Project+Statement


 * Working Together To Learn About and Stop Cyberbullying **

Project Statement:
====  The purpose of this project is for students to learn about the nature of and create a solution for cyberbullying through the use ==== ====  of collaborative tools, such as Skype, Twitter, and Wikispaces to communicate and share ideas with other students in different schools. ==== Students will have the opportunity to engage in a discussion with other students in different schools using the collaborative tool Skype to share hypothetical or real cyberbullying examples and determine the best ways to respond to cyberbullying. The students will also work in collaborative groups to create a wikispace where they will show what they learned about cyberbullying and ways that it can be stopped. Students at each school will work together via Skype to share what they know about cyberbullying and work together to create solutions to the problem. The classroom will be student-centered as they lead this project and the teacher takes a step back as facilitator. Through this project, students will be engaged in an authentic real-world problem that includes different schools and ultimately affects the world. This project falls under the category of Project-Based Learning (PBL). PBL is an instructional approach based on authentic learning activities that engages student interest and motivation. These activities are designed to answer a question or solve a problem and generally reflect the types of learning and work people do in the everyday world outside the classroom. PBL also teaches students 21st century skills as well as content. These skills include communication and presentation, organization and time management, research and inquiry, self-assessment and reflection, and group participation and leadership skills. Hence, the instructional materials and learning environments created for this collaborative project will be based on the constructivist principles of PBL. (Heather)
 * == How will you improve learner performance by engaging learners in authentic experiences? (Heather) ==
 * **How will you facilitate learning through constructivist, collaborative learning experiences? (Heather) **
 * ====How will you create sound instructional materials and learning environments that are based on solid research and learning theory? ====

We will also create sound instructional materials and a learning environment that is based on Social Media as a tool to teach student about the effects of Cyberbullying. We will utilize Skype. Most students learn best from social media if the topic of discussion is guided by the teacher.

“Social media are web-based, highly interactive platforms that provide space for creating online communities of middle school with similar interests and activities where individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss, and modify user-generated content” (Kietzmann & Hermkens, 2011; Lamphere, 2012).

As emphasized in This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents (National Middle School Association [NMSA], 2010), engaging students in "active, purposeful learning" is one of the hallmarks of successful middle level schools. "Additionally, learning experiences are greatly enhanced when all students have the technology to access rich content, communicate with others, write for authentic audiences, and collaborate with other learners next door or across the globe" (p. 16). Incorporating social media as an instructional tool can provide potential benefits for students and teachers (Krutka, 2014a). In 2010, the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that 73% of teens between the ages of 12 and 17 use social media (Lenhart, Purcell, Aaron, & Zickuhr, 2010). Students and teachers will have opportunities to apply technologies commonly used for personal applications used by professional, and for educational purposes. Ways to facilitate the use of innovations through the diffusion and integration of new technologies with the learners:
 * **How will you facilitate the use of innovations through the diffusion and integration of new technologies and technological experiences for your learners? **
 * Use Skype to communicate and collaborate with students in other classrooms about what cyberbullying is, how you can determine if you have been a victim of cyberbullying, the effects on the victim, the consequences the bully might face, and ways to stop it
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Conduct online research about cyberbullying
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Create a group wiki detailing their original definition of cyberbullying, how to identify cyberbullying, the effects and consequences of cyberbullying, and ways to prevent cyberbullying.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">How will you most effectively manage this process? **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Our project will be managed through the use of concise instructions for developing activities that help define what social media is. We will also plan, coordinate, organize and supervise how the students are using the computers in the classroom. Our group will also develop guidelines for the students when they are interfacing with other on social media. We will create activities that allow the students to discuss cyberbullying through the use of Wikis and Skype. Participating classrooms will use a Wiki to schedule collaboration sessions and document learning. Test connections for live videoconferencing applications will be conducted prior to scheduled classroom connections.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">What ethical considerations will you make to ensure sound decisions are made? **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">"Professional ethics for educational technology are like any other professional's ethics because they are cultural standards", (Januszewski & Molenda, 2015. p. 385). In our project, professional ethics will be facilitated by teaching the need for respect for other when interfacing on social media. The students will be taught to understand ethical practices through written handout, videos, PowerPoint presentations, and open discussion on cyberbullying. These activities will cover how to use technology in a constructive manner when interfacing with their peer on Facebook, Twitter, and Skype. They will also have activities that encourage them to respect the diversity of others when using Facebook, and Twitter. They also will also be videos presentations to discuss why cyberbully have hurt them or others.Students privacy will be maintained by ensuring that all shared examples of cyberbullying make use of fictional names or pseudonyms. Students will be provided with instruction on what is safe/unsafe to share in an online setting such as a Google Hangout or Twitter. Participating classrooms will send home an informational letter to families of students prior to the collaboration. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Technologies to be used include internet connected computers with web cameras and microphones, Skype, and a group wiki (Google Sites) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 1.5;"> Analog resources include family notes and training documents with basic information on the procedures for using the technology tools. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Audience:** Twelve to Fifteen year old boys and girls <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Learner characteristics:** grade level, number of students: 8th grade, 25-30 students <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Anticipated entry-level skills of audience:** Students reading levels range from below-level to advanced/Students ability to use technology range from intermediate to advanced <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**School environment:** Public Middle Schools <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Support for project by community, parents, or administrators:** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Parents are welcomed to volunteer during the time their student is collaborating with his/her learning community. Parents are also welcomed to assist students with online resources or other activities that are associated with the project. Administrators may occasionally check-in to see how students are progress with their project and learn how effective learning communities are for students.
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">What processes and resources will you include? **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Describe the learning environment and population that will be engaged in your project: **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">How will you create sound instructional materials and learning environments that are based on solid research and learning theory? **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">We will create sound instructional materials and a learning environment that is based on Social Media as a tool to teach student about the effects of Cyberbullying. We will utilize Skype. Most students learn best from social media what the topic of discussion is guided by the teacher.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">“Social media are web-based, highly interactive platforms that provide space for creating online communities of middle school with similar interests and activities where individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss, and modify user-generated content” (Kietzmann & Hermkens, 2011; Lamphere, 2012).

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">As emphasized in This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents (National Middle School Association [NMSA], 2010), engaging students in "active, purposeful learning" is one of the hallmarks of successful middle level schools. "Additionally, learning experiences are greatly enhanced when all students have the technology to access rich content, communicate with others, write for authentic audiences, and collaborate with other learners next door or across the globe" (p. 16). Incorporating social media as an instructional tool can provide potential benefits for students and teachers (Krutka, 2014a). In 2010, the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that 73% of teens between the ages of 12 and 17 use social media (Lenhart, Purcell, Aaron, & Zickuhr, 2010). <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">1. Internet or library research, such as looking up types of bullying, how to prevent it, and how kids should respond. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">2. Organize the student into group of five and have them create PowerPoint Presentations about how painful bullying is and share their experiences with other using Skype and Twitter. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">3. Have student create a video on bullying situations that they have experience and how it made them feel and share these videos on Skype and Twitter. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">4. Presentations, such as a speech or role-play on stopping bullying <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">5. Discussions about topics like reporting bullying <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">6. Creative writing, such as a poem speaking out against bullying or a story or skit teaching bystanders how to help share the poem on Skype and Twitter. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">7. Artistic works, such as a collage about respect or the effects of bullying <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">8. Video tape student discussions about the importance of positive peer relations and have them share these discussion on Skype and Twitter. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Educate About Bullying. (2015, December 15). Retrieved December 28, 2015, from []
 * ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Additional Activities: **