Phase 1 – Understand (Discover, Interpret, & Specify)

1.1 Learning Challenge

Children need to learn Online awareness, being able to densifier between safe and unsafe online behaviors, situations, and content is a vital skill with the growing age of technology.

1.2 Project Context

In today’s digital era, children are accessing the internet at younger and younger ages. While online spaces can be fun, creative, and educational, they can also present risks. These rinks can come in a variety of forms such as oversharing personal information, talking to strangers, or encountering unsafe websites. Young children can be curious and eager to explore online platforms but may not yet have the knowledge or judgment to make safe choices.

My interest in this topic comes from recognizing how prevalent technology has become in the daily lives of everyone including children. It has become vital to equip them with the tools to navigate the online world safely. While schools often include talks and lectures about digital literacy in the curriculum, these lessons are often not memorable or relatable for young learners. I thought making a comic could add visuals to the topic, making ideas like “online safety” more engaging and easier to understand for people of young ages.

The primary audience for this project is Jr/Middle School students (Grades 4–7). This is the age kids are starting to explore the internet more independently, whether through gaming, social media, or school platforms. Everyone is introduced to the internet in different ways and ages, some may already have their own devices and accounts, while others may still rely on shared family technology. But no matter how you are introduced it is important to know the rinks and how to stay safe.

Within this age group with the wide range of internet usage knowledge that I mentioned before, experiences vary widely. Some students may be cautious already knowing practicing safe online behaviors, while others may be more trusting, unaware of risks around. With this project my aim is to support learners by presenting scenarios and showing safe alternatives in a way that is approachable, memorable, and fun for kids.

1.3 Point of View Statement

Jr/Middle School students who are beginning to explore online communities and spaces needs to have the tools to know what is and is not safe while on the internet, so that that they can protect themselves and make responsible choices online.

1.4 Learning Objectives and Sub-Objectives

Main Learning Outcome:                                                                                                                                
Jr/Middle School students will be able to identify Safe online places by gaining a greater understanding of the internet.

Sub-Outcomes:

Jr/Middle School students will be able to recognize why personal information (address, phone number, passwords) should not be shared online from images.

Jr/Middle School students will be able to recognize common risky situations (messages from strangers, clicking suspicious links) from images.

Jr/Middle School students will be able to demonstrate safe online communication by distinguishing between appropriate and inappropriate information to share.

Jr/Middle School students will be able to give examples of what to do if they feel unsafe by giving examples of who safe people are to go to.

Secret/Underlying Objective:                                                                                                            
Jr/Middle School students will be able to develop Self-awareness in ways of the internet that will last a lifetime with a short Comic

(Created using https://learning-objectives.easygenerator.com/)