Varsity College Digital Citizenship Course
INTRODUCTION
Digital Citizenship is a concept which helps teachers, technology leaders and parents understand what students/children/technology users should know to use technology appropriately.
This short learning programme (SLP) is designed to introduce teachers to critical skills of digital citizenship and to assist them in drafting lesson plans to impart these skills to their students.
The programme is based on a hybrid model utilising a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for teaching students about the elements of digital citizenship and the issues surrounding these, as well as the critical skills/fluencies needed for the 21st century. It is advised that this MOOC be completed after the SLP in Digital Literacies, however this is not compulsory.
This programme will provide 15 points towards the SACE CPD POE.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
- Any individual wanting to complete a quality professional development learning programme to enhance their digital citizenship skills.
- Please note that in addition to providing basic principles of digital citizenship skills, this programme is designed to teach facilitators how to teach digital citizenship skills.
DURATION AND MODE OF OFFERING
Lectures are conducted once a week in the evening or on a Saturday morning over 8 weeks.
Upon special request from schools the programme may be offered at the school itself in a number of alternative presentation formats.
PROGRAMMES MATERIAL
The SLP fee includes all programme material, which becomes the property of the student. This material constitutes a valuable source of ongoing reference.
PROGRAMME EVALUATION
After each learning unit, groups will be required to submit a lesson plan. The overall project is to document the process, and create a Portfolio of Evidence that illustrates the issues, processes, and key aspects of teaching digital citizenship in the 21st century.
Participants will be required to individually reflect on their experience on a weekly basis, as well as reflect on the artefacts produced by the group.
THE INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION (THE IIE) – ACCREDITED BY THE BRITISH ACCREDITATION COUNCIL
The IIE has been internationally recognised and accredited by the British Accreditation Council (BAC). The BAC has been responsible for setting standards within the independent further and higher education sector for 25 years. Their accreditation is held by hundreds of college in the UK and overseas. They provide the leading mark of educational quality for the sector, which is used by students, parents, agencies and beyond as a guarantee of standards. For more information please visit http://www.the-bac.org
ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS
Students should meet the following requirements:
- Have experience working on the internet
- Must be computer literate
- Must have prior experience using Microsoft Word
PROGRAMME CONTENT
- The five areas of critical skills needed for the 21st century, as identified by Crockett, Jukes, & Churches (2011).
- Apply each of the five critical skills to a specific teaching and learning context.
- Identify and explain the nine elements of digital citizenship, as identified by Ribble (2011).
- Demonstrate an understanding of the issues around being a digital citizen, and what digital citizenship is about.
