Today in my 6th-grade class I taught my favorite lesson for that course. It becomes a microcosm of all we see online and in society and the kids end with a surprise twist they aren’t expecting. It’s a modified version of a great set of resources from Common Sense media called Trillion Dollar Footprint.
The lesson starts by introducing concepts of digital presence and a digital footprint. They think about what their online information says about them and what they would want it to say about them.
Then they take two candidates who they are evaluating to be the host of a web show. Each one shows five online items found by our “HR Department” and they are supposed to evaluate them based on honesty and ability to work with others. Their online information provides some glaring holes and major question marks about both characters.
After they carefully comb through we evaluate the evidence they have found for and against each candidate. Then I ask them to describe the candidates in one word. “Liar, cheater, lonely, fake, drug user, scam artist, stupid” the list of negativity goes on and on. Here’s where it gets good and takes a sharp turn.
In the previous class, we focus on identifying how easily information on the internet can be incorrect (Tanks Julie Smith !). In this class, the students then use information from the internet and I gently but purposely whip them into a frenzy of negativity about two (admittedly fake) people whom they have never met. We allow this to happen so easily on the internet and spill into our real lives. Here we are, just as so many people do in the real world, taking a microcosm of evidence and creating an incredible negative persona from a few posts on the internet.
I leave them with this thought. How easy was it for me to turn them against these two strangers? If I found the five worst things I could about you on the internet, I am sure we could all sit here and rip you (or me) apart. Does that define who we are? Should it?
This lesson isn’t just about being aware of what we put out online, but more importantly being aware of our own judgements, our own snap decisions, our own biases, in order to refrain from taking what could be a mistake, an isolated incident, or a complete misunderstanding without context, and creating a mob. Yes be smart about what you put out, but also be smart about what you take away.
The Teacher's Journey 