One small step for the digital world, one giant leap for me!

By now, we all have a digital footprint but is it a good thing or a bad thing?

No need to look for a very long time to understand that every thing we do on the Internet is stored somewhere. We kept on hearing and reading that “The Internet is forever”. For me it seems that the Internet is the villain of the piece. If we misinterpret the message that the media send we could understand that the Internet is not a safe place, and that everybody knows everything about anybody including me! It also seems that even if I would stop right away to go online, erase all my accounts and activities, it wouldn’t be enough. That’s too late! Because all my friends would have post things about me. Should I become paranoid and should I feel worried about that? Shouldn’t I think the opposite? In the 21^st century, wouldn’t it be worst to not have a digital footprint at all?

[caption id="attachment_95" align="aligncenter" width="186"] Image by Penny Bentley-Digital Footprint in Word cloud- Created in Tagxedo[/caption]

The Internet has changed our way to learn and to look for information.
I completely agree with Will Richardson quoted by William M. Ferriter in Digitally speaking/ positive digital footprints: “One of my worst fears as [my children] grow older is that they won't be Googled well. … that when a certain someone (read: admissions officer, employer, potential mate) enters "Tess Richardson" into the search line of the browser, what comes up will be less than impressive. That a quick surf through the top five hits will fail to astound with examples of her creativity, collaborative skills, and change-the-world work. Or, even worse, that no links about her will come up at all."

How to turn our digital footprint into a positive digital footprint?

As I cannot avoid having a digital footprint, I need to use my digital profile and social networks to show my contribution to my “world” (meaning those who share the same interests as me). I need to teach myself about a positive digital footprint in order to teach my students about it.
I teach my students to be creative, communicator, to collaborate and to be critical-thinker online. Therefore I should teach them how to have a positive digital footprint thus teaching them how to use the Internet in a positive way.
How should I do that? By first asking them what the Internet is for? The Internet is a place to share and learn.
In "how important are students' digital footprints?" Melissa Davis wrote: "According to Educator’s Technology, “Managing one’s digital identity is a skill, so to speak, that we need to learn and teach our kids and students about. In a world digitally focused, the boundaries between the real and virtual are blurred.”

This video from “A great guide on teaching students about digital footprint” summarized the power of a positive digital footprint.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZjmrJvL_eg[/youtube]
Then I completely agree with Melissa Davis when she said we should “help students learn that their online persona should reflect their offline persona. Ask students to create a short video, blog or slideshow about who they are—something that reflects their good qualities and the things they want the public to know about them.”

As we, educators, teach “offline” our students to respect others, and what the consequences of their “good/bad choices” could be, we have to do the same online. As Caroline Knorr explains in 5 myths and truths about kids’ Internet safety: “Yes, there is bad stuff out there. But the truth is, there’s a lot of good…We can’t keep our kids safe I we don’t know the facts.”

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="315"] Image by Rama via Wikimedia Commons[/caption]

 

Image credits: Top by Penny Bentley, Bottom by Rama via Wikimedia Commons