Lesson: The Ups and Downs of Digital Life (6-8)

Introduce

Before playing the video, ask your students to raise their hands if they engage in the following activities:

• They are part of a social networking site
• They use a social networking site at least three times a week
• They use the Internet to communicate with their friends
• They use the Internet to play games with others
• They use the Internet to post creative work
• They have had something good happen to them by using the Internet
• They have run into some kind of problem, or ended up feeling upset, because of something that happened on the Internet

After students have indicated whether or not they have experienced the situations you raised, (and in nearly all classrooms, a large percentage of students will probably have experienced most of the situations), ask them to reflect on their Internet use and digital life in general.

ASK: For volunteers to respond to these questions.

• If the Internet, cell phones, or other forms of digital media did not exist, would your life be better or worse?
• How would you feel if you could not use digital media for a week? Would your life be different in any way?

Teach 1: Watch the video

Play the Digital Life Video Vignettes – The Upsides and Downsides. You may wish to play the video all the way through one time and then play it a second time, pausing after each section to ask the discussion questions.

Teach 2: Use Discussion Guide

Refer to The Ups and Downs of Digital Life Student Discussion Guide – Teacher Version to help students reflect on their place in the connected culture. Throughout the discussion, GUIDE students to think about their own digital lives, as well as the activities of their friends, families, and society at large. Have them reflect on the many positive, and sometimes negative, possibilities brought about by their participation in digital life.

Wrap Up & Assess

End the discussion by asking students to THINK ABOUT themselves as digital citizens. What do they have to do to be good digital citizens? Does this represent a change in behavior for them? If so, in what ways? You can use the discussion responses to assess students’ understanding of the video. Write this question on the board and ask students to write a few sentences in response:

• With Power Comes Responsibility: What does that mean in regards to your digital life?
• Review their answers to check their understanding. Have they successfully reflected some ups and downs of participating in the “connected culture”?

Students create a podcast or song set in 2020 about the way that digital media has changed the world. Future Problem Solving Program International, Inc. provides futuristic scenarios for students for which students solve problems. Here is one of their scenarios that students can use as material for their podcast or song.

Sensory Overload

Musak, iPods, cell phones, visual imagery, TV, advertising, the Internet, fusion food, exotic restaurants, sports, entertainment, animated billboards, and flashing signs are just a few examples of the kinds of sensory input people receive on a daily basis. Even the average supermarket has more than 30,000 products. Scientists have discovered that this overwhelming assault on our senses impacts our brainwaves. Our senses are continually inundated in ways that would not have been thought possible in our grandparents’ and great grandparents’ era. We embrace multitasking in all areas of our lives, even as investigators raise questions about its effectiveness and advisability. What is the possible future impact of this sensory overload, and how will we accommodate our need to process increasing amounts of information? (From: Future Problem Solving Program International, Inc., with minor modifications )