Digital Steward Lesson Plans: The Internet and Social Media

Lesson Plan #1: The Internet

1. Title: Into the Abyss of the Internet
2. Activity: "Hyperlink Blink"
• Students will begin activity with a Google search, aimed at anything their heart desires. It can be a search for something that is interesting to them, something random, or anything at all.
• After scrolling through the results, they will click the link to a page that gives them what they are looking for.
• On the new page, students will find another link to click on, or find some element that leads them to a new search .
• This process will continue on and on to see how far into the internet the students can venture. The objective is to go from link to link, website to website, and search to search, venturing deeper and deeper into the internet.
• At the end of the activity (whenever time is called), students will discuss their original Google search, along with where they ended up, and share their process of exploration.
3. Age Group: 9-12 Grades
4. Learning Objectives:
• To ensure that students understand that the internet is a massive resource! Any and all information that is available in the world can be found with a simple click. 
• To illustrate that the internet is a place for exploration and discovery. There is always something new to be found, and students should feel free to go out and find it!
5. Materials: Laptop/Desktop Computers, The Internet

Lesson Plan #2: Social Media

1. Title: Traversing the New Social Landscape
2. Activity: "Digital Novellas" - Students will construct a story that is confined to the characters allotted by a Twitter tweet. Stories can be anything from favorite memories, to funny/interesting thoughts, to fantasies, etc., but the only restriction is that their stories must be short enough to be contained in ONE tweet. When the students finish their Twitter stories, they will do a creative component that corresponds to the story they just told, and upload it to a different social media platform of their choosing (Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, etc.). Again, there are no restrictions for the creative component, however it must be something that can be uploaded to social media. When the students are finished with their activity, we will read the tweets, and examine what they've created. If students finish early, or have extra time, they may do additional tweet stories and begin the creative components for these as well. 
3. Age Group: 9-12 Grades
4. Learning Objectives:
• To demonstrate how social media can speak across platforms as a potent tool for expression.
• To highlight the extremely public nature of creation within the digital realm. With social media, even intimate thoughts/memories are publicly shared with the world!
5. Materials: Cellphones, WiFi/Cellular Data, Internet, Social Media Apps/Platforms (Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, etc.), Miscellaneous Digital Technologies (to be used at the students' discretion)