Digital Citizenship Unit: Netiquette

Courtney Taylor
FRIT 7739: Practicum in Instructional Technology
Georgia Southern University
Dr. Elizabeth Downs
Fall 2022
Target Audience

The target audience is a class of fifth grade students at Blue Ridge School. There are 21

students in the class consisting of 11 boys and 10 girls. All students are between 10 and 11. Of

the 21 students, 1 is African American, and the rest are Hispanic. The class has 9 EL students

who have support during math and literacy.

Problem Identification

After collaborating with the homeroom teacher, we came to the conclusion that students

struggled with how to conduct themselves on online platforms, especially social media. The

teacher has had some issues already with her students and social media, and we felt it best to

address “netiquette”. Many of her students are using social media platforms and connecting with

one another outside of her classroom, which directly affects what takes place within her

classroom.

Instructional Goal

Our goal for this unit was that students will understand the term “netiquette” and be able

to create an ad campaign about it for the school. The objectives are as follows.

a. Students will be able to define the term “netiquette” and what it means to be a good

digital citizen.

b. Students will use a web tool to create a digital ad campaign about netiquette.

Learner Analysis
This class consists of 11 males and 10 females, for a total of 21 students. They are all in

fifth grade, and there are 9 English Language Learners. Those students receive support

throughout the day. There are 20 Hispanic students and 1 African American. Due to a language

barrier and being new to the country, many students are below grade level. However, they are

motivated to learn and are eager to be at school. Most said they are actively on at least one social
media platform, but several are on multiple platforms. Several students are new and have not

received any prior teaching on digital citizenship, however 15 of the students attended Blue

Ridge last year and received several lessons on digital citizenship from myself in the media

center.

Task Analysis

The goal of this unit is for students to understand what “netiquette” is and create an ad

campaign about it to share with the school community. The unit is broken down into three

modules as follows.

Module 1: Netiquette Introduction

- Students will receive a brief overview of the term “netiquette” and what it means.

Module 2: Curated Resources & Response

- Students will browse through the curated resources on digital citizenship, and reflect on

all that they have learned by responding to a Flip video.

- Students can practice netiquette by commenting in response to their peers' videos.

Module 3: Netiquette Ad Campaign

- Students will use Canva to create a digital ad campaign to teach others in our school

about digital citizenship.

- Students can create a flier, infographic, video, or any other digital media to show

their learning.

Data Analysis

Pre-Assessment

Prior to the collaboration unit design, the media specialist and homeroom teacher interviewed

students on the knowledge of digital citizenship. Due to the concerns from students on social
media, it was evident that students needed more instruction on digital citizenship. Most of the

students had prior knowledge of what it means to be a good digital citizen, however, they are not

showing their learning in effective ways.

Formative Assessment

Throughout the unit, the teacher and media specialist observed student behavior and response to

the lessons. The students’ Flip submissions were reviewed and feedback was given.

Summative Assessment

At the end of the unit, students were tasked with creating a digital ad campaign to share with the

school community. Students used Canva to create their own ad and were able to use their

creative abilities to show their learning on digital citizenship.

Reflection

This digital citizenship unit was very eye opening and relevant to the students in this class. From

the start, it was apparent that the students needed some extra support in how to conduct

themselves online. Although students do not utilize platforms such as Tik Tok or Instagram

within the school, their behavior on these platforms outside of school has been directly affecting

what is happening within the classroom.

The students started off a bit shy and noncommittal to the unit. You could tell they were unsure

of where the lesson was headed. Once we gave clear objectives, and the students began browsing

the curated resources, you could tell their barriers began coming down, and they were engaging

more. The Flip videos showed us that students were learning proper netiquette, and their

response to one another’s videos were encouraging.

The final assessment showed so much growth from the pre assessment. Students really took

ownership of their learning and the knowledge they had gained from this unit. The teacher and I
were blown away by the digital creations they designed. We shared them out with our school

community via our morning announcements.

For the future, I would recommend that the homeroom teacher do ongoing check ins with her

students regarding digital citizenship, and refer back to the curated resources for help whenever

she notices they might need the extra support. I will also be reviewing more digital citizenship

resources and lessons within the media center to help foster a positive environment across the

school.