7th grade students spend mid-year focused on the theme of identity.  In Science they study genetics and evolution, in American History they look at the formation of the US through the Revolutionary War, and in Language Arts they read and write stories of personal growth and awareness.

In technology we take a deeper look at the idea of digital identity - who we are based on electronic information that exists in the cloud. One person’s DI can look quite different depending on what type of information a viewer finds: text messages, social networking profiles, search engine queries, gaming stats, etc.

We spent class looking at 2 young people who are intentionally shaping their digital identity with the help of adults. We also looked at the consequences of this process.

MattyB

Matty B is an 8-year-old rapper. He has a large YouTube presence (over 46 million channel views), a schwag store (do-it-yourself t-shirt print-on-demand storefront), and a Twitter handle. Matty B raps to popular songs and takes opportunities to interact with music and dance stars to gain attention and promote himself. 

Students can’t find any proof that Matty B is making money off the project so far, but they theorize that as he grows up, his digital identity might turn into a recording contract.

Rebecca Black

Rebecca Black was a regular 13 year old until about 10 days ago when her music video was uploaded to YouTube. The next day a couple of comedians sent out links to the video along with disparaging remarks, and she is now up to over 30 million views!

Rebecca’s video has spurned tens of tributes/copycats, most of them mean-spirited. Is fame worth the price of people asking you to end your life? Students doubted the ability of themselves to stay strong under such overwhelming criticism. We also discussed her ability to turn this experience into a positive one – she has already been interviewed by Good Morning America and been labeled the “next Justin Bieber.”