Digital Footprint
- Sep 9, 2018
- 3 min read
As an elementary music teacher, I have not dealt a lot with learners in a digital setting. I feel like my limited time with them should be spent experiencing and creating music together. Taking time to become digital, is saved for special moments like adding a special performance to our ePortfolios, submitting tests in Schoology, or the occasional GarageBand composition. I think this is the reason I had not put a whole lot of thought into digital citizenship or digital footprints until this course. My goals of becoming a digital coach have sent me in the direction of helping other teachers. Homeroom teachers do a short lesson on digital citizenship with their kids. it is pretty specific to classroom behaviors and taking care of equipment. I'm beginning to see that we, as a district, need to do a better job continuing the study of digital citizenship into the 9 elements that I discussed in my previous post. As far as digital footprints, we are using ePortfolios as one step to help ourselves and our learners build a positive digital footprint.
What is our digital footprint? The digital footprint is the trail we leave behind us from everything do in the digital world. Digital Footprints can be left deliberately or unintentionally. The posts we make in social media are a permanent mark in our digital world. Employers, College Recruiters, Military Recruiters, and even Coaches look at our digital footprints when deciding if we are the person they want for the job. Will that post you made during a sleepover in 8th grade come back to haunt you when you are trying to get in to your favorite college? There is a very real possibility. Because of this, we must begin teaching our kids about their digital footprints at a very early age. In my opinion, they need to learn about the effects of their digital footprints before they are given the opportunity to create one.
Schools need to help learners create a positive digital footprint. My school district is tackling this with a PreK - 12th Grade digital portfolio initiative. The hope is that every one of our learners will leave us with a large portfolio of information that can be shared with prospective employers or colleges. This will be a huge, positive digital footprint for all of our kids. We will need to educate them on what is appropriate to share in their portfolio and who should see them, but it will a be a great beginning for many of our learners, especially those kids that don't have the access to technology from home.
I like to tell my own children that their digital footprint is more of a digital tattoo. Tattoos are almost impossible to change or get rid of. Anything you post publicly on the internet is also almost impossible to erase. We may erase it from our personal feed, but we have no control over what others may do with our original post. If it is share just one time, we have lost control and that post will be connected to us forever. A good rule of thumb is not to post ANYTHING you would not be proud of your grandma or boss seeing. Look at things from the lens of another person. Could it be taken out of context? Could it be considered offensive to some? If the answer is maybe, DO NOT POST IT!
Our digital footprints or tattoos should not be taken lightly. As an adult, I need to google my name frequently to take a look at what pops up. At this point in time, my footprint is small but positive. I am going to work on making an greater effort to increase my positive footprint. I would like more people to see my work and my thoughts.
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