The Circles of Care and Building a Curriculum

In the coming weeks a group of graduate students will begin uploading digitally-created projects for a digital youth curriculum. The idea is to lay the groundwork for an accessible digital curriculum that helps youth express themselves and come to know the world around them. The curriculum will roughly revolve around the six circles defined by Nel Noddings. A digital collaborative tool will be used in each circle to help youth explore these circles:

First Circle: Self -- This involves how we come to know, respect and express ourselves.

* Start a blog in this circle to express themselves — bring all of the efforts back to the blog, maybe thereby creating interconnectivity through the various circles.

Second Circle: Family and Friends -- This involves how we relate to those closest to us, as well as people like strangers/

* Flickr with a cell phone or cheap camera photography integrated on the web.

Third Circle: Strangers -- Those in other countries or other parts of the world who we do not have a direct connection to.

* Maybe audio or starting a Teen Second Life account. The audio could be done in thirty second bites on our cell phone.

Fourth Circle: Earth and Animals -- Just like it sounds, but how do we care for the environment, our neigborhoods, etc.

* Seems great for video. Use both mash-ups and upload the video directly to Youtube. The video should be done through accessible and cheap means, such as through a cell phone or a Flip camera.

Fifth Circle: Human Mode -- Learning to care for the objects and instruments we use. This is the most abstract, but basically amounts to hands-on experiences and learning how to respect the utility and care of tools. Really, this may be something to emphasize every week as we move through other circles. Thoughts?

* This is the most abstract, but maybe giving them tools lie cameras, etc.

Sixth Circle: Ideas -- This is drawing everything together to think critically about how all of this works together. They are subjects that people should feel passionate about and an opportunity to be critical about the world around them.

* I think this comes back to the blog. Each student will document their experience and growth through their blogs. By the end of the experience their own ideas and passions should come into perspective and be expressed critically through the blog.