Course Overview

Welcome message:

Hello students! My name is Mr. Wohl and I am your teacher for Digital Citizenship & Safety, an online learning experience that will educate and prepare you for being a positive digital citizen in the 21st century.

I have been teaching for the past five years, covering content areas that focus on digital citizenship, digital safety, multimedia, robotics, engineering, coding, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Although I have taught a wide range of learners —specifically students in grades 2-12 — my main focus is on teaching middle school students in grades 6-8. Out of all the subjects I have taught, digital citizenship & safety is my favorite. I consider myself to be somewhat of a "techie," and believe that in order for our society to flourish, we all need to interact with technology in a responsible, respectful and meaningful manner.

In addition to being a teacher, I am a passionate singer songwriter and organ donation advocate. In fact, four years ago I had the fortunate opportunity to donate 65% of my liver to my younger brother. We produced a documentary, showcasing our experience, in hopes to educate the public about the importance of organ donation. You can watch the film — for free — here!

That's all for now, but I am so excited to have this opportunity and look forward to getting to know you!

Course objectives:

Upon completing this course module, you will be able to:

understand digital media and the role it plays in your life
identify your digital footprint and recognize that information from it can be searched; copied and passed on; seen by a large, invisible audience, and can be persistent
recognize that your online information can be helpful or harmful to your reputation and image.
analyze your own digital footprint and what you desire it to be comprised of in the future.
learn to respect the privacy of others online when tagging, posting, or copying others’ personal information.
celebrate a “culture of sharing” through digital media while considering some possible harmful effects of over-sharing and Internet privacy.

Course Layout:

This course has been designed to use a combination of Google Sites (the website you are currently on) and Google Classroom.

Our Google Site hosts all learning materials, while Google Classroom will be used as a communication and assignment submission tool. Students will use it to participate in class discussions and submit assignments. Of note, lessons will outline when it is necessary to access our Google Classroom page.

Teacher expectations:

As a student, I expect you to be fully aware of your online presence. You are expected to withhold the reputation of a respectful, diligent and empathetic individual. The work you submit will often be publicly visible by classmates, therefore please ask yourself the following questions before you do so:

Did I proofread and complete my work to the best of my ability?
Am I comfortable with others seeing my work?
Will my words or work offend anyone?
Is my work respectful of others and myself?
Did I properly credit the work of others if I in-fact included it in my work?

Please note, I have a zero-tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. Failure to properly cite the work of others will result in an automatic withdrawal from this course.

Communication Policy:

This course has been developed to utilize asynchronous and synchronous communication. While most of the course work will be completed via asynchronous activities, I will host at least one virtual meeting throughout the course using Google Meet.

To clarify the difference between asynchronous and synchronous communication, please read below:

Asynchronous communication does not require the teacher and students to communicate in real-time, but rather allows them to share ideas and exchange information when they are available to do so — i.e., discussion threads, email, etc.
Synchronous communication requires the teacher and students to participate in two-way conversations/discussions, sharing ideas and exchanging information in real-time — i.e., a virtual meeting via Google Meet or Skype.

Student-to-Teacher Communication:

In the event that you need to contact me regarding a personal matter or if you have questions/concerns regarding coursework, please feel free to email me at wohljare@msu.edu. While I will make every attempt to respond in a timely manner, please allow 24-48 hours to receive a response. If your question/concern is general, you may also post a discussion thread on our Google Classroom page. Of note, your classmates will have the opportunity to view what you post, therefore please be advised before doing so.

Student-to-Student Communication:

You will have many opportunities to communicate with fellow classmates throughout the course. Types of communication will include class discussions on Google Classroom, a virtual meeting via Google Meet, and commenting within Google Apps for peer-review purposes. It is imperative that you are respectful when sharing opinions, beliefs and ideas with your classmates. Please remember, what you post will be visible to me and your classmates, therefore choose your words wisely and always think before you post. Your contributions are a direct reflection of you and the reputation you choose to uphold. Although you may not always agree with the opinion, belief or idea of your classmates, you must always be respectful when engaging in dialogue.

General Guidelines:

Since electronic communication lacks a sense of emotion and tone, please make sure you are extremely careful before sharing your opinions, beliefs and ideas with myself and your classmates. You must follow these guidelines:

Always avoid using negative words. Instead, use constructive criticism to convey your thoughts, ideas or opinions.
Make sure that what you are contributing is relevant to what we are learning about in class.
Always proofread your work before publishing online. Avoid slang and profanity. Always use proper grammar, punctuation, spelling and writing mechanics.
Be patient with yourself and your classmates. We all learn at different paces, but it is crucial that we help one another along the way. What you find easy, a classmate may find difficult.
Be empathetic. Put yourself in others' shoes before you comment or contribute an idea, thought or belief.

Grading Policy:

Upon beginning this course, I will share a Google Sheet with you that will include your name, a list of assignments and the total possible points you can earn for each. Grades will be posted on your Google Sheet Grading Chart within a maximum of one week after submitting.

Of note, the total amount of points you can earn throughout the course is 100 and the breakdown is as follows:

A = 95-100
A- = 90-94
B+ = 87-89
B = 84-86
B- = 80-83
C+ = 77-79
C = 74-76
C- = 70-73
D+ = 67-69
D = 60-66
F = 0-59

Technology Requirements:

To participate in this course, you must have access to a desktop, laptop, or tablet device, an internal or external webcam and high-speed internet. Of note, a Google for Education account will be created for you and login information will be shared prior to the start of the course. This account will grant you access to Google Drive, Google Classroom and Google Apps.

course outline:

Unit One: Digital Footprints
- Lesson One: Scratching the Surface of Digital Media
- Lesson Two: Digital Footprints
- Lesson Three: What's in My Digital Footprint?