Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Cyber Awareness

Well, here is my attempt at a literacy guide for students (probably 8-12th graders). This is my first attempt at anything like this, and I reflected on aspects of our readings and my personal experiences. Let me know how you would have changed this or approached this subject and utilized it in your classrooms. I appreciate feedback and grow with your input as I feel less qualified in this field than any of you.



Information Literacy has become an increasingly important aspect for learners of all ages due to broadening technological growths and the proliferation of information sources. These expanding resources allow for the development of new learning environments, yet they also expose learners to dangers that they may not be aware of. The sharing of personal information or sensitive individual information can have a lasting effect that is not always discussed at length by parents and educators due to humanities trusting approach to so many things encountered in life.
     This simple guide is not an all-encompassing cyber security guide; rather it is an awareness guide to promote critical thinking when searching internet sites or participating in the growing realm of social media.

Statistics
·         43% of teens have been victims of cyberbullying. 1
·         52% of teens who have been victims of cyberbullying do not tell their parents about it. 2
·         96% of teens use social networking applications such as Facebook, MySpace, chat rooms, and blogs. 3
·         One in five U.S. teenagers who regularly log on to the Internet say they have received an unwanted sexual solicitation via the Web. 4

Introduction
·         Discuss as a class what would constitute as personal or sensitive information.
·         Students should make a mental list of any personal information about themselves and their families that they frequently provide freely on social media sites.
·         Ask students if they know of anyone who has been cyberbullied from any social media outlet.

Literacy
·         Have students reflect on their usage of social media sites, and discuss some of the more popular and currently trending sites that request personal information before signing up.
·         Have students list the number of times they have found an external media storage device and plugged it into their own personal media storage device.
·         Discuss with students the importance of research into site content validity before downloading media or providing personal or sensitive information.

Evaluation
·         Students will research pros and cons of social media as well as the dangers associated with digital technology and provide documented sources detailing findings through a typed written document to be used anonymously by others in the class in a pros and cons debate.
·         Have students serve on a pros and cons panel of the importance of social media in their lives. Discuss the vitality of providing all of the personal information requested by sites, and the dangers of downloading media without regard for allowing access to personal devices by outside sources.

 


References

1. National Crime Prevention Council, http://www.ncpc.org/resources/files/pdf/bullying
2. http://www.guardchild.com/statistics/
3. http://www.statisticbrain.com/cyber-bullying-statistics/
4. Crimes Against Children Research Center

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