We use technology to communicate with friends and family, find never-ending entertainment options and do our schoolwork. Discover what it means to be a responsible digital citizen, expand your digital literacy, and become a successful online student. Consider the best ways to find, create, and share information, learn to maximize information and communication technologies, and explore digital content creation, from emails and blogs to social media, videos, and podcasts.
Prerequisites: None
Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to...
- Describe what it means to be a digital citizen
- Discover areas where you leave a digital footprint
- Discuss the importance of independence in online learning
- Explain how to approach an online course
- Explain how to use the internet safely
- Describe ways to spot a possible online threat
- Evaluate your online identity
- Identify ways to improve your online presence
- Discuss different tools that enable online communication and collaboration
- Explain how to set up a successful video call
- Discuss how to effectively communicate with teachers and peers online
- Describe proper online etiquette
- Define digital literacy
- Describe the different steps of the research process
- Navigate through each step of the research process
- Discover how to find credible information online
- Find and create a designated study space that will help you to create better study habits
- Discuss how to get organized and manage your time wisely
- Discover how to take better notes, as well as online tools which will help improve your note taking
- Describe different ways to prepare for tests and quizzes
- Describe what the copyright law entails
- Explain how you can apply fair use to the information you want to use
- Describe the different types of Creative Commons licenses that are available
- Define remixing and explore copyright issues related to remixing content
- Define study agency and take control in where, when, what, and how you learn
- Describe ways to connect with what you are learning
- Discover different learning styles that can guide you to how you learn best
- Identify your own learning style
- Describe how to improve on everyday life tasks to keep you in tip-top study shape
- Explain the importance of proper study breaks
- Discover ways to stay motivated throughout an online course
- Describe how the skills in this course can apply throughout your life
Course Outline:
Unit 1: Digital Citizenship
Unit 2: Online Safety
Unit 3: Communication and Collaboration
Unit 4: Digital Literacy
Unit 5: Study Skills
Unit 6: Content and Copyright
Unit 7: Your Learning Process
Unit 8: Digital Well-being
Resources Included: Online lesson instruction and activities, opportunities to engage with a certified, online instructor and classmates, when appropriate, and online assessments to measure student performance of course objectives and readiness for subsequent academic pursuits.
Additional Costs: Digital Camera - either camera phone, iPad, computer camera - as long as image can be recorded and uploaded to computer, paper and colored pencils if student chooses to hand draw certain activities.
Scoring System: Michigan Virtual does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue diplomas. A final score out of total points earned will be submitted to your school mentor for conversion to their own letter grading system.
Time Commitment: Semester sessions are 18-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1 or more hours per day in the course to be successful. Summer sessions are 10 weeks long: Students must be able to spend a minimum of 2 or more hours per day, or about 90 hours during the summer, for the student to be successful in any course. Trimester sessions are 12-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1.5 or more hours per day in the course to be successful.
Technology Requirements: Students will require a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube.
Please review the Michigan Virtual Technology Requirements: https://michiganvirtual.org/about/support/knowledge-base/technical-requirements/
Instructor Support System: For technical issues within your course, contact the Customer Care Center by email at [email protected] or by phone at (888) 889-2840.
Instructor Contact Expectations: Students can use email or the private message system within the Student Learning Portal to access highly qualified teachers when they need instructor assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside the learning management system. The Instructor Info area of their course may describe additional communication options.
Academic Support Available: In addition to access to a highly qualified, Michigan certified teacher, students have access to academic videos and outside resources verified by Michigan Virtual. For technical issues within the course, students can contact the Michigan Virtual Customer Care by email at [email protected] or by phone at (888) 889-2840.
Required Assessment: Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, instructor-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building and other forms of authentic assessments.
Technical Skills Needed: Basic technology skills necessary to locate and share information and files as well as interact with others in a Learning Management System (LMS), include the ability to:
- Download, edit, save, convert, and upload files
- Download and install software
- Use a messaging service similar to email
- Communicate with others in online discussion or message boards, following basic rules of netiquette
- Open attachments shared in messages
- Create, save, and submit files in commonly used word processing program formats and as a PDF
- Edit file share settings in cloud-based applications, such as Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides
- Save a file as a .pdf
- Copy and paste and format text using your mouse, keyboard, or an html editor’s toolbar menu
- Insert images or links into a file or html editor
- Search for information within a document using Ctrl+F or Command+F keyboard shortcuts
- Work in multiple browser windows and tabs simultaneously
- Activate a microphone or webcam on your device, and record and upload or link audio and/or video files
- Use presentation and graphics programs
- Follow an online pacing guide or calendar of due dates
- Use spell-check, citation editors, and tools commonly provided in word processing tool menus
- Create and maintain usernames and passwords
Additional Information: None