Digital Citizenship Module 3-How Can Students Incorporate Technology to Contribute to the Digital World?

Discovery Exercises:

1. Go to the wiki Resource page, and choose one website under the heading “Civic Engagement.” All of these sites are applicable to students or librarians (who can enlist the help of students). As you explore your website, ask yourself these questions:

• What is the issue being addressed? I explored the Youth Outlook or YO! website. It is a Bay Area literary magazine for youth. The magazine covered all types of issues from gangs, GLBT dances, poetry, and AIDS walks in a variety of media forms. Articles were written by youth and video clips were filmed and reported by youth in the Bay Area. While many issues were covered in YO! I believe the main point of this website was to give youth a voice.

• What is the goal of the web’s entity?YO!'s goal is the give youth ages 14-25 a place to express their outlook on the world. A place where their voices and visions can be heard.




• How does the issue relate to citizenship in its broadest concept? In the pieces I read or viewed, students were communicating their views on events like the gang rape of a young girl in Richmond, bus shootings and other violent acts as well as reporting on individuals, groups and agencies that were promoting non-violence and acceptance. My grandparents lived in Richmond and my parents grew up and worked in Richmond. I am a product of the Richmond Unified School District. This area has really changed since that time. It has become more violent. I was impressed that YO! offers youth in the area an opportunity to express their opinions and report on issues in their corner of the world. What was impressive was the focus on activism and working to make a change through their voices.




• How is technology leveraged to address the issue, to solve the problem? YO! uses the webpage, video, vlogs, and blogs as well as a print magazine to communicate their message to their followers. Youth participants interview people for their reports, they give their opinions via vlogs, they film community events and they write. YO! also features poetry and comics. The use of technology allows the students to get their message out to so many more people. When I was a student in high school journalism b.c. (before computers), we had to type our articles on typewriters, then literally cut the article and paste it with rubber cement to the layout page. Our circulation base was just our school site. Youth now can get their message and voice out all over the world with a webpage. I don't know that YO! is actually solving problems but they are bringing an awareness to other youth in the Bay Area. Youth participating in YO! are gaining skills to become our future journalists.




• What role can students play in this civic action? How can they make a positive contribution? When students feel that they have a voice and that their contributions are meaningful, they will continue to take a stand on issues that bother them. They will make others notice their concerns or recognize the contributions of others, and this may bring about change. The youth involved with YO! are making positive contributributions by developing their voice, by improving their communication and reporting skills, by being active in their communities.

What knowledge and skills would students need to contribute to this effort?

How might the library or school get involved in this effort?

Students would need to understand how to use computers, editing equipment, and video cameras. They would need to know how to use Web 2.0 tools for blogging such as Word Press, Blogger, Edublogs or other blogging host sites. They would need to know how to upload video to Vimeo or YouTube. They may need coaching on how to conduct interviews and form strong interview questions, how to search for background information on their topics, where to find information on current events happening in their community such as a community calendar or a city council meeting agenda. They may need help understanding meeting protocol for community meetings such as Robert's Rules of Order. The school and the library could get involved by providing opportunities for students to learn how to use this technology as well as providing opportunities for students to get involved with citizenship activities. Running a television station, a literary e-magazine, a radio station are all ways the school could help students have opportunities to voice their opinions on community issues.

2. If that website and cause look promising (or you find another one in this list or from another source), think about ways that students can learn about this website and its issue. Brainstorm ways that students might get engaged: through the curriculum, via interest or service clubs, as a school-wide initiative, in partnership with a youth-serving organization.

I think it would be important for students who are beginning a school news show or radio broadcast or literary magazine to explore what other students are doing. They would get ideas as to what they would want to include in their media presentations. It may be possible for them to use other forms of technology to communicate with other students from other communities to learn about the challenges that the group has faced in bringing their message to their community as well as learn about the other group's accomplishments. The students could share what other groups in their community have offered support. Students would learn to network with other individuals and groups.

3. Think about possible entities that might partner with the library in digital citizenship projects. By considering digital engagement, libraries too extend their vision and power, especially as they partner with like-minded organizations.It is important when looking at the different websites in the Civic Engagement section of the wiki to look for the About information. Often the organization will list agencies that support their work. Looking these over would give a teacher librarian or other school advisor of a digital citizenship project ideas of who in the community may be contacted for support with such a project. It is always good to check at the district office level or county office of education level to see if there is any funding or grant money availble to support with purchasing equipment. For instance, YO! or Youth Outlook is sponsored by the Pacific News Service and has 33 Foundations as well as individuals who donate funds to support their work. A librarian or advisor would need to network in the community to find support.

On our middle school campus we have an amazing weekly television program run by our yearbook students and their amazing teacher, Amy Cima. They started out covering school announcements but have expanded into including news, student art, student talent, reporting on school events, and many other interesting bits of information. It would be great to see our students start a literary e-magazine. We have some teachers that are published poets. My goal as their librarian would be to encourage them with Web 2.0 technology to put student writing out there. I plan to check with our history teachers to see if they participate in any civic engagment projects.