Digital Footprints

            What is a digital footprint, and how can we help students cultivate a digital footprint that is both safe and helpful?  

            Digital footprints consist of items posted online. These items could include images that were shared on a social media website, information that was uploaded and commented on, YouTube videos or schoolwork from educational portfolio’s and many other things.

            A digital footprint is best visualized by viewing footprints in the sand or on snow while hiking. The person is not seen, but we know there has been someone on the same path due to the footprint that was left behind. 

            This is the same idea for a digital footprint with the following important difference- you know who made the footprints, or who the footprints refer to.  Photos, documents, and information that have been uploaded or shared by someone else online can be visible to anyone. The person is not seen online, but their history of usage is.

            A digital footprint can be seen as negative and positive. Students need to remember what we post online can be viewed by anyone. Student resumes are becoming only “a Google search.”  Employers are using Google and social media websites to screen their employees.  As a college athlete, our assistant coach would search our names on Facebook during the day. If something was posted inappropriately or didn’t represent the school in a positive way, a meeting would be held and further consequences would be in order. It was amazing how many athletes were in trouble from posting a picture or writing a negative comment about their coach on a social media website.

            A YouTube video "Digital Dossier" explains how "Andy's" digital footprint is formed. The video shows how the trail of data can begin before someone's birth from an ultrasound picture and follow from someone's death from an online obituary. Buying items online, completing a survey or writing an email are all components of a digital footprint. The important point here is that students need to understand how pervasive a digital footprint can be and that it consists not just of what they post, but also what others post and collect about them. What is our role as teachers in helping students navigate this territory? We need to help students become aware of a digital footprint and help them create one that will help them be successful in life. We should provide opportunities for them to upload their best work into an ePortfolio, YouTube video or other online venue. They can maintain an educational blog and share employment history with future employees through a site called “Linkedin.”  

            Above all, students need to do their best to make sure that their digital footprints are positive. The only time it can be negative, is if we do not screen what is shared or uploaded online. The next time you are online, ask yourself, “What information will be visible when someone Googles my name?"

           It is important to think before we speak and before we post online. Students should ask themselves two questions before hitting the send or upload icon. Would family members be ashamed from this?  What will my future employers think?

            Even then, other can post negative things about them that they have no control over. We need to help them learn how to address these situations, as well as how to create a deliberate, positive online presence. I plan on sharing this information with my colleagues and students. It would be interesting and fun to see how much information could be found from “Googling” each other’s names during a staff meeting.  I would also have my students Google their name, see what information is available online and have them write how they plan on keeping a positive digital footprint.