Journal Assignment # 2 Digital Citizenship

After reading these three articles on digital citizenship, I realized that there was a lot more about the topic than I thought I knew. One theme that all three articles had in common was the idea that once something is put on the internet it can never completely go away. There are many steps that people can take to try and remove pictures or text from the internet, but there is only so much that can be done. This is important to know because there are a lot of high school and middle school students that think it is okay to post inappropriate pictures online as long as they are private. The point that these articles made was that if there is something even a little bit questionable, and you wouldn't want your mom or other adults to see, then don't put it on the internet at all. I don't think that teenagers understand the affect their digital footprint can have on their lives before it's too late. Another theme these articles had in common was the fact that more businesses and colleges are looking up possible candidates online before making decisions. Although some of the universities said that it is not worth the time to research possible students, the fact that some schools still take the time means that students need to be careful. These articles have helped me realize the importance of building a positive digital footprint. I have never been one to put pictures that were inappropriate online. I was taught by my parents at a young age about the importance of posting positive pictures and text online. I would say that I have a positive digital footprint, and after reading these articles I am more determined to keep it that way. When I looked myself up online on different websites, I actually didn't find much information at all. I thought this was a good thing at first, but now I will work on building a professional digital footprint. I want future employers to see papers, projects, or research that I was involved in when they search my name online. One step I will take with students to help them build a positive image is to have multiple talks with them on the issue. I don't want the topic to simply be addressed because it has to, but I want the topic to be addressed so that they will benefit from it. Every time I have my class do something online, there will be an opportunity to teach them about creating a positive digital footprint. I will also make sure that I know as much as I can on the issue so that I can answer any questions they have. I will also make sure parents know that the students are learning about digital citizenship in the classroom so that they too can have discussions about the topic at home. It might be beneficial for me to send home a parent letter about why digital citizenship will be addressed in the classroom.