Summary of Project

The school in which I teach, is experiencing an epidemic in online bullying. It has gotten

to the point where the entire school has been banned from having cell phones all day. Students

were having drama, fights, and outbursts at school because of things said on social media. Most

students have two social media accounts: one they put their name on and allow family to follow

and one they make up fake names for and allow their friends to follow. Student's online persona

is vitally important to their lives. Thus, a problem-based lesson focusing on student’s digital

citizenship and online presence to create a positive impact on the community is needed to ensure

students are being thoughtful when posting on social media, creating a YouTube video, etc.

The activities students will participate in during this project will be interactive and group-

oriented. One activity will be to hand each student a decision to make when using technology

such as making a rude comment or reporting cyberbullying. Students will read their choice

allowed and the class will give a thumbs up if they think it’s a good decision or a thumbs down if

they think it is a bad decision. This activity will lead to group discussion about which the

students think was the worst decision and if they do any of the good things the class agreed on.

Another activity students will engage in is a mapping of their digital footprint. They will google

their name and see note what comes up that pertains to them. Students will also list what website

and social media they use. Students will tape their footprints to the wall and students will walk

around the five other footprints to notice commonalities or differences. There will then be a

group discussion on how long the information found is viable. By relating digital citizenship to

student's digital footprint and life I ensure a more impactful learning experience and likely more

engagement from students as well.

Project Impact
 The number of students directly impacted during the initial project is around one-hundred

students. Two to three years in the futures I estimate six hundred total students will be impacted

by this project. By relating each project-based learning activity to student's digital footprint I

ensure student engagement will be high and student learning will flow easily. When students are

seeing how their actions can be applied to the driving question, they are more likely to be

actively involved in the project. Although the end project is not about the student’s digital

footprint, students can use their digital footprint as a base for how to improve one’s online

presence to create a positive impact on one’s community.

A potential impact of this project for me and my fellow teachers is for us to become better

digital citizens as well. Other potential impacts are being better equipped to handle online

bullying issues and being more aware of student online action effects on my classroom and

classroom environment. I expect this project to alter the way I look at social media and its power

for good. I often hear so much negativity coming from social media that it makes me wonder

why anyone has it at all. I too am interested in knowing how my online citizenship can better my

community and how I can mentor my students to be positive leaders in the classroom, school,

and community.

During the project, my students will interact with Dysart School District board members

to better understand how online actions better and hinder the district and what our schools need

to be a more positive environment for students. Potentially, student projects could not only

impact our school but the whole district and therefore the Surprise and El Mirage communities.

If students come up with answers to our driving question that are readily available to implement

into course content and curriculum, these tips on how to become a positive online presence in

one’s community could be in classrooms around the district. Once students are informed about
the potential they have to become a positive and impactful presence they can make online

choices that build the community up