Cyber Civics: Teach Level 3

Digital citizens must know how to critically evaluate and creatively produce media—not just the printed word, but visual/audio media too! This program includes lessons, slides, video, send-home parent letters and full support to teach "Media Literacy For Positive Participation" to middle school students. Questions? support@cybercivics.com

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About This Course

This is Level 3 of the Cyber Civics program (find Level 1 here and Level 2 here), a comprehensive, turnkey, middle school digital literacy curriculum that addresses an urgent and growing need to prepare students with skills to become ethical, safe, and productive “digital citizens.” 

Visit our website www.cybercivics.com 

What is "Media Literacy"?

“Media Literacy education – which teaches students to apply critical thinking to media messages and to use media to create their own messages – is a key 21st century skill. Media Literacy is critical to the health and well-being of America’s children, as well as to their future participation in the civic and economic life of our democracy.”                               

-Media Literacy Now

There has never been a more important time to teach students how to critically evaluate and creatively produce media messages. With misinformation so easily made and shared online, knowing how to recognize it and understanding what to do about it is so important that many states across the U.S. mandate that "media literacy" be taught in school.

This powerful third level of Cyber Civics builds upon the strong foundation of the first two levels of this program. Like Levels 1 and 2, these lessons emphasize ethical and critical thinking through hands-on projects, problem-solving activities, role-play, and more. Lessons can be delivered in the classroom, used for homeschool or distance learning.

Contact us at support@cybercivics.com or call (949) 481-4319

Plus!

Testimonials

"We know that digital-citizenship education works. The Journey School in Aliso Viejo, a small Southern California city, is an example of a digital-citizenship success story. Since instituting a three-year middle school series on digital citizenship, information literacy on evaluation of online sources, and media-literacy courses to teach critical-thinking skills around media texts of all kinds—music videos, film, print advertising—the school has nearly eliminated bullying and behavioral issues and significantly boosted standardized-test scores."

-Education Week, July 2016

"If Cyber Civics or digital literacy class is offered in your school or community, sign the kids up."

-Kelly Wallace, CNN

“Cyber Civics is an amazing resource for teachers and parents.  My students love Cyber Civics almost as much as their parents do.”

-Rebekah Hopkinson, Lake Champlain Waldorf School

"An intentional deep-dive that teaches emotional intelligence as much as it does digital citizenship."

-SmartBrief on EdTech, April 2019 

Our Story

In 2010, Journey School, a Waldorf-inspired public charter school in Aliso Viejo, California, launched a pioneering three-year, middle school digital literacy program—called Cyber Civics™—to address the growing need to equip students to use technology ethically, safely, and wisely. Today this program is taught by public charter and private Waldorf schools, public schools, private schools, community organizations, and in home-school settings across 45 US states and internationally. It has attracted national media attention, been honored as an "Innovation in Education" award finalist by Project Tomorrow and the O.C. Tech Alliance, and its founder was awarded the "2017 Media Literacy Teacher Award" from the National Association of Media Literacy Education (NAMLE). 

Founder

Diana Graber is the author of "Raising Humans in a Digital World: Helping Kids Build a Healthy Relationship with Technology" (HarperCollins Leadership, '19), the book that tells the Cyber Civics story. She co-founded CyberWise, a digital literacy and online safety resource for parents. Graber has an extensive background as a media producer and has served as an Adjunct Professor of Media Psychology at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology (MSPP) where she taught "Media Psychology for the 21st Century." Her published paper: New Media Literacy Education: A Developmental Approach (JMLE, 2012) provides the foundational research for Cyber Civics. She is a long-time Waldorf school parent, and developed and still teaches Cyber Civics  at Journey School. A regular contributor to a number of publications, Graber holds a B.A. in Communications from UCLA, and an M.A. in Media Psychology and Social Change from Fielding Graduate University.

