Introduction to the special project

The ALS Learner as an Ethical Digital Citizen is an instructional design project that aims to create teaching and instructional materials for the ALS Imus students' Learning Strand 6: Digital Citizenship (LS6). It also features a four-day implementation that will equip learners with the necessary skills and values to use digital technologies ethically. At the end of the project, the learners should be able to:

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• explain the meaning of digital ethics, its importance, and how to minimize negative online behaviors by giving real-life examples in an essay. 

• distinguish ethical versus unethical behavior as a user of digital technology through a ten-item identification quiz. 

• practice respectful conduct when using the internet by developing their own digital ethics oath. 

 

This special project aims to resolve three main problems observed from the Needs Analysis phase: 

 

1. The lack of ALS resources for LS6

The 150+ Junior High School students that Mrs. Marilou Merino handles are only a fraction of all the Imus City learners who have not yet taken the sixth learning strand called Digital Citizenship. The reason behind this is that the Department of  Education did not provide enough materials for the new subject. Aside from the ALS teacher’s testimony on this issue, the ICT4ALS website, the official website for ALS resources, also shows that only two self-learning modules are accessible for the learning strand. 

 

Introducing Digital Citizenship to ALS learners will allow them to develop 21st-century ICT skills that they may use in their daily lives (Department of Education, 2017). The online class observation and interview I performed revealed that the ALS learners have already achieved a level of digital literacy despite the lack of an ICT-related subject. Therefore, it was agreed by the learners, teacher, and I that the special project will focus on the topic of digital ethics because of its relevance. Such a decision also complements DepEd ALS’ strategies related to the Recognition of Prior Learning (Department of Education, n.d.).

 

2. The unsuitability of the ALS self-learning modules for adult learners.

The majority of the ALS learners in the country are working adults. Despite this, the Department of Education still doesn’t consider adult learning as one of its foundations besides lifelong learning and the recognition of prior learning.

 

In ALS Imus City, all but two students are already of legal age. Even though the two learners are only sixteen and seventeen years old, they are just as self-directed as their adult classmates. These learners can become more motivated to study and achieve better outcomes if given more opportunities to set their personal learning goals while also learning at their own pace. They will also benefit from content that they can easily apply in their career or daily life. 

 

3. The unsuitability of ALS self-learning modules for distance learners.

The instructional methods embedded in the distance learners’ self-learning modules are no different from ordinary textbooks for schoolchildren because of the poorly organized content and the improper writing tone. Adult learners can become more self-directed if their instructional materials provide estimates of study time, a conversational tone that will compensate for the lack of teaching presence, small chunks of content, and a space where they can write their personal goals.​

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Method

The method for conducting the instructional design project is based on the ADDIE model, which comprises the Analysis, Design, Development, and Evaluation phases (Kurt, 2018). For the analysis of learners and instructional context, I used the five fundamental characteristics based on Dick, Carey, and Carey and Doolitle's guide questions (2010). I created a design blueprint for the Design phase (See third eJournal entry for my personal experience).  It features the theoretical framework of the project, intended learning outcomes, and the rest of the instructional plan. The ALS Learner as an Ethical Digital Citizen is anchored on the Theory of Adult Learning and the Principles of Distance Learning. It considers ALS learners as adult learners based on the six characteristics postulated by Knowles (Commonwealth of Learning, 2005; Knowles, 1973): (1) They need to know why they are learning; (2) they see themselves as responsible. self-directed learners; (3) they have a wealth of experience; (4) they are likely to choose when they are ready to learn; (5) they are problem-centered; (6) they are motivated by personal factors. 

 

The instructional material is also designed based on The Commonwealth of Learning’s Guidelines for Creating Open and Distance Learning Materials (2005). These guidelines complement andragogical principles through suggestions like focusing on content that adult learners can apply at home and at work, leaving space for adult learners to write their personal goals, and making the writing tone conversational to be more distance learning-friendly. (See Appendix C: Project Proposal and Design Blueprint for the complete literature review and instructional plan).

 

The Development phase focuses on the process of creating the content assets, including the teacher’s guide and the self-learning module on the topic of digital ethics. This stage is also where I concentrate on the visuals of the materials, ensuring I organize the content into readable chunks, provide clear instructions, set the font to an acceptable size, and observe other practices in creating instructional media resources. Most of the strategies I employed in the development phase are based on the 12 Principles for Reducing Extraneous Load by Mayer (2009).

 

The Implementation phase is where I deliver the instructional material to the learner and the teacher’s guide to the teacher. The learners are expected to complete the self-learning modules in three days with little to no assistance from the teacher. On the fourth day, a live group session through Google Meet is held to synthesize the module and monitor students’ learning.

 

Lastly, the Evaluation Phase is done according to Kirkpatrick’s Evaluation Model. To evaluate the Reaction, Learning, Impact, and Results of the instructional design project, I design an evaluation sheet that assesses the reaction of the learners and the gatekeeper to the project, the ALS students' learning, a change in their behavior, and actual results for the organization and individuals. A thorough evaluation of the answered self-learning modules, as well as the short self-assessment, will also be done to supplement the Learning level of the evaluation.