Waldorf Schools are Media Literacy Role Models
Cyber Civics™ at the Upper Valley Waldorf School
“Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master.”
The Upper Valley Waldorf School is a Preschool-Grade 8 school in Quechee, Vermont. The school implemented the Cyber Civics curriculum in 2018. This curriculum is designed to help students develop a solid foundation in digital literacy and online citizenship.
What is Cyber Civics?
Cyber Civics is a curriculum that was created by Diana Graber, a digital literacy expert, and the founder of Cyberwise. The curriculum aims to instruct students in grades 6-8 about digital citizenship, online safety, and digital literacy. Cyber Civics is based on three core principles: digital literacy, digital ethics, and digital safety.
Digital Literacy
The first principle of Cyber Civics is digital literacy. This involves teaching students how to use technology effectively and responsibly. Students learn about the basics of computer hardware, software, and networking. They also learn how to search for information online, how to evaluate sources, and how to create and share digital content.
Digital Ethics
The second principle of Cyber Civics is digital ethics. This involves teaching students about online behavior and digital citizenship. Students learn about privacy, cyberbullying, and how to be responsible digital citizens. They also learn about online etiquette and how to communicate effectively and respectfully online.
Digital Safety
The third principle of Cyber Civics is digital safety. This involves teaching students how to stay safe online. Students learn about online predators, identity theft, and how to protect themselves and their personal information online. They also learn about the dangers of oversharing and how to set strong passwords.
How is the Cyber Civics Curriculum being used at the Upper Valley Waldorf School?
At the Upper Valley Waldorf School Cyber Civics is a class taught to all students in grades 6-8.
The Cyber Civics curriculum is taught in a Waldorf-inspired way, with an emphasis on project-based learning. The program includes weekly lessons that emphasize critical thinking, ethical discussion, and decision making about digital media issues using role-play, hands-on projects, active discussions and debates and problem-solving challenges. The curriculum can be taught entirely without technology. Experts agree the most important new media skills are social and behavioral.
The Cyberwise site also has resources for parents, including a Cyber Civics curriculum for families, as they say, “No grown-up left behind.”
Conclusion
By teaching students how to use technology effectively and responsibly, the school is preparing them for the digital world and helping them become responsible digital citizens.
Waldorf education seeks to develop free, morally responsible, and integrated individuals equipped with a high degree of social competence. The Cyber Civics curriculum presents technology as a tool and follows a step-by-step approach to understanding how the tool works, what the outcomes can be depending on how you use the tool, and what questions to ask so that the tool works for you and not against you.