Social media and other aspects of the internet create both new opportunities and new challenges for civic engagement. What skills and habits of mind do young people need in order to participate responsibly in the digital age?
The Good Participation Project (Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education) and Facing History and Ourselves teams developed a set of classroom materials that build on Facing History’s existing resources with new content, questions, and activities related to social media use and digital civic action. Our aim for these materials is to support students to develop reflective skills and dispositions to participate responsibly and effectively in public life today.
Across the lessons we developed, we seek to support three key activities: reflecting on ways the internet is used for social and civic purposes; practicing use of digital tools for reflective activities and discussion of social justice issues; and taking action on a civic issue by leveraging digital and social media in conjunction with offline actions.
Blog Posts
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Facing History and Ourselves in a Digital Age – Picture of Practice
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Close looking at student online discussions
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Close looking at student digital identity charts
Resources for Educators
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Selected Lessons:
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Teacher Profile: How lessons were adapted for their context, students, and standards
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Teacher Video: Reflecting on pilot work and materials
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Student Voices/Student Work:
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Online discussion board exchanges
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Digital identity charts
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Contact Information
The Good Participation Project
www.pz.harvard.edu, www.thegoodproject.org
Facing History and Ourselves