Netiqutte+Lesson

=Part Two--- Learning By Doing on Blogger (http://eps427.blogspot.com)=


 * Purpose**: The purpose of this unit is to practice respectful behavior online (netiquette) and to facilitate discussion in a virtual environment that students are familiar with.


 * General Description**: After the 7th grade students have been introduced to the topic of cyber bullying during the school assembly, the language arts teachers will then focus on practicing “netiquette” with the students during a two week unit using the Blogger website (http://eps427.blogspot.com). More and more students are becoming part of social networking sites and online blogs. The students will carry out their projects online, where cyber bullying actually takes place. They will model the proper behavior on the Internet that they have learned about in part one of our Internet Safety Project. In their language arts courses, students will each be reading a book of their own choosing with the assistance of the librarian. Although there are not many novels on cyber bullying, the librarian will assist the students in finding books with themes such as bullying, harassment, hate crimes, prejudice, etc. Based on the various genres that the students have chosen to read, the teacher will the break up the students into various groups, so discussions can be made on the Blogger website. Members of the groups will be required to read and make comments on each other's posts. The students will learn proper “netiquette” by becoming “learner as doer.” (Prior to this unit, students will be receiving a permission slip in order to participate in the online activity.)


 * Target**: This lesson also addresses the targets of cyber bullying such as LGBT students. The lesson addresses hate, prejudice, and stereotyping because the students will be reading about such topics in their novels. As the students read their novels each night, they will also create blogs in relation to these topics and comment about other blogs. The students will be also discussing these topics in their groups during class. The teacher will also pose questions in order to have the students think of ways to stop such acts as hate crimes.


 * Benefits of Using the Blogging Site for this Project**: Instead of journaling in a notebook about the readings, the students will actually be on the Internet where cyber bullying and hateful posts occur. This blog site will generate more discussion from the students who tend to be shyer or dislike giving their input during class. The blogging website is similar to a social networking site where a member can add friends and join specific groups. The site also allows the students to create profiles as well as chat with other students in the class by commenting on their postings. The teacher is also able to break the students up into different groups and pose discussion questions for the students to answer. The students are actually interacting via Internet similar to other websites that they are used to and will have to practice their “netiquette.”


 * Examples of Books with Cyber Bullying**:

• The Truth About Truman School by Dori Hillestad Butler • The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks by E. Lockhart • Naked Mole Rat Letters by Mary Amato • Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Piccoult • Feed by M. T. Anderson

Students will be able to:
 * Goals of the Unit**:

1. Read a novel that discusses issues of bullying, harassment, hate crimes, prejudice, etc. 2. Create their own blogs that include their feelings. 3. Discuss their novels in an online forum using the Blogger website. 4. Respond to their peers posts in a respectable manner. 5. Explain why it’s important to stop cyber bullying.


 * Schedule and Process**:


 * Day 1**: The class will be held in the library. The students will meet with the librarian to help them pick a novel during the cyber bullying unit. The librarian will provide book suggestions through short booktalks and handouts with a basic plot of each novel. The students will begin reading their books for homework.


 * Day 2**: The class will be held in the computer lab, where students will be introduced to the Blogger website with the assistance of the lab tech. The teacher will demonstrate how to set up the Blogger account. In addition, the teacher will show examples of exemplary blogs and comments. The students will continue reading their novels for homework. In addition, the students will be responsible for creating their accounts and profiles.


 * Day 3-10**: The students will continue reading their novels and will make their blog posting as they read each night based on questions provided the teacher. Also, the students will begin responding to other posts made by their peers. By Day 10, the students will have created multiple posts and should have replied to at least 6 other classmates’ posts.