 

Curriculum

  • Teacher Resources
  • Preview
    REQUIRED VIEWING: Intro to Level 3
  • REQUIRED READING: Getting Started Guide
  • Teaching at Home Guide
  • Explainer: For Parents/Guardians
  • Syllabus
  • Preview
    What IS Media Literacy?
  • NAMLE: Core Principles of Media Literacy Education
  • Student Pre- and Post-Assessments
  • Student Pre- and Post- Assessment
  • Student Assessment Key
  • UNIT 1: A Participatory Culture
  • Teacher Guide
  • Home Activities
  • Lesson 1: Are You a Maker or a Taker?
  • Lesson 2: Are You Really a Great Multitasker?
  • Lesson 3: Your Brain on Tech
  • UNIT 2: Calling On Critical Thinking
  • Teacher Guide
  • Home Activities
  • Lesson 4: Analyzing Online Information, Part 1
  • Lesson 5: Analyzing Online Information, Part 2
  • UNIT 3: Misinformation
  • Teacher Guide
  • Home Activities
  • Lesson 6: What's News?
  • Lesson 7: Understanding Fake News
  • Lesson 8: Don't Click on the Bait!
  • Lesson 9: What's AI Got To Do With It?
  • Lesson 10: Simon Says It's Fake
  • Units 2 & 3 Quiz (and Key)
  • UNIT 4: Stereotypes and Media Representation
  • Unit 4: Teacher Guide
  • Home Activities
  • Lesson 11: Seeing Stereotypes
  • Lesson 12: Don't Label Me!
  • Lesson 13: The Ad Who Knows You
  • UNIT 5: Visual Literacy
  • Teacher Guide
  • Home Activities
  • Lesson 14: Before There Was Photoshop
  • Lesson 15: Every Picture Tells a Story
  • Lesson 16: Don't Let That Photo Fool You
  • Lesson 17: When Facetune Goes Too Far
  • Lesson 18: Food Takes Center Stage
  • Units 4 & 5 Quiz (and Key)
  • UNIT 6 : Sexting
  • Teacher Guide
  • Home Activities
  • Lesson 19: Let's Talk About Sexting
  • Lesson 20: Sexting, Just Say No
  • UNIT 7: Your Digital Future
  • Teacher Guide
  • Home Activities
  • Lesson 21: The Power of Participation
  • Lesson 22: How Will You Participate?
  • Lesson 23: AI and Ethical Thinking
  • Lesson 24: Making Technology Accessible To All
  • Lesson 25: Are You a Maker or Taker Now?
  • EXTRA UNIT: Research Skills
  • Lesson 26: Advanced Search Skills
  • Lesson 27: Search Like a Pro
  • Lesson 28: How To Cite Right
  • Lesson 29: Let's Review! Copyright, Fair Use, Public Domain

About This Course

This is Level 3 of the Cyber Civics program (find Level 1 here and Level 2 here), a comprehensive, turnkey, middle school digital literacy curriculum that addresses an urgent and growing need to prepare students with skills to become ethical, safe, and productive “digital citizens.” 

Visit our website www.cybercivics.com 

What is "Media Literacy"?

“Media Literacy education – which teaches students to apply critical thinking to media messages and to use media to create their own messages – is a key 21st century skill. Media Literacy is critical to the health and well-being of America’s children, as well as to their future participation in the civic and economic life of our democracy.”                               

-Media Literacy Now

There has never been a more important time to teach students how to critically evaluate and creatively produce media messages. With misinformation so easily made and shared online, knowing how to recognize it and understanding what to do about it is so important that many states across the U.S. mandate that "media literacy" be taught in school.

This powerful third level of Cyber Civics builds upon the strong foundation of the first two levels of this program. Like Levels 1 and 2, these lessons emphasize ethical and critical thinking through hands-on projects, problem-solving activities, role-play, and more. Lessons can be delivered in the classroom, used for homeschool or distance learning.

Contact us at support@cybercivics.com or call (949) 481-4319

Plus!

Testimonials

"We know that digital-citizenship education works. The Journey School in Aliso Viejo, a small Southern California city, is an example of a digital-citizenship success story. Since instituting a three-year middle school series on digital citizenship, information literacy on evaluation of online sources, and media-literacy courses to teach critical-thinking skills around media texts of all kinds—music videos, film, print advertising—the school has nearly eliminated bullying and behavioral issues and significantly boosted standardized-test scores."

-Education Week, July 2016

"If Cyber Civics or digital literacy class is offered in your school or community, sign the kids up."

-Kelly Wallace, CNN

“Cyber Civics is an amazing resource for teachers and parents.  My students love Cyber Civics almost as much as their parents do.”

-Rebekah Hopkinson, Lake Champlain Waldorf School

"An intentional deep-dive that teaches emotional intelligence as much as it does digital citizenship."

