Four years ago, Journey was one of the first schools in the state to pioneer Digital Media Literacy as a graduation requirement.
Instead of prematurely stocking classrooms with expensive smart-boards and other alluring technologies, we decided it was most important to first allocate instructional time and resources to weekly Cyber Civics classes.
In this way, we stuck to our defining principles and trusted what educational research and practical experience had long demonstrated: It is dangerous to put digital devices in the hands of young students before they are ready; while it is wise to equip adolescents with technological tools once they are ethically prepared.
Journey’s students are now reaping the rewards:
- Chevron donated a dozen iPads to the project
- Cyber-bullying has not been reported since 2011
- Plagiarism has not been reported since 2010
- Academic performance has improved rapidly over the last 3 years
- National leaders are praising our students for “maturity” and “life skills”
More
- 8th grade students were the first to agree this past week that strong protocols must be in place before iPads are distributed. Thank you students for your input!
- Cyber Civics students want to learn from others’ mistakes (LA Unified retraction of IPADS article).
- Faculty is revising middle school media guidelines to fit current practices
- K-5 media guidelines at Journey School will be increasingly emphasized
Become a Digital Media Literacy Sponsor
Our proven project needs a generous philanthropist to step forward:
- Curriculum development
- Specialty Teachers
- Research and dissemination
- Naming rights available–especially for corporate partners