• Blog 1-Introduce your novel. Give the title, author, and a basic plot description. • Blog 2- Describe a topic or theme that relates to Internet Safety. • Blog 3- Describe any new information or topics that you have learned from the novel and explain why it interests you. • Blog 4- Which of the following themes is present in your novel: bullying, harassment, hate crimes, prejudice, etc.? Explain its occurrence within the novel and why you feel it’s important. • Blog 5- Which aspect of bullying, harassment, hate crimes, prejudice, etc. in your novel have you seen in your own life? • Blog 6- Give reasons for why you like/dislike your novel. Would you recommend the novel to other students your age? • Blog 7- Your choice—you may comment on any aspect of the novel. • Blog 8- Make a prediction about how your novel will end. • Blog 9- What have you liked about this unit? What have you disliked about this unit? What would you change and why? • Blog 10- Give a final summary of your book and its importance to teens today.
 * Blog Postings Topics Provided By the Teacher**:


 * Class Time**: After each night of posting to Blogger, the following class day will begin with the teacher’s comments on the students’ postings. The teacher will praise the students for positive and exemplary postings and comments to other peers. Inappropriate comments on the Blogger website will be dealt with in a full class discussion about why the comments were appropriate. The teacher will also explain how to give constructive, substantive feedback. Also, the teacher will facilitate a discussion among the students on their feelings and thoughts about the blogging experience each day. (Examples: What was difficult about giving comments to your peers? Did you ever feel like you had to refrain from stating what you really felt?)

Instructions on Netiquette: (Some of these instructions seem a bit elementary at first glance. However, the students need to be reminded of such etiquette because they are so used to chatting online on a day to day basis. Cyber bullying has become such a problem that teachers must go back and teach such basic concepts as respecting all views.)

1. If you disagree with another student’s blog/comments, kindly explain why using concrete reasons. 2. If you simply do not like a post and are not able to explain why using concrete reasons, hold in your feelings. (If you have nothing nice to say, then don’t say anything at all!) 3. Respect your classmates’ views and opinions. 4. Inappropriate comments will not be tolerated. 5. Never attack another student. 6. Please remember, other students may have a different view that you do and that’s okay!
 * Netiquette**:


 * Student Instructions on Posts**:

• Title: Your first name and last initial of your last name. • Summarize the main events of the novel. • Provide your own opinion on the events that are occurring in the novel. • Reflect on what has happened in the novel and how it relates to the themes we have discussed during this unit. • Use one image that coincides with a theme from the book. • Post must be at least 250 words. • You must comment to AT LEAST THREE other students’ blog posts each week. This unit will take 2 weeks, so means you will have six responses to other students’ posts total.


 * Assessment/Rubric**: The students will be informed on how they will be graded on the first day of the unit. Also, the students will be assessed based on their discussions in class.




 * Additional Comments**: This unit assumes that students will have access to the Internet from home. If this unit was being taught to a group of students who did not all have Internet access at home then the lesson would have to be adapted to include more time during school in the computer lab.


 * A sample Model of the Blogger Website has been Created**: http://eps427.blogspot.com


 * IL Learning Standards addressed in this Unit**:

IL- Illinois Learning Standards • Learning Area: Social/Emotional Learning (SEL) • Goal : Goal 2: Use social-awareness and interpersonal skills to establish and maintain positive relationships. • Standard / Ability : A: Recognize the feelings and perspectives of others. • Stage : Middle/Jr. High

Performance Descriptor : 2A.3b. Analyze how one’s behavior may affect others. • Learning Area: English Language Arts • Goal : Applications of Learning Through Applications of Learning, students demonstrate and deepen their understanding of basic knowledge and skills. These applied learning skills cross academic disciplines and reinforce the important learning of the disciplines. The ability to use these skills will greatly influence students’ success in school, in the workplace and in the community.

Standard / Ability : Solving Problems -- Recognize and investigate problems; formulate and propose solutions supported by reason and evidence.

Solving problems demands that students be able to read and listen, comprehend ideas, ask and answer questions, clearly convey their own ideas through written and oral means, and explain their reasoning. Comprehending reading materials and editing and revising writing are in themselves forms of complex problem solving. The ability to locate, acquire and organize information from various sources, print and electronic, is essential to solving problems involving research. In all fields—English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and others, the command of language is essential in stating and reasoning through problems and conveying results.

Standard / Ability : Communicating -- Express and interpret information and ideas.

