21st century lesson reflection-Alicia S-revised again

http://team9a.weebly.com/index.html

This lesson met 21st century skills in the following way:
     Students will be collaborating by working in pairs to creatively produce their own Weebly page and blog. They will choose one of the nine elements of digital citizenship, which is currently linked through a button on the second page of my educational Weebly. They will use critical thinking and their creativity to design a Weebly page that reflects a captivating way to showcase one of the nine elements. They will need to communicate with their peers and teacher as they create. Weebly also has an app for iPhone and iPad, which provides more availability for reflective responses.
     This activity meets common core literacy standards in that students need to comprehend the materials they will use. They will need to collaborate with each other in order to create a final product where they will showcase their ideas and knowledge.
It meets the writing standards as well because students will need to use a variety of digital text, determine what's best to incorporate into their presentation, and cite their resources. They will need to gear their product to a specific audience. In effect, students will build upon their current knowledge through investigating a real-life issue: Internet safety and being a responsible digital citizen. They will integrate prior knowledge, technology and a range of resources.
     This lesson has impacted me by increasing student engagement in 21st century skills.  My students were very excited to see my initial blog and many of them already have their personal blogs.  By creating an educational blog with a focus and forum for discussion on Weebly (for free), my students can take ownership over their technology use in a positive way. Because there isn't a class specifically devoted to digital citizenship, it is up to the individual teachers to take the initiative. Students will become more aware of how their technology use leaves a digital footprint and how that can affect their future endeavors. They will also learn about digital health and wellness topics like Internet addiction. Communication about etiquette, law, and buying/selling on the Internet will make them more responsible Internet users. Having these conversations opens the door for increasing amounts of collaboration between peers.
   How has this impacted me as a teacher? At this point, I'm happy to leave my approval filter on. Some of my students have shown through their blogs that they think it's 'funny' to write inappropriate responses. This type of behavior makes me reflect on the message I give-that communicating through technology should still be formal for education. The following standards apply to what I am trying to achieve with my blog:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1d Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Teachers should consider the maturity level of their students when deciding to maintain a blog. They also need to have specific purpose and incorporate a rubric for types of responses. I think that students aren't used to blogging for educational purposes. They need to practice etiquette rules because they seem to think all online responses are for social reasons only. Students seem to pick up that message from their peers, not the teachers. It's important that teachers use guided lessons, such as from Ribble, to show correct technology use. Just because students appear more tech savvy doesn't mean they have the foundation for positive technology use. Establishing this foundation will ultimately create more appropriate adult users which can lead to better career opportunities.