it.

Quiz 2 asks students true/

false and multiple choice to
assess students understanding
of the concepts. Flipped
format allows teacher to see
if the students need to focus
on a particular topic during
class time.

MODULE TWO
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
1. Video: What is digital citizenship
2. Readings and questions
3. Infographic

MODULE THREE
Module three is all about cyberbullying. This
is a very important issue, especially
for high school students.

Week 3 quiz gives student a situational

anecdote. They must tell if cyberbullying
is occurring and what should be done.
There are also multiple choice questions
to assess basic understanding of topic.

The forum this week asks students to

read current article and analyze new
mobile social media app.

WEEK THREE
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

1.
2.
3.
4.

Cyberbully video
Reading and response
Interactive comic
Reflection

WEEK FOUR
While all the topics
covered in this unit will
be good instruction for
students, Digital Footprint
& Online Safety is the
most important for many
high school students.

MODULE FOUR
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Digital Footprint Video

Reading
Video and Response
Cyber safety video
Prezi
Survey and Response

MODULE FIVE
I have observed that many
students do not understand
what copyrighted work is, or
even plagiarism. This module
will be very important for
students academic
development and future
classwork.
Week 5 quiz asks students true
or false questions to assess
understanding of copyright law
and fair use policies.

MODULE FIVE
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
1.
2.
3.
4.

Copyright Video
Reading and Response
Fair Use Video
Reading

MODULE SIX
Module six is a wrap-up and conclusion for the six-week instructional unit. It
includes student evaluations which will inform instructor of students perspective
and course effectiveness.

MODULE SIX
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

1. Lets Wrap Presentation

2. Class Evaluation Survey
3. Flipped Survey

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES