Level: Grades 11 to 12

About the Author: Matthew Johnson, Director of Education, MediaSmarts

Duration: 3 - 4 hours

This lesson is part of USE, UNDERSTAND & CREATE: A Digital Literacy Framework for Canadian Schools.

Overview

In this lesson, students are introduced to basic concepts of anthropology and ethnography and explore how they apply to online communities. After performing a digital ethnography project on the norms and values of an online community, students consider how a community’s norms and values are formed and how they can be shaped and influenced.

Learning Outcomes

Students will:

• Learn key concepts of anthropology and ethnography
• Consider differences between online and offline communities
• Perform, document and analyze original research
• Consider ways in which individuals and small groups (including themselves) can influence the values and norms of a community in a positive way

This lesson and all associated documents (handouts, overheads, backgrounders) are available in an easy-print, pdf kit version.