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=Welcome to the CyberSafety Online Game =

Introduction:
This course focuses on an understanding of issues which can be found within the scope of the Internet from safety issues to Digital Citizenship to accomplish desired educational outcomes. Students will consider the different aspects of the Internet that can enrich and help them learn more effectively. Multimedia products and web-based services are considered from commercial, open source, public domain, free, and teacher or student generated sources as components for traditional and alternative teaching strategies.



Students who successfully complete the course will be able to

 * 1) ====Compare and contrast stereotypes and realities when it comes to Internet "stranger danger" ====
 * 2) ====Learn guidelines for determining safe online relationships, especially with strangers or casual acquaintances ====
 * 3) ====Brainstorm ways to help teens avoid risky online behavior ====
 * 4) ====Understand what identity theft means and why it is important to guard against it ====
 * 5) ====Recognize strategies that scam artists use to access private information ====
 * 6) ====Reflect on the place of digital media in their lives ====
 * 7) ====Consider pros and cons of digital media for themselves, their friends and family, and for the online community as a whole ====
 * 8) ====Recognize that they have a public presence online called a digital footprint, which can help or hurt their reputations ====
 * 9) ====Celebrate a "culture of sharing" through digital media while considering some possible harmful effects of over-sharing ====
 * 10) ====Learn such basic terms as creative work, copyright, fair use, public domain, plagiarism, and privacy ====

Methodology
====<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 14px;">This course will be conducted using game-based learning strategies. The course is organized to maximize student centered learning as it is loosely structured as a role playing game, generally following a Secret Agent Spy theme. Students are secret agents who are based in CIA Headquarters and who venture out on various paths radiating across the globe. Each secret agent keeps a record of the pursuits along these paths in a personal Ops Log (a wiki page linked to Headquarters) that includes links to that secret agent's Missions and has a Discussion Tab where one can find that Adventurer's Cover Ops write ups, Intellegence discussions, Journal entries, Surveillance reports, and Black Ops updates. Secret Agents will use their imaginations to... Look, there is the Guild Hall entrance now (click on doors above to enter the Guild Hall)! ====

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 25px;">Grades
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 14px;">Grades will be derived from American Dollars earned by various activities achieved in the "travels" of this course game. Students will be able to earn dollars from participating in intellegence gathering (readings, sound, and video presentations of course content) and cover operations (activities) that are recorded in their operations logs. Missions (projects) and at least one Black Op (exam) allow student secret agents to earn addtional dollars. Dollars also can be gained through regular Operations Logs entries reflecting on one's personal learning experience and surveillance reports observing activities others pursue in the class.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 14px;">American Dollars are arranged into levels to help students experience their accomplishment in advancing through the game/course. Levels (the top 8) are bracketed for end of game/course grades. Plus and minus grades are calculated for the top and bottom (respectively) 10 XP ranges in each bracket. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 14px;">A= Levels 19-20, $360-$400, <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 14px;">B= Levels 17-18, $320-$359 <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 14px;">C= Levels 15-16, $280-$319 <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 14px;">D = Levels 13-14, $240-$279 <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 14px;"> Dollar values will be noted at each site. Player and Game Master work together to build Dollars when good points are noted in the content analysis of Intellegence Gathering or Covert Operations, combined with personal reflections on that item. Journals are overall student reflections on the week's work, while Surveillance is content analysis and reflection on others' work that week. Mission Updates are reflections on Mission work, as well as listing of Mission accomplishments for the week to be used to guide claims of Mission Dollars. Typically, Dollars are awarded for each point made, with some pilgrimages especially affording opportunity for more total Dollar earnings than others. A "good point" comes from statements of a sentence or more, not listings. Rarely a "good point" statement may also earn a quality Dollar, but not all sentences will necessarily serve as a "good point" statement in and of themselves. Special rules :
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 14px;">__Covert Operations__ and __Intellegence Activities__ (about 37%, possibly more with substitutions for Journal or Surveillance work, 150/400), will need to have some balance. Some intellegence and covert operations will be required, as noted, but there are more available than any one is expected to complete.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 14px;">Intellegence activities are reading, listening, or watching experiences that then are written up as a report on the content acquired from the experience. Longer experiences require longer write-ups and generate the possibility of more dollars. The quality of the write-up matters in terms of what one has gained and understands. Most Intelligence Gathering is worth $10, with a few others at differing dollar values. At least 65% of Covert Ops/Intelligence Dollars must be from Intellegence.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 14px;">Covert Operations are typically interactive experiences, where one is expected to learn and briefly interact with a game, a person or a group of persons (either online or face-to-face), then write about the experience. Most Covert Ops are worth up to $10 for a quality report that explains the activity and the information learned from the activity. A few covert ops that are more complicated are worth up to $15.
 * 1) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 14px;">__Missions__ (37%, 150/400 Dollars) - Mission assignments are linked to the Headquarters. Students are required to complete the Rookie Mission, the SPY Mission, and Mission Updates.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 14px;">The Rookie Mission focuses on Digital Citizenship. It is worth up to $50.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 14px;">The SPY Mission focuses on Online Safety. It is worth up to $100.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 14px;">Mission Updates are expected weekly - but only one update per week is permitted. See below note under Journals and Surveillance concerning "late" updates (i.e., no late updates). Mission Updates earn up to $3 each for a total of $30. There is no make-up or trade for missed Mission reports. There are 10 Mission Updates possible for the two week game.
 * 1) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">__Journals__ and __Surveillance__ (up to about 15% or about 7.2% total each, to total 60/400 Dollars) - Journals and Surveillance are relatively easy ways to get Dollarss, but an secret agent may not get credit for more than one each per week (one Journal entry and one Surveillance report). Therefore, Journals and Surveillance cannot be done late, because that would yield more than one per week.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 14px;">Additional Intelligence or Covert Operations can make up for missed Journal or Surveillance Dollars.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 14px;">Journal and Surveillance Reports are worth up to $3 each, with an option for extra dollarss awarded for particularly thorough Surveillance Reports. Journal entries have a far less likely possibility for extra points.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 14px;">There are 10, each, Journal Entries and Surveillance Reports possible between during the two week game.
 * 1) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> __Black Ops__ (10%, 40/400 Dollars) - Black Ops function like exams to ensure that students have gained the expected knowledge base from course activities. Generally, questions will come from Intellegence content acquisition, but can be drawn to a lesser extent from Covert Ops, and possibly even from Missions (especially the background and preparation materials). Only a Black Op (like a Final Exam) is planned initially, although there is a slight possibility of lesser raid opportunities for extra credit as may be determined appropriate by the Game Master (Teacher). Further information on the Black Ops is linked in Headquarters. Students must have completed at least $80 in Intellgence by the 8th day to have a full component Black Op.
 * 2) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms',cursive; font-size: 14px;">__Spy Funds__ (4%, 20/400 XPs) - Spy Funds are extra dollars that will be given for certain accomplishments at various times during the course, as noted on the Spy Funds page. Spy Funds help ensure that students pursue optimum study strategies with regard to making good choices of material to consider and keeping up with work to be done in a timely fashion. Information on Spy Funds is linked to the wiki sidebar.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 25px;">Calendar
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;">The Calendar will help keep students abreast of when sections of the game are due along with the final project. Please contact the teacher if there is a scheduling problem.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 25px;">Disclaimer
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;">This syllabus is a good faith effort to predict how this course will proceed. The teacher reserves the right to make any changes as may be deemed necessary or desirable without advance notice.

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