Communication is the essence of English language arts, and communication surrounds us today in many forms. Individuals and groups of people exchange ideas and information—oral and written—at lunch tables, through newspapers and magazines, and through radio, television and on-line computer services. From the simplest, shortest conversations to the most complex technical manuals, language is the basis of all human communication. A strong command of reading, writing, speaking and listening is vital for communicating in the home, school, workplace and beyond

Standard / Ability : Using Technology -- Use appropriate instruments, electronic equipment, computers and networks to access information, process ideas and communicate results.

Computers and telecommunications have become basic means for creating messages and relaying information. In offices and homes, people write using word processors. Audio and visual media are used for both creative and practical forms of communication. The use of on-line services is now commonplace among researchers, authors, farmers and auto mechanics. Skilled use of these technologies provides students with necessary opportunities to search and process information, be in touch with experts, prepare documents, and learn and communicate in new, more effective ways.

Standard / Ability : Working on Teams -- Learn and contribute productively as individuals and as members of groups.

In sports, the workplace, family and elsewhere, teamwork requires skill in the use of language. People must speak clearly and listen well as they share ideas, plans, instructions and evaluations. In researching and bringing outside information to a team, individuals must be able to search, select and understand a variety of sources. Documenting progress and reporting results demand the ability to organize information and convey it clearly. Those who can read, write, speak and listen well are valuable contributors in any setting where people are working together to achieve shared goals.

Standard / Ability : Making Connections -- Recognize and apply connections of important information and ideas within and among learning areas.

The parts of English language arts are closely interconnected. Reading and writing provide the means to receive and send written messages. Likewise, listening and speaking enable people to receive and send oral information. Speaking and writing are the creative components, while listening and reading are the receptive components of language through which people access knowledge and demonstrate its applications. Proficiency in these skills clearly supports learning in all academic areas. • Goal 1: Reading Read with understanding and fluency.

Reading is essential. It is the process by which people gain information and ideas from books, newspapers, manuals, letters, contracts, advertisements and a host of other materials. Using strategies for constructing meaning before, during and after reading will help students connect what they read now with what they have learned in the past. Students who read well and widely build a strong foundation for learning in all areas of life. • Standard / Ability C: Comprehend a broad range of reading materials. • Grade Level: Middle/Junior High School

Learning Benchmark 1.C.3c : Compare, contrast and evaluate ideas and information from various sources and genres.

Learning Benchmark 1.C.3d : Summarize and make generalizations from content and relate them to the purpose of the material. • Goal 2: Literature Read and understand literature representative of various societies, eras and ideas.

Literature transmits ideas, reflects societies and eras and expresses the human imagination. It brings understanding, enrichment and joy. Appreciating literature and recognizing its many forms enable students to learn and respond to ideas, issues, perspectives and actions of others. Literature study includes understanding the structure and intent of a short poem or a long, complex book. By exploring the techniques that authors use to convey messages and evoke responses, students connect literature to their own lives and daily experiences. • Standard / Ability B.: Read and interpret a variety of literary works. • Grade Level: Middle/Junior High School

Learning Benchmark 2.B.3a : Respond to literary material from personal, creative and critical points of view. • Goal 3: Writing Write to communicate for a variety of purposes.

The ability to write clearly is essential to any person’s effective communications. Students with high-level writing skills can produce documents that show planning and organization and can effectively convey the intended message and meaning. Clear writing is critical to employment and production in today’s world. Individuals must be capable of writing for a variety of audiences in differing styles, including standard rhetoric themes, business letters and reports, financial proposals, and technical and professional communications. Students should be able to use word processors and computers to enhance their writing proficiency and improve their career opportunities. • Standard / Ability B.: Compose well-organized and coherent writing for specific purposes and audiences. • Grade Level: Middle/Junior High School

Learning Benchmark 3.B.3a : Produce documents that convey a clear understanding and interpretation of ideas and information and display focus, organization, elaboration and coherence.


 * Resources**:

http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/shore/shore043.shtml

http://www.teenagerstoday.com/resources/articles/nastygirls.htm

http://www.girlshealth.gov/bullying/whatis/cyberbully.cfm

http://www.girlshealth.gov/relationships/friendships/index.cfm

http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/cyberbullying.html

http://www.uni.illinois.edu/library/computerlit/netiquette.php