Written by One of the reasons I first began blogging and tweeting was to develop a positive digital footprint (i.e., the results that come up when someone ‘googles’ you) on the internet. In the digital age there is almost a certain expectation that you have some type of digital presence, and as a professional I feel it is important to contribute to this in a positive way. I don’t think as a teacher today it is acceptable to say that you don’t do technology, I believe strongly that you have evidence that you are at least trying to understand what is happening in the digital world and the lives of students so you are able to meet them where they are. I don’t think that you need to be an expert but you need to at least have an open-mind toward the use of technology!
Growing up as a student I was a student of Web 1.0 – and the most collaborative tools were I.C.Q. and email! In someways I feel fortunate that I was an “adult” when many of these new Web 2.0 tools (Facebook, Twitter) came along because I already was conscious of the power of these tools – both positive and negative. Unfortunately, I don’t think that many students today are aware of the power that their digital footprint holds. Many employers are known to check candidates digital footprint as part of the hiring process and some universities also use this process in more selective programs. Many students make their profiles “private” or “locked” but this is not enough as it may raise questions as to why they need to have that status and what they are trying to ‘hide’. Students also need to be creating a positive digital footprint.
I have a lot of questions (and some of my own beliefs!) around this concept of digital citizenship and developing students awareness of their digital footprint.
What are schools responsibility in teaching digital citizenship?
At what age should we begin teaching these concepts?
In what ‘subject’ area do we teach these concepts?
Who should be coordinating this?
Is this an issue that you consciously tackle at your school or something that you hope students will learn? How can we ensure that we are developing students who have a positive digital footprint and are ready to take on the challenge of being digital citizens.
All excellent questions; and ones that I wonder about as well. The digital footprint is so new to some of us and yet our students have already left a mark without even knowing it- both good and bad.
I personally feel that the earlier we teach them about their internet usage the better. The truth is, once it’s out there, there’s no going back. We try to teach our students this in our school in every class that allows for this discussion. Due to the increasing use of technology across the curriculum I feel that almost everyone touches on it at some point.
My wonder is…do they believe the impact they are having on their future careers? Do they realize that those tweets and photos may come full circle one day? This is why I think we as teachers need to educate, educate, educate.
Christine raises excellent points, and I wonder how courses like BTT, or Media Studies, can help schools tackle this important issue. However, I also wonder about a school’s digital footprint; for example, it is next to impossible to stop Tumblr accounts, Facebook accounts or Twitter hash tags that can negatively impact your school. Facebook accounts set up to tease other students, belittle teachers are also at issue when we talk about a digital footprint.
I light of this, and in light of the upcoming Anti-Bullying week legislated by the Ministry of Ontario, it is interesting to take a look at the story of the school in London, where, using an anonymous, online tip website, 4 students were arrested for cyber-bullying.
I wonder if this issue and/or the digital footprint question are viable issues to tackle in the Cohort. For example, you could pursue the question(s):
1) How are my students learning to create a positive digital footprint
2) Does my school have a holistic approach to OnLine behaviour of our students
3) How does/could/should my school respond to the Amanda Todd story, to reduce/prevent cyber-bullying
Thanks for a thoughtful post
Garth.
We talked about this in “mentor” on the same day that the tdsb had a moment of silence for Amanda Todd and to reflect on people affected by bullying (those bullied, the bullies, and the bystanders).
In the weekly mentor update sent to parents, I suggested that they talk to their children about Facebook specifically and how comments such as “lol” or even just “liking” something that could be hurtful to someone else is at the very least, bystander behaviour, and to some degree, contributing to the bullying itself.
I reminded students that they do have control to remove their own comments and likes and also comments that others have made on their posts. For example if they posted a photo and someone else made a hurtful comment, they can remove that comment. I encouraged them to go through their facebook postings and remove anything that had the potential to be hurtful. I don’t know if this happened or not? That is one of the things I will try to touch on in individual meetings over the next month or so.
Marcie, your post wasn’t all about cyber-bullying. You probably saw this on my blog (since you commented on the post) but Josten’s guide to personal publishing (http://www.jostens.com/students/content/files/students_guide_to_publishing.pdf) is an interesting place to start a conversation with students and parents.