Education Standards
Our On-line Identities (PPX)
Our On-line Identities (Word)
Our On-line Identities
Overview
This lesson invites students to use multiple forms of media, including their own Instagram accounts, to explore their on-line identities. The lesson culminates in a personal, visual essay. In the essay, students will use their own images as evidence. Then, students will reason about that evidence to compare what they see on their Instagram posts to their “real world” self. Using information from resources explored in class, students will include a discussion of “authenticity” and properly weave in quotes from those resources.
Exploring our Online Identities
High School Digital Literacy Unit
Enduring Understandings:
My digital identity is connected to my real-life identity, and, just like in real life, my actions in digital spaces accumulate to give others a sense of who I am. Authenticity is not stagnant but a cumulative, creative process. Therefore, it’s important for me to consider what I post, how others may perceive me, and consider the consequences of what I post.
Similarly, I can use this understanding to be more thoughtful when viewing others’ digital identities, considering the complex relationship between the real-world identity and their online identity.
My digital identity should be created with intention and managed regularly.
Essential Questions:
How does my digital identity relate to my real-world identity?
What kinds of things do I believe and value in the world and do my real-world and digital identities reflect that accurately?
What does authenticity mean and how does that translate in digital spaces?
Can I have more than one identity?
ELA common core state standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL/RI.9-10.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2.A: Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2.B: Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the topic.
Digital Citizen 2a: Students cultivate and manage their digital identity and reputation and are aware of the permanence of their actions in the digital world.
Summative Assessment: Students will write a personal, visual essay exploring their digital identity as presented on Instagram. In the essay, students will use their own images to find evidence. Then, students will reason about that evidence to compare what they see on their Instagram posts to their “real world” self. Using information from resources explored in class, students will include a discussion of “authenticity” and properly weave in quotes from those resources. Here is a link to the summative assessment assignment with a rubric: Summative Assessment
Activities: Use this Google Slides presentation to guide you through the unit. All graphic organizers, worksheets, and texts are linked below.
Activity name/ Time estimate | Description with accompanying worksheets and graphic organizers | Learning Target(s) |
Activating prior knowledge (10 minutes) | Have students free write about who they are online and whether that’s different from their “real world” persona. | |
Define terms “real self” and “curated self” (5 minutes) | Using the Google Slides presentation, define the terms “real self” and “curated self” for students to prepare them for the podcast and accompanying worksheets. | |
Podcast Listening “Post, Shoot” from NPR’s Invisibilia The podcast is 51 minutes long, but you can choose to listen to only a portion if you like. Here’s a quick breakdown: Part 1: Discusses Brandon, a teen who was killed because of something he posted on Facebook --up to minute 20:40 Part 2: A discussion with Gloria Origgi, an Italian philosopher, about the real/fake binary and why we need to see beyond that-- minute 20:40- 27:32 Part 3: The aftermath of Brandon’s shooting, how his fellow “gang” members were prosecuted due to their social media images, implications for Black and Brown kids-- 27:32-End (45 minutes) | Accompanying Graphic organizer Possible answers for the graphic organizer Preview the podcast using the Google Slides presentation. Listen to a portion of the podcast and have students fill out a graphic organizer as they listen (we recommend listening to at least part one which goes up to 20:40 but part two, which goes to 27:32 is cool too!). You might want to pause a couple of times when the podcast talks about Brandon, so students can write down what they hear. After listening, give students an opportunity to complete their worksheets and discuss what they wrote in small groups. Then, open the floor to a full-class discussion. **IF you want to include the rest of the podcast, which has a lot of great info around the implications around online identities for Black and Brown teens, you’ll need to create an organizer and discussion-- it definitely takes the discussion beyond real/digital identity. You’ll need to determine the usefulness of that in relation to the rest of your curriculum and what you know about your students. | I can listen to a podcast and identify main ideas I can evaluate the consequences of social media posts by considering examples and participating in discussion |
Student versions of “real” vs. “curated” self (30 minutes) | Then, using a T-Chart as a graphic organizer, students will work independently to consider their real life self and their curated self (just like they did with the podcast and Brandon). They may need to After working independently, students discuss their ideas with a small group, adding to their own T-chart as necessary. This can be differentiated to have students draw themselves split in half (one side representing their “real world” self and one side representing their curated, digital self). Here is a reference image from Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian | I can identify components of my real self and curated self in a T-chart or image |
Defining terms: “beliefs” and “values” (5-10 minutes) | Using the Google Slides presentation, define the terms “beliefs” and “values” to help students consider how our identities represent our beliefs and values. Explain how the things we do, what we wear, how we speak, and where we go can indicate our beliefs and values. | I can define the terms “beliefs” and “values” |
Free write on beliefs and values (5 minutes) | Students free write for 5 minutes to identify their beliefs and values | I can identify my core beliefs and values by freewriting about them. |
