Track 16: Digital Tattoo & Digital Citizenship

When I was in my sophomore year of college Facebook was introduced to the world and since I was a college student I was one of the lucky ones who were able to get a Facebook account. The Facebook that I knew back then was completely different from the Facebook that I know now and as all things do it has evolved and gone through many changes throughout the years. Over the last few years I have joined more social media websites and I am sure my digital footprint has tripled in size.

I have always been very careful of what information I put out into the universe because I know that once it is out there it never really goes away. I have two younger sisters, one who is still in college and I always stress to her how important it is to be careful of what she puts out into the world. Many times young kids do not understand how damaging one inappropriate picture can be or what it can do to their futures. I know I probably sound like a mom to her and repeat myself over and over but I never want to see her in a position where something that she posted can damage her future.

I always teach a lesson to my students on Internet safety and what a digital tattoo is. Students today are using technology younger and younger and are sometimes they are better at using it then an adult is. I believe that as an educator it is our job to do whatever we can to make sure that students are safe. Many of my students have access to the Internet at sometimes they are not being watched by an adult. I want to instill in each and every one of them how important it is to be safe and make good choices when using the internet.

I am now obsessed with the first video where the amazing mind reader revealed his ‘gift’. Even though it was only 2 minutes it was an amazing example of what happens when you put everything out on the internet for anyone to see. The participants were shocked to see what kind of information could be found out about them and I am sure they never in a million years thought that could happen to them. The second video was also a great lesson on what your Digital Foortprint is, and I am going to show that to my 5^th and 6^th classes! I also really loved the article by Common Sense Education about having “The Talk” with students. The article listed five easy steps that educators can use before having “The Talk” and some great videos that can be used broken down by grade level.

There are so many different ways that we can teach our students to be safe when putting themselves out on the Internet and it is one of the most important things we can do for them. I would hate to have any of my students live with some kind of regret when they are older because of something silly that they did when they were younger.