LESSON 2: Online safety, security, ethics, and etiquette

GOAL: At the end of the lesson, you  will be able to understand better  the 24/7, social nature of digital media. In particular, you will be able to:

●     explore your digital life, and

●     learn that it is important to act responsibly when carrying out relationships over digital media.

CHALLENGE QUESTION: How is your digital media life like? Hint: You have to think  figuratively.

Think about your life with media.^[1] First consider the questions below. Use your responses to help you finish the statement, “My media life is like a ...” This statement is a simile, a literary device for comparing two unlike things. For instance, someone who does not use much media might say that her media life is like a desert, because there is little life there. Someone might say that his media life is like a track meet, because he is exhausted at the end of the day. (Note: Post your simile as a comment on the post linking you to this discussion).

Questions to consider:

●       Are digital media a big part of your life?

●       What kind of impact do digital media have on you (a little, some, a lot)?

●       What are your favorite and least-favorite things to do with digital media?

●    Do you connect with others or create things with digital media? Finish this statement: My media life is like_____________________________________because __________________________________.

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^[1] Source: MY MEDIA LIFE IS LIKE … http://www2.powayusd.com/teacher_resources/digitalLiteracy/Grades6-8/digResp/Unit1-6/HO-Media%20Life.pdf  and https://goo.gl/eli6N6

You might be interested to know that digital media can be interchanged with  more popular terms such as  social media or social networking sites. At the same time, you might wonder: “What is social media’s role in your life?”

Now, consider the following  statement.

“Instead of promoting social behavior, social media promotes disengagement, self-absorption, loneliness and sadness.” Do you agree?

Now think about this: Social media or media enabled by digital tools are 24/7 and socially connected as demonstrated by popular ICT.

“Watch the video “Digital Life 101,” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkwmD6OQrWQ)  to better appreciate the  24/7 and social nature of digital media — a major change from the media consumption culture of the past.

Check the Glossary of Terms (under this lesson) to get a list of digital media and related concepts which you can use to survey how much  members of your household or friends know about these media  that are enabled by digital tools.

Do you know more than most of them do?

TRIVIA/GLOSSARY OF TERMS

1. Aggregator is a website or Web application where headlines and other content are collected for easy viewing. Aggregators such as Google News compile news articles and posts. An avatar is a two- or three-dimensional icon that represents a computer user or a gamer.
2. Avatar can be a cartoonish graphic, a photograph, a screen name, or a fully-developed character. 
3. Blog, from the term “weblog, ” is a type of website usually updated by an individual or a group of bloggers. Some blogs provide news or opinions on a specific subject, while others are more like online journals. Most blogs allow readers to leave comments on blog posts.
4. Flaming is the act of saying mean things online, usually in ALL CAPS, and often in a public forum with the intention to humiliate. Flame wars can occur easily online, as it can be difficult to figure out people’s intentions or emotions online.
5. Mash-up is a remix or blend of multiple songs, videos, or other media content into one product. Fan fiction writing is one form of a mash-up, as writers take characters from a well-known video game, movie, or book, and rewrite their actions or relationships.
6. Massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) is usually an online virtual world that multiple players navigate and play in together. While in this virtual world, their avatars chat, cooperate, and quest together, oftentimes towards a goal.  
7. P2P, or Peer-to-Peer, network allows for sharing of mp3s, videos, and other digital files by transferring information directly between two computers rather than by going through a central server. P2P technology is also behind the popular Internet phone service Skype.
8. Phishing is the illegal act of sending emails or messages that appear to come from authentic sources, but really come from spammers. Phishers often try to get people to send them their personal information, everything from account numbers to passwords.
9. Podcast is a downloadable video or audio file. Podcasts can be verbal, based on a certain topic, or can include music, video, and commentary. Most podcasts are updated regularly through the addition of new episodes.    
10. Short Message Service (SMS), or text message, is a short message of fewer than 160 characters sent from a cell phone. A Multimedia Messaging Service  (MMS) is a text message that contains an attached multimedia file, such as a picture or song.

ACTIVITY:

First, take the quiz on your own on the Quiz tab in Edmodo. When you are done, trade with your partner. Together, use the answer key to calculate each other’s score. Discuss what surprised you the most and which answers were the closest to or farthest from your own experiences.

Source: EMPOWERMENT TECHNOLOGIES: Student Reader for Senior High School by Joel C. Yuvienco