This is re-posted from the WNYC Radio Rookies blog with additional thoughts from educators/Hive members associated with the workshop.

Radio Rookies and Common Sense Media came together to hold a one week Digital Literacy & Citizenship Workshop with teens from the McBurney YMCA Y Scholars from Aug. 6-13th. The teens learned how to use digital media responsibly and were given the chance to produce a video/audio/multimedia piece. Their stories will be used to inform their peers as well as to help give educators tools to teach young people across the nation about digital literacy and citizenship.

Common Sense Media asked us to pilot their Digital Literacy and Citizenship modules about issues such as online reputation, innovation, remixing and over-sharing online or TMI (too much information).

“I learned that over-sharing can become a problem that effects people who want to apply for a job or go to college,” one participant said. “I learned many ways to show myself in a positive light online.”

Here is an example of a module activity card:

“I will say it was very challenging, because I had to do stuff that I have never done before — like learning how to introduce myself when I’m interviewing someone,” another teen said.

Each group hit the streets to ask people what kind of digital citizens they are. Do they download music illegally? How honest are they on Facebook? How much information do they share about themselves online?

“It was very fun and taught me skills that I can use in life. It also taught me how to communicate in the streets of NYC.”

Check out what they came up with!

Innovation (Allegra, Chayenne, Neisha, & Selena):

Allegra’s Interview

Online Reputation (Danielle, Demaris, Naomi, & Zaire):

“(The topic of online reputation) is relevant to our lives because, well, it’s something that affects us because we all use the internet for social networking.  I think about not just how it affects me now but how it affects me in the future going to college or getting a job, or how others might view me.”

Oversharing (Bree, Larry, & Callah):

One teen said, “I enjoyed interviewing (for the Oversharing project). It was really fun. It made me think about how different people are, even though people like to bunch people into groups. It was interesting to see different people’s perspectives and learn their opinions.”

Remixing (Anasha, Jennifer, & Jessica):

“This was a cool project and I learned a lot of stuff that I didn’t know and that Facebook doesn’t teach you. I learned that having an online life, you have to be aware and make responsible choices. And I learned how it feels to be a reporter in the field — I really like it — this was the most fun going out, asking people questions, and meeting people from different places in the world and getting different opinions.”

Courtney Stein, Associate Producer for WNYC Radio Rookies, said, “This workshop was a real testament to the benefit of the Hive network. At Rookies, we typically spend weeks recruiting the young people we work with but because of our partnership with the McBurney YMCA, we were able to work with 16 amazing teenagers from one of their summer programs. We’re a small staff of three over here and often lack the time and know-how to go after the many ideas we have for growth. Working with Common Sense Media enabled us to teach the Digital Citizenship and literacy skills that we’ve often talked about incorporating into our work but didn’t have the expertise to carry out.”

“We were thrilled with the young people’s excitement about learning more about the world of remixing and giving and getting creative credit, as well as the development of one’s online reputation, and the positive and not so positive potential consequences of oversharing,” said Tali Horowitz, Education Program Manager for Common Sense Media.