Most of us don’t realize how large our digital
footprint really is. The YouTube video, Digital Dossier, shows just how much
information is contained in our individual footprint over the course of our
lives. From sonograms before you are
even born, to surveillance cameras in colleges, your digital footprint tracks
you everywhere you go. Most phones are
GPS enabled, meaning your whereabouts can traced and be accounted for by
pulling up your account number (digitalnatives, 2008) .
Students today have to learn that what they post,
whether it is a photo, a tweet, a Facebook post or a blog comment, that
information is forever etched in the cyber world. The information is impossible to fully
delete. As a child, I was always told to
“think before you speak”. My parents taught
me to be cognizant of how my words and actions would affect others, and how
important making a good first impression was.
Today, a first impression may be a social media page, which can be
interpreted differently by different people. I do keep this in mind whenever I am posting
something online. I don’t want there to
be something out there that will haunt me later because of poor judgment.
The poster below is a great flowchart to share with students. Teaching them to think and reflect before acting is a lesson they need to learn at an early age. I think it is easier for those of us who were introduced to social media slowly to realize the implications of posting inappropriate material, and that it can be shared with anyone, not just your “friends”. Students today were born into the world of social media and sharing information. It comes naturally to them, and most won’t give it a second thought when sharing information.
The poster below is a great flowchart to share with students. Teaching them to think and reflect before acting is a lesson they need to learn at an early age. I think it is easier for those of us who were introduced to social media slowly to realize the implications of posting inappropriate material, and that it can be shared with anyone, not just your “friends”. Students today were born into the world of social media and sharing information. It comes naturally to them, and most won’t give it a second thought when sharing information.
It’s very important get students to think about digital
citizenship very early. The earlier they
learn about it, and the more thoughtful they are about what they put online,
the better. I have some friends that
have students in middle school who are very opposed to the school social media
program. They don’t want their kids
exposed to social media at a young age.
My argument to them is that this is the time to get them familiar with
it, and understand what is appropriate and not appropriate to post online. There is no better time than when the
students are monitored, and on a secure network to teach them about it. When they do finally go out on their own,
where they can’t be monitored and can go to any site they want, they will have
the knowledge to make better decisions. Let's not forget that most employers now search the Internet to find out about you before they even interview you. What they see could help or harm your employment opportunities.
The following acronym is used by the Forsyth County Schools in Cumming, Georgia to help guide students about responsible Internet and technology use. The school is into their sixth year with a BYOT program, and since its inception have had very few issues, and those that have surfaced have been more behavioral in nature, than safety issues. The philosophy is that the school has a responsibility, along with the family, to teach students about responsible and safe Internet use (Hobson & Clark, 2013).
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| (Hobson & Clark, 2013) |
When I was in school, they had the "stranger danger " workshops teaching us not to talk to strangers, and what to do if we were
approached by someone. In today’s world,
strangers are also online, and can create false identities that make kids trust
them. If approached by a stranger face
to face, you know it’s a stranger.
Online, that’s not the case. I
don’t think that there can be an overemphasis of “stranger danger” on the
Internet. I think that it always better
to be safe than sorry, and that students today do need to be aware that posting
personal information and where they are at every moment is not a safe practice. I am still surprised by the number of adults
who will announce on Facebook that they are going away on vacation for seven
days! That’s an open invitation for anyone with bad intentions to know the house
will be vacant.
Social media is only one aspect of one’s digital
footprint. As students go through school
today, they should be creating their own portfolio of work they have done,
papers they have written and activities they have participated in that can help
them when applying to college and when they are job searching.
Lindsay & Davis (2012) make a great point, “When
students graduate from high school, they should have a positive digital
footprint with academic material included. It is only a matter of time before
colleges begin requesting hyperlinks for e-portfolios and other online work,
and we should help our students build positive, impressive digital footprints
while still protecting their privacy” (p. 1).
Here is a link I found to a great article on how to help students understand digital citizenship. There are some videos to share with
students as well as some great activities to help them understand their own
digital footprint.
