Dear Teachers: According to NETSS, digital citizenship consists of students understanding human, cultural and social issues related

to technology and practicing legal and ethical behavior (Ribble, 2008). In order to be a productive digital citizen, students must demonstrate leadership as well as advocate for and practice legal, safe and responsible use of technology. Students must also demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning and have an attitude that is positive as well as supportive of collaboration, learning and productivity. Ten years ago, no one could have predicted the explosion of social media and how it has changed the world. Consequently, we did not prepare our students for the negative effects of social media. While sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter can be great for communication and making connections, studies have shown that social media can affect the mental health of teens. Professor of psychology, Dr. Larry Rosen of California State University, compiled information regarding teens mental health and Facebook. Dr. Rosens research found that teens that spent a significant amount of time on Facebook show more aggression, depression, anxiety, narcissism, low self-esteem and antisocial behavior than other teens. Additionally, Dr. Rosen found that, Facebook can impact teens schoolwork, resulting in lower grades and test scores. (Elements Behavioral Health, 2012). Teens need to be educated on the consequences of social networking in order to maintain good mental health. In order to reduce the negative effects associated with social media we must: 1) Inform students and parents about the dangers of social media 2) Educate parents on monitoring their childs social media use 3) Teach students how to use technology responsibly As staff members, we must work together to make a permanent change. The art, technology and health departments will work together and set aside one week to tackle this issue. The plan is as follows: Monday Art: Health: Students will research and discuss graphic design Find posters/advertisements that do a good job of communicating to their target audience and posters/advertisements that do not communicate to their target audience Discuss the differences between effective and ineffective posters and record qualities of an effective poster

Review mental health Discuss signs of aggression, depression, anxiety, narcissism, low-self esteem and anti-social behavior Discuss what to do if you or a peer is showing signs of the above illnesses

Technology: Research credible articles, videos, podcasts and other resources that discuss the negative effects of social media Prepare a short Prezi presentation on your findings Tuesday Art: Break into groups of three Brainstorm and sketch ideas for a poster that informs peers of the negative affects of social media

Health: Watch the following videos o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY2KH8LGmU0 o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8y1uRxv74Q Discuss the material presented in the videos Create a social media pros and cons list Technology: o Present findings from yesterdays research Wednesday Art: o Work on final sketch o Approve final sketch with teacher o Start working on final poster Health: o Complete a close read on the following article o http://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/adolescent-issues/a-downsideof-facebook-for-teen-mental-health/ o Discuss findings in article o Break up into partners and complete a rough draft of a letter the school should send home to parents warning them about the negatives of social media and how to avoid them. Students must also include information on monitoring their students social media usage. Technology:

o Create presentation with http://www.xtranormal.com/ that aims to teach the dangers of social media and how to use technology responsibly Thursday Art: o Work on poster o Have a mid-project critique that focuses on how well the poster gets the message across Health: o Continue working on letter to parents o Switch papers with a partner at some point in the period o Have partner look over letter and evaluate it Technology: o Continue working on presentation o Have students critique a partners project Friday Art: o Finish poster o Present poster o Hang posters in hallways to create awareness Health: o Finish typing letter and have students turn in one copy and give one copy to their parents Technology: o Have students watch each others movies and leave comments o Have students upload movies to their personal social network page In addition to this lesson, the school will upload the following graphic on the school website in order to educate students, teachers, parents and community members on digital citizenship: http://prezi.com/tvxrazbbj3sc/digital-citizenship/. Notification of this posting will be sent in a supplemental letter included with the letter the students created in health class and sent home to their parents.

Resources Elements Behavioral Health. (2012) A downside to facebook for teen mental health? Retrieved from http://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/adolescent-issues/adownside-of-facebook-for-teen-mental-health/ Ribble, M. (2007-2012). Nine themes of digital citizenship. Digital Citizenship: Using Technology Appropriately. Retrieved from http://digitalcitizenship.net/Nine_Elements.html Ribble, M. (2008). Passport to digital citizenship: journey toward appropriate technology use at schools and at home. Learning & Leading with Technology. 14-17.