-SmartBrief on EdTech, April 2019 

Our Story

In 2010, Journey School, a Waldorf-inspired public charter school in Aliso Viejo, California, launched a pioneering three-year, middle school digital literacy program—called Cyber Civics™—to address the growing need to equip students to use technology ethically, safely, and wisely. Today this program is taught by public charter and private Waldorf schools, public schools, private schools, community organizations, and in home-school settings across 45 US states and internationally. It has attracted national media attention, been honored as an "Innovation in Education" award finalist by Project Tomorrow and the O.C. Tech Alliance, and its founder was awarded the "2017 Media Literacy Teacher Award" from the National Association of Media Literacy Education (NAMLE). 

Founder

Diana Graber is the author of "Raising Humans in a Digital World: Helping Kids Build a Healthy Relationship with Technology" (HarperCollins Leadership, '19), the book that tells the Cyber Civics story. She co-founded CyberWise, a digital literacy and online safety resource for parents. Graber has an extensive background as a media producer and has served as an Adjunct Professor of Media Psychology at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology (MSPP) where she taught "Media Psychology for the 21st Century." Her published paper: New Media Literacy Education: A Developmental Approach (JMLE, 2012) provides the foundational research for Cyber Civics. She is a long-time Waldorf school parent, and developed and still teaches Cyber Civics  at Journey School. A regular contributor to a number of publications, Graber holds a B.A. in Communications from UCLA, and an M.A. in Media Psychology and Social Change from Fielding Graduate University.

 

Curriculum

  • Teacher Resources
  • Preview
    REQUIRED VIEWING: Intro to Level 3
  • REQUIRED READING: Getting Started Guide
  • Teaching at Home Guide
  • Explainer: For Parents/Guardians
  • Syllabus
  • Preview
    What IS Media Literacy?
  • NAMLE: Core Principles of Media Literacy Education
  • Student Pre- and Post-Assessments
  • Student Pre- and Post- Assessment
  • Student Assessment Key
  • UNIT 1: A Participatory Culture
  • Teacher Guide
  • Home Activities
  • Lesson 1: Are You a Maker or a Taker?
  • Lesson 2: Are You Really a Great Multitasker?
  • Lesson 3: Your Brain on Tech
  • UNIT 2: Calling On Critical Thinking
  • Teacher Guide
  • Home Activities
  • Lesson 4: Analyzing Online Information, Part 1
  • Lesson 5: Analyzing Online Information, Part 2
  • UNIT 3: Misinformation
  • Teacher Guide
  • Home Activities
  • Lesson 6: What's News?
  • Lesson 7: Understanding Fake News
  • Lesson 8: Don't Click on the Bait!
  • Lesson 9: What's AI Got To Do With It?
  • Lesson 10: Simon Says It's Fake
  • Units 2 & 3 Quiz (and Key)
  • UNIT 4: Stereotypes and Media Representation
  • Unit 4: Teacher Guide
  • Home Activities
  • Lesson 11: Seeing Stereotypes
  • Lesson 12: Don't Label Me!
  • Lesson 13: The Ad Who Knows You
  • UNIT 5: Visual Literacy
  • Teacher Guide
  • Home Activities
  • Lesson 14: Before There Was Photoshop
  • Lesson 15: Every Picture Tells a Story
  • Lesson 16: Don't Let That Photo Fool You
  • Lesson 17: When Facetune Goes Too Far
  • Lesson 18: Food Takes Center Stage
  • Units 4 & 5 Quiz (and Key)
  • UNIT 6 : Sexting
  • Teacher Guide
  • Home Activities
  • Lesson 19: Let's Talk About Sexting
  • Lesson 20: Sexting, Just Say No
  • UNIT 7: Your Digital Future
  • Teacher Guide
  • Home Activities
  • Lesson 21: The Power of Participation
  • Lesson 22: How Will You Participate?
  • Lesson 23: AI and Ethical Thinking
  • Lesson 24: Making Technology Accessible To All
  • Lesson 25: Are You a Maker or Taker Now?
  • EXTRA UNIT: Research Skills
  • Lesson 26: Advanced Search Skills
  • Lesson 27: Search Like a Pro
  • Lesson 28: How To Cite Right
  • Lesson 29: Let's Review! Copyright, Fair Use, Public Domain