Resources:
Digital Citizenship Poster
for Middle and High School Classrooms. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/middlehigh_poster.
digitalnatives.
(2008, August 13). Youth and Media - Digital Dossier [video format].
Retrieved from YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=79IYZVYIVLA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=79IYZVYIVLA
Hobson, J., Clark,
T. (2013, June 6). Learning to TRUST with Responsible Use. Retrieved
from BYOT Network: http://byotnetwork.com/tag/digital-footprint/
Lindsay, J., Davis,
V. (2012, August 7). Navigate the Digital Rapids. Retrieved from ISTE:
http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-leading/issues/march-april-2010/navigate-the-digital-rapids
Debbie,
ReplyDeleteI really like the TRUST poster, I am going to have to post that one in my room too! I like how it incorporates all the tenets of digital citizenship, privacy of information and personal privacy, attribution of others' work, standing up for others (cyberbullying), and good digital citizenship. I think the Unleash learning with technology speaks to the teachers too.
I agree get them on-line at a young age. Teach them good digital citizenship and monitor their actions. It will be a lot easier then trying to correct bad habits that they have developed over the years. This is especially true if we wait until they are teenagers. Even if the school does not introduce them to social media some else will and they may or may not learn good digital citizenship.. I really liked the link that you shared. Thanks
ReplyDeleteDebbie,
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I find it very interesting that you asked several people about what a digital footprint is. I hadn't done that myself, but you have inspired me to do so! As you said, most of the responses that you received were right on track with what a digital footprint actually is. It is incredible how large our digital footprint is when you think about it.
Also, I think you bring up a great point about needing to inform students and model appropriate Internet uses at a young age. Students need to understand how what they do online can impact them. As you said, it's much easier to recognize a stranger when they approach you face to face. It is much easier to overlook potential danger when you are online. I believe that we need to teach our students to be aware of this at a very young age so that they can protect themselves. I also think that we have to talk to our students about being careful about what they post/say on the Internet. As you mentioned, nothing is ever truly deleted. We need to make sure that our students understand this. In my middle school, I have dealt with several issues in which students have made poor choices online and those are things that really don't ever go away.
As always, great post! I loved the links that you shared and thank you for adding this to your "digital footprint". I agree with everyone's comments as well; teach children how to be responsible digital citizens, and teach them young. Your post also got me thinking about learning from mistakes and is it possible for people to "erase" their digital mistakes? As your post points out, what is posted on the Internet, stays on the Internet. But I also learned that "when there is a will, there's a way". Although the negative comments, and the inappropriate photos may always be made accessible through code and backtracking, remorseful and genuine actions can also be shared through the Internet.
ReplyDeleteI saw others this week mention, "cyber bullying". Sometimes, it is hard to ensure that students do not fight or bully each other through their digital profiles and devices, even with great lessons as you have introduced Debbie. However, just as people can say they're sorry in person, they can say they are sorry through the Internet. A way to show that their apology is genuine, is by participating in an online discussion about bullying and using themselves as an example. Another would be to show how they have learned by simply not engaging in such actions ever again once they have apologized. I think that it is important that teachers not expect perfection from their students in regards to their digital footprint, but still continue to ask for them to learn from their mistakes.
“It’s very important get students to think about digital citizenship very early. The earlier they learn about it, and the more thoughtful they are about what they put online, the better. “
ReplyDeleteI agree; if we can teach them with good habits and good citizenship at an early age, they continue this as adults when they are not in a controlled environment. I really like the acronym “trust” from Forsyth County Schools. This is such a great way to instill something that they will remember and use in their daily lives.
Although I find advancements in technology exciting, I sometimes think that it is starting to become too much like George Orwell’s 1984, …”Big Brother is Watching You.” (Orwell, 1954). The digital dossier is evidence of that; data collected and stored about us from the time that our new digital natives are born. Nevertheless, this is an undeniable fact that we must deal with and educate children on the importance of good digital citizenship.
Great post; thanks!
Orwell, G. (1954). 1984. New York: Penguin Books in association with Martin Secker & Warburg.