Apply beliefs and values to podcast and self (10 minutes) | Have students return to their T-chart about Brandon. On the margins, have them write out, in a different color, what they think some of his beliefs and values were, based on how he represented himself. Ex:“For example, many of you wrote that he was a rising star on his basketball team.This tells us that he valued sports. Maybe also that he believed in hard work.” | I can consider how representations of myself display my beliefs and values |
Psychology Today article: “Identity in the Age of Social Media” (45-60 minutes, depending on if you read out loud or independently) | Have students read the Psychology Today article on “Identity in the Age of Social Media,” answering questions on the worksheet as they go. You could have them read it independently or read it as a class, pausing at points to answer questions on their worksheet. The worksheet will help them later in their personal essays, so it’s best if each student fills one out. | I can read an informative article for main ideas and add my own ideas |
Jigsaw with videos about social media and “realness” (30 minutes) | Break students into Jigsaw groups by counting them off by 3. Have students watch the video that matches their number. While watching, students should consider what their video says about social media and digital identities. Then, take a couple minutes to talk with their video group about the video and what it says about social media and identity. Then, have students return to their original group. They should be able to summarize their video when they return to their original group. Each member shares about their video and then they discuss them all together. Options for set up: if students have computers, they can watch the video individually, but you might want to have them use headphones. Alternatively, you can set up 3 stations with a computer, each with one of the videos pre-loaded, and have them watch that way. | I can make connections between previous learning and new ideas and discuss those connections with my peers |
Making connections across texts (30 minutes) | Have students draw a thinking map. Make 3 big circles on the page and write in the 3 texts they worked with:
Then, have students write out their big ideas attached to each text. They can use previous worksheets to help them. When they’re done, have them write out a statement or two about digital identity and authenticity, based on their ideas from the texts. You can also choose to just show one video to the entire class, if you’re trying to save time. | I can recall what I’ve read, watched, and listened to, and make connections across texts by drawing a mind map. |
Objective evidence and reasoning (30 minutes) | First, help students understand the word “objective” Then, practice making objective observations about an image (The “hacker Barbie” image on the Google Slides presentation).
Then, show students how those observations become evidence that they reason about. There are examples on the next slide. You can have them practice interpreting some of the evidence they wrote down. | I can make objective statements about an image |
Practice analyzing an Instagram account: Socality Barbie (30 minutes) | Accompanying Graphic Organizer (probably easier to fill out digitally than to print) Model for students how to notice “evidence” in an image. You can pull up the Socality Barbie IG account to practice before giving them the graphic organizer. Alternatively, you could erase the example in the graphic organizer and model how to do it or do it as a class. | I can notice objectively about images to cultivate evidence. I can reason about my evidence. |
Analyzing their own Instagrams (1 hour) **NOTE: if students don’t have an IG account, you have some options. You could have them look at Facebook. You could have them look at their photos on their phone. If students really don’t use social media, you could have them analyze a celebrity account, they just won’t be able to compare “real” vs. “curated” in their final essay. | Accompanying Graphic Organizer This is easiest on a computer, but you could print the graphic organizer and just have students write in which photo they’re using. Students will do what they did for the Barbie IG but about their own. They need to select 4 photos to analyze from their Instagram and insert those photos into the graphic organizer (they can take screenshots or download them to their Google Drives, whatever is easiest!). For each photo, they’ll start with objective noticing. Then, they’ll move on to interpret the objective statements. Finally, they’ll take a screen shot of a “grid” of their instagram, showing up to 12 photos. They’ll analyze the grid the same way: objective noticing→ reasoning. When they’re done, they will pass their papers to a peer, who will add onto their ideas, in case the student missed some observations. | I can notice objectively about images to cultivate evidence. I can reason about my evidence. |
Introduce personal essay assignment (10 mins) **Options for differentiation: A video where the student talks through their Instagram posts and ideas around authenticity, a visual presentation like a Google Slides presentation | Take some time to explain the final project. It’s a personal essay, but it’s a visual essay because they’ll be importing their photos and writing about them. All the work they’ve done in the unit up to this point can and should be used to help them write the essay. The rubric emphasizes evidence and reasoning skills (which they really did already in their practice work!). The rubric does not grade an introduction or conclusion, though, it is an essay, so they’ll want some type of intro and conclusion. Feel free to add those to the rubric if you’d like. *If you haven’t taught evidence and reasoning in class yet, you may want to teach that before introducing this final project. | I can write an essay that weaves together information from my own life as well as from other sources. My essay uses evidence and reasoning to discuss the concepts of digital identity and authenticity. |
Authors:
Ali Beemsterboer
Lauren McClanahan
Attribution:
Illustration copyright Ellen Forney from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie | used under fair use
License:
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