Ultra Micro MOOC: Digital Pen Pal

When I think about bringing more technology into my current classroom I very often hesitate because my students are limited in their experience with technology. I decided to create an opportunity for my students to improve how they communicate using the internet specifically in the email format. I designed this course with the intention that a second group of students would be completing it simultaneously to provide the students with the opportunity to communicate with one another.

In my Digital Pen Pals course my students will master electronic communication skills by improving internet communication skills and obtaining an email pen pal.

Digital Pen Pal

Course Topic: Digital Communication

Course Length: 5 weeks

Audience: This course is designed for middle school students who have had limited formal introduction to communicating via the computer and want to have a solid understanding of the proper way to communicate digitally.

Target Skills:

• create an email account
• send an appropriately formatted website based on recipient
• identify proper internet safety techniques
• create a presentation using Prezi
• share presentation link in an email

Course Projects:

All students will be required to –

• create an email account
• email with a student in another class
• write an introductory email
• write an email to the teacher stating your goals
• write an email that interviews your pen pals internet skills
• create a Prezi on internet safety
• post a reflection video to YouTube

Peer Collaboration:

Students will be assigned a pen pal from another class to communicate with using email. The pen pals will assist one another in creating a Prezi about an internet safety topic.

 

Course Outline:

Week 1 Tasks –

• Review the “How to” guides provided for formatting and sending emails as well as writing a friendly letter:
  • http://www.wikihow.com/Write-an-Email
  • http://www.hanyangowl.org/media/formalemail/formalemailformat.pdf
  • http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Friendly-Letter
• Set up an email account to specifically use in the course. Your email will be formatted as follows – firstname.lastname@email.com
• Obtain the email of your pen pal and send an introductory email using the format for a friendly email, make sure you CC your teacher on the email as proof of completion. You should combine the components with an email with the components of a friendly letter.
• Email your teacher using a more formal format with your personal goals and expectations for the course.

Week 2 Tasks:

• Learn about internet safety using the following resources –
  • http://kidshealth.org/teen/safety/safebasics/internet_safety.html#
  • http://teens.webmd.com/features/teen-internet-safety-tips
  • http://www.safekids.com/2014/10/21/digital-citizenship-week-is-a-time-to-recognize-youth-rights/
  • http://www.nsteens.org/Videos/6DegreesOfInformation
• Write your second email to your pen pal
  • describe to your pen pal how you use the internet
  • ask at least four internet safety questions for your pen pal to answer
  • send a reply to the questions they ask you in an email
  • remember to CC your teacher on ALL emails as proof of your work

Week 3 Tasks:

• http://www.nsteens.org/Quizzes/NSTeensChallenge – Complete the internet safety challenge provided by NSTeens
• Use your research from week 2 and interview information you asked your pen pal to create a Prezi that is 5 to 10 slides long
• Select one of the topics below to focus on for your Prezi
  • social media
  • cyberbullying
  • reliable resources
  • online gaming
• Email your Prezi to your pen pal with a brief description of your presentation and remember to CC your teacher

Week 4 Tasks:

• Respond to your pen pal’s email with a critique of his/her Prezi
  • for each negative comment provide your pen pal with two positive comments
  • make suggestions for how to make the Prezi even better
  • CC your teacher in the reply email

Week 5 Tasks:

• Create a video reflection on how your communication skills have changed over the past weeks.
• Post the video to YouTube – use this link if you experience difficulties posting your video: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/57407?hl=en
• Share the link to the video with your pen pal and in the email express how your email exchange for the past few weeks has gone.

Learning theories used in the building of this course:

I created my MOOC using backwards design. I recognized a skill my students were lacking and from there I had in my mind where I wanted my students to be once the course was completed. I very often receive emails from students that don’t have a subject or greeting, they contain errors, and are overall to informal. At the heart of my course I have email practice spiraling through every week.  In addition to simply communicating I also wanted my students to know how to communicate in a manner that is safe. This allowed me to plan the content of the email and activities my students would be completing. My approach to designing this course started with the goal, then how I would evaluate the achievement of the goals and finished with the actual content just as backward design is laid out in Understanding by Design. (Wiggins and McTighe, 2005)

I have also provided my students with a learning experience that is authentic. They are asked to communicate with another student who is about the same age and in need of developing the same skill. Communicating with another student with the same struggles will create an ease in attempting the activities and creates a real-world experience for the students. Moving forward my students will definitely be asked to communicate using email. They need to start fine tuning that skill now.

Works Cited:

Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design, Expanded 2nd Edition.  Prentice Hall.  pg 13-33.

Turner, A. (2012, March 1). Retrieved November 17, 2014, from http://www.hanyangowl.org/media/formalemail/formalemailformat.pdf

How to Write a Friendly Letter. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2014, from http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Friendly-Letter

How to Write an Email. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2014, from http://www.wikihow.com/Write-an-Email

Dowshen, S. (2011, June 1). Online Safety. Retrieved November 17, 2014, from http://kidshealth.org/teen/safety/safebasics/internet_safety.html#

Teen Health. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2014, from http://teens.webmd.com/features/teen-internet-safety-tips

Larry, M. (2014, October 21). Digital Citizenship Week is a time to recognize youth rights « SafeKids.com. Retrieved November 17, 2014, from http://www.safekids.com/2014/10/21/digital-citizenship-week-is-a-time-to-recognize-youth-rights/

NSTeens. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2014, from http://www.nsteens.org/

How to upload videos. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2014, from https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/57407?hl=en

At email e mail fig silhouette slide computer. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2014, from http://pixabay.com/en/at-email-e-mail-fig-silhouette-64056/