Title: The network tribes

Lesson plan elaborated by: Katarzyna Maciejak

Topic:

The network tribes. The role and function of social network.

Target group:

8th‑grade students of an eight‑year elementary school.

Core curriculum

1. Literary and cultural education.

1) Reading literary works. Student:

5. knows the concept of comedy, recognises its types in texts and determines their functions;

6. knows the concept of irony, recognises it in texts and defines its functions.

II. Language education.

1. Differentiation of language. Student:

1) recognises the diversity of vocabulary, including recognizing national vocabulary and limited vocabulary (eg scientific terms, archaisms, colloquialisms); recognizes native and borrowed words, knows types of abbreviations and abbreviations – defines their functions in the text;

5) distinguishes environmental and regional varieties of language.

III. Creating statements.

1. Elements of rhetoric. Student:

1) functionally uses rhetorical means and understands their impact on the recipient;

2) collects and organises the material material needed to create statements; edits the compositional plan of his own statement;

7) agrees with other people's views or polemicises with them, substantively justifying their own opinion;

1. Speaking and writing. Student:

2) perform transformations on someone else's text, including shortening, summarizing, expanding and paraphrasing.

IV. Self‑study. Student:

1. reliably, with respect for copyrights, uses information;

2. develops his talents and interests;

6) develops skills of independent presentation of the results of his work;

8) develops the ability to think critically and formulate opinions.

The general aim of education

Students develop the attitude of a conscious user of the Internet.

Key competences

• communication in the mother tongue;

• communication in foreign languages;

• learning to learn;

• digital competences.

Operational objectives

Student:

• talks about types of online activity, including his experiences;

• explains the role of social networks in contemporary culture and discusses their advantages, disadvantages and limitations;

• characterises various communities functioning in cyberspace;

• argues why the protection of the image on the web is needed.

Teaching methods / techniques

• giving: talk;

• practical: subject exercises;

• programmed: using a computer, using an e‑manual.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Lesson plan overview (Process)

Introduction

1. The teacher defines the purpose of the course: students will talk about the Internet users’ activity.

2. The teacher draws attention to the specificity of on‑line communication and the emergence of new types of communities (called virtual communities) on the Internet. The teacher encourages students to talk in pairs about the types of on‑line activities and their own experiences (whether they post comments on Internet forums, comment on videos on YouTube, correspond with people whom they know only from the Internet, etc.) and the differences between this form of contact and direct communication.

Realization

1. Students start the lesson “Network Tribes” in the abstract and, on the basis of materials prepared at home, they complete the form with information about the social media or websites of their choice (exercise 1).

2. The teacher initiates a discussion on the role of social media. The teacher draws particular attention to the integration role of the Internet and the phenomenon of formation of suprageographic groups (tribes) on the Internet. In the discussion, the students use the materials they have prepared and the information contained in the teaching medium in the abstract (interactive map).

3. Students read Piotr Stasiak's text in the abstract, then divide themselves into groups and elaborate information about the representatives of individual tribes in the form of information needed to create a Facebook profile (exercise 4):

Group I: haters;

Group II: series‑watchers;

Group III: game players;

Group IV: wikipedians;

Group V: geeks and nerds;

Group VI: bargain hunters;

Group VII: demotivators;

Group VIII: startupers.

4. Students think about which tribe is closest to them (exercise 5). If the group to which they belong has not been taken into account – they characterize it briefly.

5. The teacher summarises this part of the lesson and asks the students what dangers can be posed by public activity on the Internet. The teacher starts a conversation about social media features and encourages students to consider in pairs what importance the media such as Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat have (advantages, disadvantages, limitations). The teacher also asks to consider why people are increasingly eager to communicate through these portals instead of choosing direct contact.

6. Students look at the scheme concerning the online image protection and decide what they want to say in the discussion on whether it is worth protecting one’s own data and image on the Internet (they take into account both private users and companies).

Summary

The teacher distributes questionnaires to the students to evaluate their own work.

Then he asks summarising questions, e.g.

• Why should we protect our image online?

• How can we do this?

Homework

Social networks – an opportunity or a threat? Analyse in the form of a dissertation.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The network tribes

The specific type of online communication has led to the emergence of integrating communities in cyberspace that address specific types of needs, interests and problem‑solving strategies. Active users of the web portals have formed informal associations, which could be called “the network tribes.” These include, for example: serial‑lovers, haters, demotivators, warcraft and online players, wikipedists, bargain hunters and others. Separate groups are composed of users of social media: facebookers, instagrammers, bloggers/video bloggers (here: youtubers), snapchatters, twitters.